Origin
s
Afrikaans is sometimes referred to as “Cape Dutch.”
This should give you a clue about how it developed!
“Afrika” is the Dutch word for “Africa”, and the
language itself is unique to the country of South
Africa.
While the language is predominantly rooted in Dutch,
it reflects the diverse groups that arrived in Africa via
the Cape of Good Hope. It has elements of English,
Khoi, Xhosa, Asian Malay – even French and
Portuguese.
Kroto
a
When Jan van Riebeeck arrived at the Cape, some of the
indigenous inhabitants worked for him.
A young khoi girl by the name of Krotoa was taken by
van Riebeeck as a servant for his wife. She was later
given the name “Eva”.
Krotoa became an important interpreter for van Riebeek
as she understood both Dutch and the Khoi languages.
She learnt to speak Dutch, Portuguese, and French. It is
believed that as she translated the multiple languages
into Dutch, some parts of each language started
creeping in to form Afrikaans.
Further
Development
The Dutch began to use more indigenous people and
would often work with one or two people who would
then act as a go-between – carrying messages between
the groups of people.
When they began to form permanent settlements,
different people had to interact with each other and
could not wait on the services of one or two interpreters
– they had to understand what the other was trying to
say.
As with Krotoa, this shared meaning between different
languages began to change the original Dutch language
into a new language: Afrikaans.
Further
Development
This meant that some of the original Dutch words
changed as small changes became accepted and
understood in the communities.
Similar examples of this can be seen even today. Some
Dutch speakers may call for a ziekenwagen if they fall ill
or are in an accident. This can be translated as a “sick
wagon”. In Afrikaans, however, the word is similar to
“ambulance” in English. The Afrikaans spelling honours
the Dutch language, having no letter “c”, and writing it
as ambulans.
These
These
nuances
nuances
make
make
Afrikaans
Afrikaans
a uniquely
a uniquely
South
South
African
African
andand
highly
highly
fascinating
fascinating
language.
language.
