Although Afrikaans is a daughter of Dutch , Dutch speakers might take some time to understand the language but they can understand Afrikaans. ... One of the major differences between the two languages lies in grammar and morphology of Afrikaans. The spelling is also different from the Dutch standard.
Is Afrikaans easier than Dutch?
Grammatically, Afrikaans is actually about as easy as languages come . ... The bad: Although Afrikaans is far easier to pronounce than modern Dutch, some of the sounds and the intonation can still trip up native English speakers.
How close is Dutch and Afrikaans?
Mutual intelligibility. There is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between the two languages, particularly in written form. Research suggests that mutual intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans is better than between Dutch and Frisian or between Danish and Swedish.
Is it easy to learn Dutch if you speak Afrikaans?
Some parts of Afrikaans and Dutch are incredibly similar. The written Dutch words are often comparable to Afrikaans words which means that you can easily grasp the gist of a sentence. ... But the majority of Dutch is as difficult for an Afrikaans-speaker to learn and understand as it is for a German expat, for example.
Is Afrikaans just old Dutch?
“Afrikaans: a language of southern Africa, derived from the form of Dutch brought to the Cape by Protestant settlers in the 17th century. It is an official language of South Africa, spoken by around 6 million people as their first language.” ... It's an amalgamation of Dutch, German, French, and Indonesian.
Is Afrikaans a dying language?
About the Afrikaans Language. The Afrikaans language is one of South Africa's official languages and a large proportion of the local population uses it as their first or second language. ... Some believe that Afrikaans is a dying language , however, it remains spoken all over the country and respected for its origins.
Which language is closest to Dutch?
Its closest relative is the mutually intelligible daughter language Afrikaans . Other West Germanic languages related to Dutch are German, English and the Frisian languages and the un-standardised languages Low German and Yiddish.
Should I learn Dutch or Afrikaans?
Afrikaans is useful in South Africa and Namibia. Afrikaans is easier than Dutch because it's grammar simplified. Dutch is more complicated. Once you can speak and write Dutch you will be able to read Afrikaans newspapers and will be able to have a conversation with an Afrikaans person if you speak slow.
Can Germans understand Dutch?
Generally speaking, Germans from the northern parts will understand Dutch better than those from the southern parts (or Switzerland/Austria). The opposite is true about understanding Swiss and Austrian dialects.
Are Afrikaans white?
| Province | Mpumalanga | Afrikaners | 164,620 | % Afrikaners | 83.5% | All whites | 197,078 |
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Who speaks Afrikaans?
| Afrikaans | Native to South Africa, Namibia | Ethnicity Afrikaners Basters Cape Coloureds Cape Malay Griqua | Native speakers 7.2 million (2016) 10.3 million L2 speakers in South Africa (2002) | Language family Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Weser-Rhine Germanic Low Franconian Dutch (Hollandic dialect) Afrikaans |
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Is Dutch easy?
Dutch is probably the easiest language to learn for English speakers as it positions itself somewhere between German and English. ... het, but it doesn't have all the grammatical cases like German. However, de and het are quite possibly the hardest part to learn, as you have to memorise which article each noun takes.
Why are the Dutch in South Africa?
The initial purpose of the settlement was to provide a rest stop and supply station for trading vessels making the long journey from Europe, around the cape of southern Africa, and on to India and other points eastward.
How old is Afrikaans?
Afrikaans was adopted for use in schools in 1914 and in the Dutch Reformed Church in 1919. A distinct Afrikaans literature evolved during the 20th century, and the first complete translation of the Bible into Afrikaans was published in 1933.
Are Afrikaners and Boers the same?
The Boers, also known as Afrikaners, were the descendants of the original Dutch settlers of southern Africa . ... In 1833, the Boers began an exodus into African tribal territory, where they founded the republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.
Is Afrikaans difficult to learn?
Afrikaans is actually quite simple to learn , and many language learners consider it one of the easiest languages to master. Most Germanic languages have two or even three genders, but Afrikaans, like English, uses a singular gender.
