Afrikaans

[Adventurer]

Hi there, I was just wondering if there are any other Afrikaans speaking members?

Hoop hier is nog mense hier!! Ek moet meer begin afrikaans lees en skryf!

Lekker dag

[gipro2003]

I'm going to venture that Afrikaans is somewhat similar to German? I can kind of make out what you are saying.

[Pox Voldius]

Originally Posted by gipro2003

I'm going to venture that Afrikaans is somewhat similar to German? I can kind of make out what you are saying.

I believe it was originally derived from Dutch.

[gipro2003]

Originally Posted by Pox Voldius

I believe it was originally derived from Dutch.

Thanks. I just looked it up on Wikipedia. You were right, Dutch and Afrikaans are said to be "mutually intelligible." And they are both related to West Germanic languages such as German and English so I guess it makes sense that I can somewaht make it out.

[Lein]

It does look a lot like Dutch. I'm Dutch, and I can read and understand Afrikaans. But I don't think I can speak it. I don't mean it as an offense, but it sounds very funny to us... but we can understand most of it.

[Moriath]

I can speak a few sentences but I wouldn't dare write them down. I would love to learn Afrikaans and Dutch but, alas, it's not that easy to do so without spending lots of money. Our uni classes are reserved for Bachelor students now.

[Tenshi]

Finally a thread. Would love to learn it, as I want to go to Namibia one day.

As it's similar to Dutch I can read it and understand quite a bit.

[Hes]

I can understand it and probably would be able to speak it easily since I am Dutch.

I agree with Lein that to Dutch people it looks funny. Probably because the word order is somewhat different at times and some words might feel oldfashioned to us.

[Adventurer]

Really? It's the other way around for us. Dutch looks funny and old fashioned to us. I can read and understand Dutch but I wouldn't try to speak it.

If anyone has any questions about Afrikaans just ask, I'd be happy to help!

[Tenshi]

Originally Posted by Adventurer

If anyone has any questions about Afrikaans just ask, I'd be happy to help!

First is it even that spread and used?

Then could you write down the usual phrases like "My name is", "How are you?", "I don't speak Afrikaans", "Where is...?" etc.

[Adventurer]

Originally Posted by Tenshi

First is it even that spread and used?

Then could you write down the usual phrases like "My name is", "How are you?", "I don't speak Afrikaans", "Where is...?" etc.

Yeah, Afrikaans is my First language. I only learned English when I was about 11 or 12. It's a compulsary language in South Africa and I assume Namibia as well (but I'm not sure).

My name is: My naam is

How are you?: Hoe gaan dit met jou?

I don't speak Afrikaans: Ek praat nie Afrikaans nie

Where is...?: Waar is...?

[Lein]

Originally Posted by Adventurer

Really? It's the other way around for us. Dutch looks funny and old fashioned to us. I can read and understand Dutch but I wouldn't try to speak it.

If anyone has any questions about Afrikaans just ask, I'd be happy to help!

Nice (well, nog exactly the right word, I mean leuk) that it works both ways. What is also very funny to us are the words you're using, like hijsbakkie (in Dutch: Lift). They are very illustrative. Sometimes it's a game to find words that could be used in Afrikaans...

[Adventurer]

Originally Posted by Lein

Nice (well, nog exactly the right word, I mean leuk) that it works both ways. What is also very funny to us are the words you're using, like hijsbakkie (in Dutch: Lift). They are very illustrative. Sometimes it's a game to find words that could be used in Afrikaans...

We use Lift as well when we're just casually talking, but the official word is Huisbak.

[Dobbinator]

Ek kan Afrikaans praat! Ek wonder...is Adventurer nog steeds hier?

It's not compulsory in all schools - in most schools it's supposed to be compulsory to learn an African language up to a certain point. I chose to take Afrikaans to the end of school because my parents and sister can speak it and so could help me with my homework more than if I'd taken Zulu, which they can't speak. It was a tough choice and I think in the long run it would've benefited me more to take Zulu but in the meantime it's very good that I took Afrikaans - at first I thought it was a dying language but then last year I moved to the capital of South Africa and it's all anyone speaks here! Very grateful now that I took it, otherwise I wouldn't understand anything!