No, Afrikaans is not a dying language, but its status and usage are shifting in South Africa, with a decline in official prominence (like university instruction) countered by strong cultural vitality, a growing number of second-language speakers, and its continued use by millions, especially among Coloured communities, though some generational shifts towards English are occurring. While facing challenges from post-apartheid language policy changes, it remains the third most spoken language in SA and thrives in media, music, and theatre, indicating resilience rather than imminent death.
In this article, Afrikaans was compared to three West Germanic standard languages (Dutch, Frisian and German). Unsurprisingly, Afrikaans was found to be most closely related to Dutch. When Afrikaans was compared to 361 Dutch and Frisian dialects, the South-Hollandic varieties were found to be closest to Afrikaans.
Did you know that Afrikaans is considered one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn?
During widespread unrest in South Africa in 2021, Theron described her native land as “extraordinary in so many ways – diverse, resourceful, proud, accomplished, and so incredibly strong”.
#ICYMI The ANC has assured South Africans that the Afrikaans language will not disappear following President Cyril Ramaphosa's pronouncement that the BELA Act must be implemented in its entirety. ANC assures citizens that Afrikaans won't disappear - SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, wor...
Indeed, Afrikaans has a violent and racist history of oppression during the eras of White Afrikaner nationalism and Apartheid.
Mutual intelligibility thus tends to be asymmetrical, as it is easier for Dutch speakers to understand Afrikaans than for Afrikaans speakers to understand Dutch. In general, mutual intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans is far better than between Dutch and Frisian or between Danish and Swedish.
South Africa is the most beautiful country I have ever seen. My 50th country in honor of my Mom. It was her dream trip.
Former South African President Jacob Zuma commented in 2009 on Afrikaners being "the only white tribe in a black continent or outside of Europe which is truly African", and said that "of all the white groups that are in South Africa, it is only the Afrikaners that are truly South Africans in the true sense of the word. ...
Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy clashed intensely during Mad Max: Fury Road's production due to clashing work styles, Hardy's frequent lateness, and differing acting approaches, leading to arguments where Theron felt unsafe and requested a female producer as a mediator, though they later acknowledged their issues and apologized, as reported in books and interviews about the film.
There's no single "number one" easiest language, as it depends on your native tongue, but for English speakers, Norwegian, Dutch, Afrikaans, Spanish, and Italian are consistently ranked as very easy due to similar Germanic roots (Norwegian, Dutch, Afrikaans) or shared Latin vocabulary (Spanish, Italian) with English, plus simple grammar and pronunciation. The truly easiest language is the one you're most motivated to learn and find engaging content in, as personal interest drives acquisition.
The world's most endangered language, with only one speaker, is N|uu, a language of the ǂKhomani people from the southern Kalahari in South Africa. The sole fluent speaker is Ouma Katrina Esau.
Estimated Timeframes for Afrikaans Fluency
On average, the FSI estimates that it takes around 600-750 hours of active study to reach professional working proficiency in Afrikaans.
Here's a list of top Afrikaans slang words that you'll probably hear every day if you get out and amongst people:
A significant number of South Africans are descended from Germans.
In obvious irony, the language termed Afrikaans is not indigenous to South Africa. It's a mixture of Dutch and Zulu. The language was born out of Dutch colonization in the 17th and 18th centuries.
On the 8th of May 1925 Afrikaans replaced Dutch as an official language in South Africa, and in 2025 we are taking time to celebrate the first 100 years of this beautiful language.
He was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1971, making him South African by birth. Through his mother, who is originally from Canada, Musk also holds Canadian citizenship.
Countries such as Zambia, Tanzania and the Soviet Union provided military support for the ANC and PAC. It was more difficult, though, for neighbouring states such as Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, because they were economically dependent on South Africa. Still, they did feed the struggle underground.
Tom Cruise was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of seven, a learning disability that has influenced his reading capabilities throughout his life.
White South Africans. This group consists predominantly of Dutch, German, French Huguenot, British, Portuguese and other European descendants. Culturally and linguistically, they are divided into Afrikaans-speaking and English-speaking groups.
While the three are very similar, Dutch is a language spoken in the Netherlands and Suriname, Flemish is a dialect of Dutch (but is not separate from it), and Afrikaans is a language descended from Dutch that is spoken by 17 million people in South Africa and Namibia.
Is Afrikaans easy to learn? Yes, Afrikaans is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. It has no verb conjugations by subject, no noun genders, simple grammar, and a vocabulary with strong ties to English and Dutch.