Table of Contents
How many Afrikaners speak English?
South Africa’s 11 official languages
| Language | Subfamily | All users |
|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Low Franconian | 17.2 million |
| English | West Germanic | 15.9 million |
| isiNdebele | Nguni | 2.5 million |
| isiXhosa | Nguni | 19.1 million |
Do Afrikaans speak English?
Even though they have been known to butcher the English language in these (and various other) ways, Afrikaners always speak English to English Whites because English Whites are even worse at speaking Afrikaans.
Is the Afrikaans language dying out?
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. It is still taught in schools. Some believe that Afrikaans is a dying language, however, it remains spoken all over the country and respected for its origins.
Is Afrikaans the youngest language in the world?
Rich in idiom and emotion, Afrikaans was born 340 years ago in the homes of South Africa’s white Dutch, German and French settlers. Not only is it the world’s youngest national language, it is one of the smallest, with just 13 million speakers. The languages take turns on alternate Sundays.
How rare is Afrikaans language?
With about seven million native speakers in South Africa, or 13.5\% of the population, it is the third most spoken language in the country.
How do you say my love in South Africa?
Valentine’s Day: How to say “I love you” in all 11 official languages of South Africa:
- Afrikaans: Ek is lief vir jou or ek het jou lief.
- English: I love you (for those who were struggling).
- Ndebele: Niyakutanda.
- Sepedi: Ke a go rata.
- Sesotho: Ke a go rata.
- Siswati: Ngiyakutsandza.
- Tshonga: Ndzakurhandza.
Do whites in South Africa speak both English and Afrikaans?
White South Africans typically speak both. Overall Afrikaans dominates geographically…so most of rural S African whites speak Afrikaans (as do a lot of the blacks) when there is no reason to speak English or a different language.
Who are the speakers of Afrikaans?
Coloured people, Black Africans and South African Indians constitute the other 60\% of Afrikaans speakers. [26] Extensive scholarly research substantiates the claim that people oppressed by colonialism, Afrikaner nationalism, and Apartheid significantly contributed to the formation of the language. [27]
Is Afrikaans an African language?
Jansen argues that the language can be regarded as a unique ‘African-Germanic’ language: it did not originate within European borders and it ‘is spoken primarily in Africa’. [12] [13] [14] Afrikaans is also defined as a (southern) African creole language, spoken in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. [15]
Do they speak Afrikaans in restaurants in South Africa?
Yes. Yes they do. Afrikaans or English. Which one depends on who happens to walk in. If that is an Afrikaans speaker, all of a sudden the whole conversation switches to Afrikaans. Although if there is a foreigner at the table, they try to stay in English. That is considered polite, but sometimes they forget.