Comparison of Afrikaans and Dutch

Dutch and Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch[1][2][3][4][5] and—unlike Netherlands Dutch, Belgian Dutch and Surinamese Dutch—a separate standard language rather than a national variety.[6][7][8] As an estimated 90 to 95% of Afrikaans vocabulary is ultimately of Dutch origin,[9][10][11] there are few lexical differences between the two languages;[12] however, Afrikaans has a considerably more regular morphology,[8] grammar, and spelling.[13] There is a degree of mutual intelligibility between the two languages,[8][14][15] particularly in written form.[7][13][16]

Afrikaans acquired some lexical and syntactical borrowings from other languages such as Malay, Khoi and San languages, Portuguese,[17] and of the Bantu languages,[18] and to a lesser extent, Low German. Nevertheless, Dutch speakers are confronted with fewer non-cognates when listening to Afrikaans than the other way round.[16] Mutual intelligibility thus tends to be asymmetrical, as it is easier for Dutch speakers to understand Afrikaans than for Afrikaans-speakers to understand Dutch.[16] That opinion is not universal. There are some that believe that it is easier for Afrikaans speakers to understand Dutch, than the reverse. But, in general, research suggests that mutual intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans is better than between Dutch and Frisian[19] or between Danish and Swedish.[16]

Orthographic differences

Orthographic differences between Dutch and Afrikaans are mainly due to phonetic evolutions and spelling simplifications in Afrikaans, and the more conservative character of and recent changes to modern Dutch orthography.

However, some aspects of Afrikaans orthography also resemble those of older forms of Dutch, for example, whereas "God be with you" in modern Dutch would be God zij met u, God sy met u, used in Afrikaans, was also used in 18th century Dutch.[20] The current Dutch spelling, using z and the digraph ij, became prevalent from the 19th century.[21]

Other simplifications in Afrikaans had earlier been proposed for Dutch by R.A Kollewijn, but were either not adopted until 1934, such as changing sch to s (hence Nederlandsch to Nederlands) or rejected, such as changing isch to ies (hence logisch to logies) and ijk to ik (hence moeilijk to moeilik).[22]

Afrikaans simplifications

Replacement of c and ch

Afrikaans uses k for the Dutch hard c, both pronounced [k]; compare Dutch cultuur ("culture") with Afrikaans kultuur. Before the 1990s major spelling reform, the latter spelling was also accepted in Dutch,[23] although other Dutch words such as commissie ("commission") were already spelt with c, which in Afrikaans would be kommissie.[24]

Words in Dutch with the letter combination cc, when pronounced as [kk] are transliterated in Afrikaans using kk, for example, acclimatiseren and accommodatie in Dutch become Afrikaans akklimatiseer and akkommodasie. Those in which cc is pronounced as ks, such as Dutch accent and accepteren, become aksent and aksepteer in Afrikaans.[25]

Similarly, Afrikaans uses s for the Dutch soft c, both pronounced [s]; compare Dutch centraal ("central") and ceremonie ("ceremony") with Afrikaans sentraal and seremonie. Afrikaans also uses s instead of c in words like spesiaal ("special") and spesifiek ("specific") which in Dutch would be speciaal and specifiek.

Most Afrikaans words using c begin with the digraph ch, such as Christelik ("Christian") or chemie ("chemistry") with some exceptions like confetti, although Afrikaans dictionaries may also list more phonetic alternative spellings using k or sj, such as kronies for chronies ("chronic") and sjirurg for chirurg ("surgeon").[26]

However, although the Dutch words China and Chinees (inflected as Chinese) are transliterated in Afrikaans using sj as Sjina, Sjinees, and Sjinese respectively,[27] the Dutch spellings are also used, particularly in the media.[28] In some Afrikaans dictionaries, China is standard, while Sjinees is listed as an alternative spelling to Chinees.[26]

Transliteration of loanwords

French loanwords in Dutch beginning in ch (pronounced [ʃ]), are transliterated in Afrikaans using sj; compare Dutch champagne and chic with Afrikaans sjampanje and sjiek.[29] Afrikaans also changes gn, encountered in French loanwords in Dutch like campagne and compagnie to nj, hence kampanje and kompanjie.

When ch (pronounced [ʃ]) appears within a Dutch word, in its Afrikaans equivalent, it is replaced by sj; compare machine with masjien.[30] This also applies to word endings; compare Dutch Jiddisch ("Yiddish") with Afrikaans Jiddisj,[31] although the latter is also encountered in Dutch.[32] In Dutch, hasjiesj ("hashish") is always written with sj similar to hasjisj in Afrikaans.[29]

The Dutch word cheque, in which ch is pronounced as [tʃ], is written in Afrikaans as tjek, while the Italian-derived word cello is written as tjello. Both languages also use tsj (also pronounced as [tʃ]) in some geographical names, despite other differences in spelling; compare Dutch Tsjaad ("Chad") with Afrikaans Tsjad.

Changes to digraph ij

The Dutch digraph ij was converted to y in Afrikaans, although pronunciation remained [ɛi]. An example is prijs (price), which is spelt prys in Afrikaans. Dutch words ending in lijk, however, end in lik in Afrikaans, not lyk, for example lelijk (ugly) in Dutch becomes lelik in Afrikaans. In both languages, this suffix is pronounced [lək], with a schwa.

In Dutch, in which ij is treated as a separate letter of the alphabet, IJ often features in place names in the Netherlands like IJsselmeer, or in the Dutch name for Iceland, IJsland. Afrikaans similarly uses Ysland,[33] which was also used in 18th century Dutch.[34]

However, few place names in South Africa of Dutch origin begin with Y, with the exception of Yzerfontein in the Western Cape. The spelling of name of the town, which means iron fountain, is based on the old Dutch word for iron, yzer.[35] It was also previously written as Ijsterfontein.[36] The modern Afrikaans word for iron is yster, while in Dutch it is ijzer.

In modern Dutch, y is now typically used in words of Greek origin like cyclus ("cycle") replaced by i in its Afrikaans equivalent siklus, although both are pronounced as [i]. However, unlike the y in Dutch syndroom ("syndrome"), the i in Afrikaans sindroom is pronounced as [ə], as the stress falls on the second syllable.

Mergers of digraphs or trigraphs

Afrikaans merged Dutch trigraphs tie, cie and sie to a single spelling sie. Apart from tie, generally pronounced as [tsi] in the Netherlands, there is no difference in pronunciation; compare Dutch provincie ("province") and politie ("police") with Afrikaans provinsie and polisie. However, words ending in tie in Dutch are often pronounced as [si] particularly in Flanders.[37]

Afrikaans merged Dutch digraphs and trigraphs ou, ouw, au, and auw (pronounced identically by many Dutch speakers) to a single spelling ou; vrouw ("woman") and dauw ("dew") in Dutch become vrou and dou in Afrikaans respectively. Similarly, some Dutch words beginning with au, such as autonomie are written with ou, hence outonomie.

The Dutch cluster tion became sion in Afrikaans. Compare nationaal ("national") with nasionaal. In Dutch, the pronunciation differs from region to region and include [tsiɔn], [siɔn], and [ʃon].

Conversely, the Afrikaans cluster si in words such as spesiaal ("special") and pensioen ("pension") is pronounced as [ʃi] with an extra syllable i, but in Dutch, both the ci in spesiaal and si in pensioen are pronounced as [ʃ], although the pronunciation [šj] is encountered in the Southern Netherlands.[38]

Dropping of final letters

At the end of words, Afrikaans often dropped the n in the Dutch cluster en (pronounced as a schwa, [ə]), mainly present in single nouns and plurals, to become e Compare Dutch leven (life) and mensen (people) to Afrikaans lewe and mense. Also in Dutch, final -n is often deleted after a shwa, but the occurrence and frequency of this phenomenon varies between speakers, and it is not recognised in spelling.

Phonetically induced spelling differences

Simplification of consonant clusters

Afrikaans has frequently simplified consonant clusters in final position that are still present in Dutch, although they are used in inflected forms of adjectives, for example, bes ("best") in Afrikaans is still inflected as beste, as in Dutch, hence beste man ooit (best man ever) is correct in both languages.

At the end of words, Dutch clusters cht and st were reduced in Afrikaans to g and s respectively, with lucht ("air", pronounced [lʏxt]) and dienst (service, pronounced [dinst]) in Dutch becoming lug ([ləχ]) and diens ([dins]) in Afrikaans. Between two vowels, cht is replaced with gg; compare Dutch echtgenoot ("husband") with Afrikaans eggenoot.

Similarly, whereas Dutch words like technologie ("technology") and monarchie contain ch (in this case pronounced as [χ]) their Afrikaans equivalents use g, hence tegnologie and monargie. In other cases, ch is replaced with gg, compare Tsjechische Republiek ("Czech Republic") in Dutch with Tsjeggiese Republiek in Afrikaans.

At the end of words, Dutch cluster ct was reduced to k in Afrikaans, hence Dutch contact and perfect with Afrikaans kontak and perfek. Similarly, ctie in Dutch (pronounced [ktsi]) is replaced by ksie (pronounced [ksi]); compare reactie ("reaction") and connectie ("connection") in Dutch with reaksie and konneksie in Afrikaans.

Consonant mergers

As a result of Afrikaans merging Dutch consonants z and s to a single sound [s], spelt s, the use of z in Afrikaans is confined to words of non-Dutch origin, such as Zoeloe ("Zulu") and zero, or country names like Zambië ("Zambia"), while use of z is preserved only in Dutch place names in South Africa like Zonnebloem and Zeerust.

However, although Suid-Afrika ("South Africa") is used in Afrikaans rather than Zuid-Afrika as in Dutch, South Africa adopted "ZA" as its international vehicle registration code in 1936, which later became the country's ISO country code, with .za becoming the country's internet domain.

In the middle of words, Afrikaans merged Dutch v and w to a single sound [v] and consequently to a single spelling, w. Compare Dutch haven (port) with Afrikaans hawe, both pronounced [ɦaːvə].

Afrikaans merged Dutch fricatives ch and g to a single sound [χ], spelt g, except when preceded by s in which case sk (pronounced [sk]) is used where Dutch uses sch (pronounced [sx], [sχ] or [sç]) hence "school" is school in Dutch but skool in Afrikaans, but Dutch misschien ("maybe") is written with ss, while Afrikaans miskien is written with s.

Consonant omissions

Between two vowels, the Dutch g is omitted in Afrikaans; hence Dutch uses hoger ("higher"), pronounced [ˈɦoːɣər] and "regen" ("rain"), pronounced [ˈreː.ɣə(n)] while Afrikaans uses hoër ([ˈɦoːər]) and reën ([ˈreː.ɣə]), in which the second vowel requires a trema to avoid confusion with the digraphs oe ([u]) and ee ([eə]).

This also applies to Afrikaans nouns that, while ending in g as in Dutch, end with in the plural; while "railway" in both languages is spoorweg, "railways" is spoorwegen in Dutch ([spoːrʋeːɣə(n)]) but spoorweë ([spoərveːə]) in Afrikaans.

Between two vowels, Dutch v is omitted in Afrikaans; compare Dutch avond ("evening"), pronounced [ˈaː.vɔnt] and over ("over"), pronounced [ˈovər], with Afrikaans aand ([ɑːnt]) and oor ([oər]), with aa and oo both being pronounced as diphthongs [ɑː] and [oə] respectively. In Afrikaans, as in Dutch, oor also means "ear".

Where ov precedes final en in Dutch, as in boven ("above") pronounced [boːvən] and geloven ("believe") pronounced [ɣəˈloːvə(n)], in Afrikaans they merge to form the diphthong [oə], resulting in bo ([boə]) and glo ([χloə]). Similarly, open and samen ("together") in Dutch become oop and saam in Afrikaans.

At the end of words, Dutch g is sometimes omitted in Afrikaans, which opens up the preceding vowels, now written with a circumflex. For example, the Dutch verb form zeg ("say", pronounced [zɛx]) became ([sɛː]) in Afrikaans, as did the infinitive zeggen, pronounced [ˈzɛɣə(n)].

Alternatively, Dutch verb form vraag ("ask", pronounced [ˈvraːɣ]) became vra ([ˈvrɑː]) in Afrikaans, which is also the equivalent of the Dutch verb vragen, "to ask". Unlike Dutch, vraag in Afrikaans, pronounced [ˈvrɑːɣ], is only used as a noun meaning "question", with vrae, pronounced [ˈvrɑːə], being the plural form.

The word for "day" in both languages is dag, but whereas the plural in Dutch is dagen ([daːɣə(n)]), in Afrikaans it is dae ([daːə]). By contrast, wagen or "wagon" in Dutch, pronounced [ˈʋaːɣə(n)], became wa in Afrikaans, ([ˈvɑː]), with the plural form, wagens, pronounced [ˈʋaːɣəns], became waëns ([ˈvɑːəns]).

Circumflex

In contrast to Dutch, where the use of the circumflex is essentially limited to French borrowings, like enquête, Afrikaans makes frequent use of ê, î and ô, û; examples include nêrens ("nowhere", Dutch nergens), wîe ("wedges", Dutch wiggen), môre ("morning", Dutch morgen), and brûe ("bridges", Dutch bruggen).

As a result of the disappearance of consonants found in equivalent Dutch words, particularly g, Afrikaans uses circumflexes with single vowel letters in open syllables to indicate the long monophthongal pronunciations [eː] or [ɛː], [ɘː], [ɔː], [œː], as opposed to the vowel letters without a circumflex, pronounced as [eə], [i], [oə] and [y], respectively.

Diminutive

In diminutive forms, Afrikaans uses tjie and etjie (normally pronounced [ki] and [əki]) where Standard Dutch would use tje (pronounced [cə] or [tjə]). For example, whereas the diminutive of beet ("bit") in Dutch would be beetje (pronounced [beːtjə]), in Afrikaans, the diminutive of biet would be bietjie (pronounced [biːki]).

In Belgium and the Southern Netherlands, the diminutive is often realised as [kə] in the spoken language. Conversely, in the Western Cape, it is common to hear it realised as [tji]. The diminutive of words ending in k in Afrikaans is ie, hence whereas doek in Dutch becomes doekje, in Afrikaans, it becomes doekie.

Where Dutch would use je, pje and mpje (pronounced [jə], [pjə] and [mpjə]) Afrikaans would use ie, pie and mpie (pronounced [i], pi] and [mpi]) hence the diminutives of glas, kop and probleem in Dutch would become glaasje, kopje and probleempje, while in Afrikaans they would be glasie, koppie and probleempie, with an extra p being added to kop.

Other words formed from diminutives in Dutch ending in tje may have different equivalents in Afrikaans; for example, the Dutch term of endearment schatje (the diminutive of schat or "sweetheart", literally "treasure") is skattie, of which skatjie is used either as the dimunitive or to mean "little treasure".[39]

In both languages, the word for "niece" is a diminutive of the word for "female cousin", but owing to the simplification of consonant clusters in Afrikaans, nig becomes niggie, using gie in contrast to Dutch, in which nicht becomes nichtje. The adjectives saggies and zachtjes, both meaning "softly", are diminutives of Afrikaans sag and Dutch zacht respectively.

Other spelling differences

Unlike Dutch, the names of months in Afrikaans are capitalised, hence 2 June 2016 would be written as 2 Junie 2016,[40] whereas in Dutch, it would be written as 2 juni 2016.[41]

Phonetic differences

Afrikaans pronunciation tends to be closest to the dialects of the province of South Holland, in particular that of Zoetermeer.[5]

Consonant mergers

Afrikaans merged Dutch consonants z and s to a single sound [s], spelt s, with zorg ("care") and zout ("salt") in Dutch became sorg and sout in Afrikaans. A similar phonetic evolution can be found in the Northern Netherlands.

At the start of words, Afrikaans often merged Dutch voiced [v] with voiceless [f], as in "ver" (far), pronounced [fɛr] in Afrikaans and [vɛr] in Standard Dutch. The same merger is present though in the areas around Amsterdam, where all voiced consonants merged with the voiceless ones, pronounced as the latter ones.

Afrikaans merged Dutch voiced [w] with voiced [v], as in "werk" (work), pronounced [vɛrk] in Afrikaans and [wɛrk] in Belgium and Suriname or [ʋɛrk] in the Netherlands. A similar near-assimilation of w to v can also be found in the Northern Netherlands, where w is pronounced [ʋ], and v [v].

Fricative mergers

In Afrikaans, Dutch fricatives ch and g were merged to a single sound [χ]. A similar phonetic evolution can be heard in the Northern Netherlands, where the sounds have also been merged to [χ] or [x], although the spelling difference has been retained. In Belgium and Suriname, however, the phonetic distinction between ch and g has been preserved.[42]

Afrikaans uses only [sk] (written as sk) in initial syllables where Dutch uses [sx], [sχ] or [sç] (written as sch), hence skoonheid ("beauty") in Afrikaans is schoonheid in Dutch. However, in some Dutch dialects, notably Southern West Flemish, sk can also be heard, in the middle of words as well as syllable-initially.[43]

Grammatical differences

Grammatical differences are arguably the most considerable difference between Afrikaans and Dutch, as a result of the loss of inflections in Afrikaans, as well as the loss of some verb tenses, leading to it being greatly simplified in its grammar compared to Dutch.

Unlike Dutch, Afrikaans has no grammatical gender, and therefore only has one form of the definite article die, while standard Dutch has two (de for both masculine and feminine nouns and het for neuter ones) and Dutch dialects in the Southern Netherlands have a third, den, used for masculine nouns.

The verb "to be" in Afrikaans is wees (from Dutch wezen); the Dutch zijn only survives in Afrikaans in the form of the subjunctive sy, as in God sy met u ("God be with you").[44] In Dutch, as in Afrikaans, wees is used as an imperative, hence wees sterk! ("be strong!") while wezen is used as a less formal form of to be than zijn.

Verb conjugations

In Afrikaans verbs, the same form is generally used for both the infinitive and the present tense, with the exception of wees ("to be") conjugated as is and ("to have") conjugated as het, and there is no inflection for person; contrast ek gaan with ik ga, hy doen with hij doet, and julle was with jullie waren.

The past participle is usually regularly formed by adding the prefix ge- to the verb, hence gedoen ("done") is formed from doen in Afrikaans, although Dutch gedaan survives in Afrikaans as welgedaan! ("well done!") One exception is the verb ("to have") of which the past participle is gehad.

All other verbs use the existing form as the past participle. For example, "to pay" is betaal and "I have paid" is "ek het betaal", while "to translate" is "vertaal" and "he has translated" is hy het vertaal; Dutch would use betaald (from betalen) and vertaald (from vertalen) respectively.

Verb tenses

Afrikaans has dropped the simple past tense for all but eight verbs, of which five are modals, the three others being rarely used; instead it uses either the present perfect or the present tense, depending on context, the latter being used as the historical present. It has also lost the pluperfect, with the present perfect being used instead.

Consequently, the sentence ek het die boek vir haar gegee in Afrikaans can be translated into Dutch as ik heb het boek aan haar gegeven ("I have given the book to her") ik gaf het boek aan haar ("I gave the book to her") or ik had het boek aan haar gegeven ("I had given the book to her").

Whereas Dutch distinguishes between verbs that use zijn ("to be") and verbs that use hebben ("to have") in the present perfect, Afrikaans has dropped this distinction, instead using ("to have"), hence "he has been" is hy het gewees in Afrikaans, while hij is geweest would be used in Dutch.

The past tense of the passive voice in Afrikaans uses is, the present tense of wees instead of word, hence dit word geskryf ("it is written") becomes dit is geskryf ("it was/has been written").[45] In Dutch, the passive voice can be constructed by both zijn and worden, hence het is/wordt geschreven, and het was/werd geschreven.

Unlike Dutch, which, like English, has a continuous tense using the verb zijn ("to be") with aan het ("on the") and the infinitive, Afrikaans has no direct equivalent. However, "I am reading", which in Dutch is ik ben aan het lezen, may be expressed periphrastically in Afrikaans as ek is besig om te lees (literally "I am busy to read") or "I am busy reading".[46]

Omitting of subordinate conjunctions

In Afrikaans, as in English, it is possible to omit the subordinate conjunction dat ("that"); for example, the phrase "I believe [that] she has done it" can be translated into Afrikaans as either ek weet glo sy dit gedoen het or ek glo sy het dit gedoen, but in Dutch, it is not possible to do so, hence the sentence would be translated as ik geloof dat ze het gedaan heeft.[47]

Merger of unmarked and unmarked forms of words

Whereas Dutch has unmarked and marked forms for pronouns, adverbs and indicatives, Afrikaans uses only one form; for example, whereas Dutch uses er to mean "here" or "there", Afrikaans only uses hier for "here" and daar for "there", as well as hiervan ("hereof") for "of this/these" and daarvan ("thereof") for "of that/those/them" , not ervan as in Dutch.

Pronouns in Afrikaans, whether subjects, objects or possessives, have only one form, derived from the Dutch marked forms; compare my in Afrikaans, which can be used either as the object "me" or the possessive "my", with Dutch marked forms mij and mijn, the unmarked forms being me for "me" and m'n for "my" respectively.

Dutch uses an apostrophe in some unmarked possessive pronouns instead of the digraph ij, hence zijn "his" or "its" becomes z'n, whereas in Afrikaans, sy is not abbreviated. In Afrikaans sy also means "she", but Dutch equivalents ze (unmarked) and zij (marked) mean either "she" as in ze/zij is ("she is"), or "they", as in ze/zij zijn ("they are").

Similarly, Afrikaans uses only jy as the subject "you" (singular) where Dutch uses je or jij, jou as the object "you" where Dutch uses je or jou, and as the possessive "your" where Dutch would use jou or jouw.

Personal pronouns

Afrikaans, unlike Dutch, has no unmarked or marked forms of pronouns; whereas Dutch distinguishes between je/jij and ze/zij for "you" (singular) and "she" as subject pronouns, Afrikaans uses only jy and sy, while whereas me/mij and je/jij are the Dutch unmarked or marked forms of object pronouns for "me" and "you", Afrikaans only uses my and jou.

It also lacks the distinction between the subject and object form for plural personal pronouns; the first person plural pronoun in Afrikaans differs markedly from Dutch, with ons meaning either "we" or "us", in contrast to Dutch we and wij, hence "we go to the beach" is ons gaan na die strand as opposed to we gaan naar het strand.

Similarly, the third person plural pronoun in Afrikaans is hulle, used to mean "they" or "them", in contrast to Dutch in which ze and zij are used as plural pronouns, hence "they are the best" is hulle is die beste as opposed to ze zijn de beste, although hullie is encountered in Dutch dialects, particularly in North and South Holland.[48]

Other possessive pronouns like ons ("our", inflected as onze in Dutch and onse in Afrikaans) and Dutch jullie ("your" plural, julle in Afrikaans) work in a similar fashion in both languages.

Demonstrative pronouns

The word die is used in Afrikaans as a definite article, but in Dutch, it is used as a demonstrative pronoun meaning "that" or "those", or as a relative pronoun meaning "who", "which" or "that", for which Afrikaans would use wat; compare Afrikaans die man wat weet ("the man who knows") with Dutch de man die weet.

For demonstratives, Afrikaans uses hierdie for "this" or "these" and daardie for "that" or "those", which are shortened to dié (with an acute accent) and daai.[49] In Dutch, dit is used as the word for "this", whereas in Afrikaans it is the third-person singular impersonal pronoun meaning "it", with dis being a contraction of dit is, similar to "it's" in English.

Genitive

As Afrikaans has no genitive forms of nouns, the official titles of most countries include the word van, although this was considered optional, hence Republiek van Malta (as opposed to Republiek Malta as in Dutch) although Republiek van Suid-Afrika was previously considered an anglicism.[50] However, the Union of South Africa was known in Dutch and Afrikaans as Unie van Zuid-Afrika and Unie van Suid-Afrika respectively.[51]

The title "Kingdom of the Netherlands", which refers to the entire realm including its Caribbean islands, is known in Afrikaans as Koninkryk van die Nederlanden, a direct translation of the Dutch title Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, which uses the genitive article der meaning "of the".[51]

Afrikaans may form compounds where Dutch would use separate words using the genitive or equivalent, or vice versa. For example, the Salvation Army is known in Afrikaans as Heilslëer,[52] but in Dutch as Leger des Heils; conversely "Member of Parliament" in Afrikaans is Lid van Parlement, similar to English,[53] while in Dutch, the term is parlementslid or kamerlid. However, in both languages, a member of a council or councillor is raadslid.[54]

Possessive

Whereas Dutch uses an apostrophe with an "s" as in English to form the genitive, or alternatively an "s" without an apostrophe, Afrikaans uses se, hence Maria's huis and haar broers probleem would be Maria se huis and haar broer se probleem respectively.

Afrikaans, like Dutch, has possessive pronouns to indicate ownership, hence joune and jouwe, although Afrikaans omits the use of the definite article, hence is dit jou glas of syne? ("is that your glass or his?") rather than is dat jouw glas of het zijne? as in Dutch.

Similarly, van or "of" is also omitted in Afrikaans; compare dit is my fiets, waar is joune? ("that is my bike, where is yours?") to Dutch dat is mijn fiets, waar is die van jou?

Double negative

A notable feature of Afrikaans is its use of a double negative, which is absent in standard Dutch (yet still exists in some dialects like West Flemish).[55] For example, Dutch Ik spreek geen Engels (I do not speak English) in Afrikaans becomes Ek praat nie Engels nie. Similar constructions can be found in French (Je ne parle pas anglais) but also in West Flemish (k en klappe geen Engels) as well as in other Dutch dialects in the southern part of Holland (Ik praat geen Engels nie)

Adjective inflections

Like Dutch, adjectives in Afrikaans are generally inflected (with a number of exceptions) in the attributive position (when preceding the noun) and not in the predicative. Unlike Dutch, this inflection depends only on position, not grammatical gender; for example, nasionaal, when followed by party becomes nasionale, hence Nasionale Party.[56]

This also applies to adjectives from which the final "t" has been dropped, for example, while "first" is eers, not eerst, "first time" is eerste keer in both languages.[57][58] Similarly, where consonant clusters have been simplified, for example, sleg ("bad") instead of slecht, the "t" is reintroduced, hence slegte tye[59] ("bad times") similar to slechte tijden.[60]

Similarly, just as Dutch adjectives ending with -ief, such as positief, are inflected to end with -ieve, for example, positieve reactie[61] ("positive reaction") their equivalents in Afrikaans end in -iewe, hence positiewe reaksie, despite the differences in spelling.[62]

Vocabulary differences

Owing to the geographical and later political isolation of South Africa from the Netherlands, Afrikaans vocabulary diverged from that of Dutch, coining purisms or using loan translations rather than adopting terms found in English, as English was perceived as being a greater threat to Afrikaans in South Africa than it was to Dutch in the Netherlands.

French and Latin influence

While Dutch, like English, increasingly borrowed vocabulary from Latin or French, Afrikaans resisted such borrowing and instead favoured older Germanic equivalents, albeit with some exceptions; one of these is the Afrikaans word for "hospital", hospitaal, which, while understood in Dutch, is less widely used than ziekenhuis (literally "sick house").

For example, the word for "magistrate" in Afrikaans, landdros, comes from the Dutch term landdrost, a legacy of the old court system of the Dutch Cape Colony which survived its abolition and replacement by magistrate's courts under British rule, but the term is no longer officially used in the Netherlands, where the Latin-derived term magistraat is used instead.[63]

Similarly, the South African Navy is known in Afrikaans as the Suid-Afrikaanse Vloot, the word vloot (meaning "fleet") having been used in Dutch for the navy of the Dutch Republic, known as Staatse vloot, but the modern Dutch navy is known as the Koninklijke Marine, marine being a French loanword.

In Afrikaans, Eerste-Minister ("first minister") was the official title of the Prime Minister of South Africa[64] (before the post was abolished in 1984) and is still the official Dutch title of the Prime Minister of Belgium,[65] but in the Netherlands, the term premier is used as a generic term for a prime minister or equivalent office holder, the official title of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands being minister-president.[66]

In South Africa, the term premier is now more typically used in Afrikaans to refer to the head of government in each of the nine provinces, whereas eerste-minister is used for foreign leaders, and is used by the Afrikaans-language media in Namibia to refer to the country's Prime Minister.[67]

Some French loanwords are common to Afrikaans as well as Dutch, such as regisseur, used in both languages to mean director of a play or film, although the use of rolprent in Afrikaans instead of "film" is considered old-fashioned in Dutch.[68] The word redakteur ("editor") is used in Afrikaans as well as Dutch, but in the latter it is now written as redacteur.

Purisms and loan translations

As the influence of English was perceived as a threat to Afrikaans, there was a trend to coin purisms rather than to borrow from English or international vocabulary; whereas the word for "computer" in Dutch is simply computer, in Afrikaans it is rekenaar, from reken, meaning "to count".[69]

Other purisms were less successful; beeldradio, a word for "television", proposed before its introduction in the 1970s, was abandoned in favour of televisie, already used in Dutch.[69] In South Africa and Namibia, the TV licence is known in Afrikaans as TV-lisensie,[70] whereas in the Netherlands and Flanders, the now defunct equivalent was known in Dutch as kijkgeld ("viewing money") or omroepbijdrage ("broadcasting subsidy").[71]

There are some instances of Afrikaans using calques or loan translations where Dutch uses an English loanword, such as the word for "milkshake", melkskommel, from melk ("milk") and skommel ("shake" or "shuffle") in contrast to Dutch, in which the original English word is untranslated.[72]

Similarly, English has influenced such terms in Afrikaans as bestuurslisensie, from bestuur ("driving") and lisensie ("licence") and grondboontjiebotter, literally "peanut butter". By contrast, the Dutch term rijbewijs, translates as "driving certificate", but while ry is used in Afrikaans to mean "driving", bewys means "evidence" or "proof".[73]

The Dutch term for peanut butter, pindakaas (literally "peanut cheese") was coined because when it was first sold in the Netherlands, the term boter was a protected name and could only be used for products containing actual butter.[74] The word pinda, a loanword from Papiamentu, spoken in the Dutch Caribbean, is ultimately of Kongo origin.[75]

Comparison of vocabulary

Afrikaans Dutch English
aand avond evening
aartappelskyfies aardappelchips potato chips (US)
crisps (UK)
afkappingsteken, apostroof apostrof, weglatingsteken, afkappingsteken apostrophe
amptelik officieel, ambtelijk official
as als if
asem adem breath
asseblief alsjeblieft, alstublieft please
baadjie, jas jasje, vest jacket
baba baby, kindje baby
baie heel, zeer, veel very, much
bakkie pick-up pick-up truck
beeldpoetser media-adviseur media spokesperson
press officer
bergie zwerver vagrant
bestuurslisensie rijbewijs driving licence (UK)
driver's license (US)
blokkiesraisel kruiswoord crossword
bokkie schatje, liefje baby, darling
bolla zoet broodje bun
braaivleis barbecue barbecue
Brittanje Groot-Brittannië Britain, Great Britain
bromponie bromfiets, scooter moped, scooter
daardie, daai die that, those
dagga marihuana marijuana, cannabis
dankie dank je/u, bedankt thank you, thanks
deurmekaar doorelkaar mixed up, confused
deur door through
die de, het the
duikweg tunnel tunnel
e-pos e-mail email
een één one
eiendoms beperk
(Edms.) Bpk.
besloten vennootschap (BV) propriety limited
(Pty.) Ltd.
eksie-perfeksie fantastisch cool, great
ekskuus excuus sorry, apology
enjin motor engine
gatvol zat zijn fed up
geskenk cadeau, kado (also used in Afrikaans),
geschenk older term
gift, present
glo geloven believe
grondboontjie pinda peanut
grondboontjiebotter pindakaas peanut butter
gunsteling favoriet gunsteling older term favourite
Heilsleër Leger des Heils Salvation Army
hierdie, dié dit, deze this, these
hoender kip less common: hoen, hoender chicken
hoekom? hoezo? waarom? how come? how so? why?
hoezit! (hoe is dit?) hoe gaat het? hoe is het? how's it going?
hoërskool voortgezet onderwijs (Netherlands)
secundair onderwijs (Belgium)
high school, secondary school
Hollands (taal) Nederlands (taal) Dutch (language)
horlosie horloge watch
hospitaal ziekenhuis, gasthuis, hospitaal hospitaal
hysbak lift lift, elevator
inskrywing abonnement, inschrijving subscription
jol leukheid fun, party
kaartjie ticket kaartje means greeting card ticket
kameelperd giraffe giraffe
kampanje campagne campaign
Kanada Canada Canada
Kersfees Kerstmis (Catholic)
Kerstfeest (Protestant)
Christmas
kitsbank geldautomaat, bankautomaat cash machine, ATM
koerant krant newspaper
konserwatief conservatief conservative
kopiereg kopierecht, copyright, auteursrecht copyright
landdros magistraat magistrate
leggen lie, lay
leër landmacht, leger army
lemoen sinaasappel orange
Lid van Parlement (LP) parlementslid, kamerlid Member of Parliament (MP)
lirieke songtekst lyrics
lokprent trailer film trailer
lugmag luchtmacht air force
lughawe luchthaven airport
lugpos luchtpost airmail
lugredery luchtvaartmaatschappij airline
lugwardin stewardess air hostess
air stewardess
mal oor gek op mad about
masjienkap motorkap bonnet (UK)
hood (US)
meisie meisje, meid girl
melkskommel milkshake milkshake
moffie homo gay, effeminate man
moltrein metro metro, subway train
moontlik mogelijk possible
'n een a, an
na naar to
na after
naby dichtbij close to
naweek weekend weekend
nie niet not
niggie nichtje niece
Nieu-Seeland Nieuw-Zeeland New Zealand
nuus nieuws news
nuusblad, nuustydskrif opinieblad, nieuwsblad news magazine, news letter
onderskrifte ondertitels subtitles
oomblik moment, ogenblik moment
oopmaak, maak oop openen to open
oorklanking nasynchronisatie dubbing
oorspronklik origineel, oorspronkelijk original
oos oost east
openbare maatskappy naamloze vennootschap (NV) public limited company
ou, outjie kerel, gozer guy, bloke
outomaties automatisch automatic
padda kikker pad means "toad" frog
pak(ken) take seize, clutch
passasier passagier passenger
perd paard horse
peuselhappies snacks snacks
piesang banaan less common: pisang banana
pikkewyn pinguïn, vetgans penguin
polisiebeampte politieagent police officer
polisiekantoor politiebureau police station
posbus postbus post office box
poskantoor postkantoor post office
posman postbode postman
reisagent, reisagentskap reisbureau (Netherlands)
reisagentschap (Belgium), reisagent
travel agent,
travel agency
rolprent film rolprent considered dated film
sakrekenaar rekenmachine, zakrekenmachine, calculator calculator
sambreel paraplu umbrella
sampioen champignon mushroom
saans 's avonds in the evening
zeggen say
selfoon mobiele telefoon mobile phone, cellphone
sent cent cent
seuntjie jongen zoontje means "baby boy" boy, young man
sinies cynisch cynical
sjokolade chocolade chocolate
skadu, skaduwee schaduw, schaduwbeeld shadow
skakel bellen (schakelen means "to change gear") dial, call (telephone number)
skeelhoofpyn migraine migraine
skootrekenaar laptop laptop
slagoffer slachtoffer victim
slaptjips frieten french fries, chips
sokker voetbal football, soccer
soos als, zoals like, such as
spinnekop spin spider
spoed snelheid speed
staatsdiens civiele dienst (Netherlands)
overheidsdienst (Belgium)
civil service, public service
stasie station station
Statebond Gemenebest van Naties Commonwealth of Nations
stasiewa stationwagen station wagon, estate
streek gewest, regio region
stuurwiel stuurrad steering wheel
suid zuid south
suiwer zuiver clean
suurlemoen citroen lemon
sypaadjie trottoir, voetpad pavement (UK),
sidewalk (US)
tjek cheque cheque, check
troeteldier huisdier pet (animal)
tuisblad homepagina, thuispagina homepage
uitgawe editie, versie
uitgaven means "expenditure"
edition, version
uitsaai omroep, uitzending broadcasting
uurglas zandloper hourglass
vanaand vanavond this evening
vanmôre vanmorgen this morning
verkleurmannetjie kameleon chameleon
vir voor for
vlak niveau level
vlugbeampte, vlugkelner steward air steward, flight attendant
voetsek! (voert sê ek!) verdwijn! get lost! away with you!
vrieskas vrieskist freezer
vuurhoutjie lucifer match, light
wa wagen wagon
wat die which, who
webwerf website website
weermag krijgsmacht defence force, armed forces
wêreldwyd wereldwijd worldwide
wees zijn, wezen to be
wes west west
woonstel appartement apartment, flat
yskas koelkast, ijskast refrigerator
Ysland IJsland Iceland
yster ijzer iron

Names of languages and countries

Unlike in Dutch, in Afrikaans, the word Afrikaans is not used to mean "African" in general; instead the prefix Afrika- is used, hence whereas African languages would be referred to in Dutch as Afrikaanse talen, in Afrikaans, they would be called Afrikatale.[50] Conversely, the Afrikaans language is sometimes referred to in Dutch as Zuid-Afrikaans, literally "South African".[76]

Although the Netherlands is formally called Nederland in Afrikaans, it is more colloquially known as Holland, as in English.[77] The term Hollanders is similarly also used to refer to Dutch people in general, particularly in a historical context, while Hollands is used either to refer to the Dutch language or as an adjective, hence the expression die Kaap is weer Hollands ("the Cape is Dutch again") to mean that a situation has improved.[78][79]

In the Netherlands, the former Dutch Reformed Church was known in Dutch as the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk, but in South Africa, the two Dutch Reformed Churches are known in Afrikaans as the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk and Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk respectively, as Nederduitsch (or Nederduits) originally referred not to Low German but to any West Germanic language except High German.[80]

Changes in meanings of words

Although the Afrikaans word as, like als in Dutch, means "if", it is also used as a conjunction to mean "than" with which to make comparisons, instead of dan, used in Dutch, hence "more than" is meer as (similar to mehr als in German) rather than meer dan, although meer als is also encountered in Dutch.[81]

In Dutch, als can also mean "as" or "like", but Afrikaans generally uses soos, similar to zoals ("such as") in Dutch, whereas Dutch would use either als or zoals, hence the Afrikaans diere soos katte en honde... ("animals, like cats and dogs,...") could be translated into Dutch either as huisdieren als katten en honden or dieren zoals katten en honden....[82]

While the Afrikaans verb heet can be used to meaning "to be called",[83] like the Dutch heten, it is less commonly used for that purpose, hence "what is your name?" and "my name is John" would be wat is jou naam? "my naam is John", rather than hoe heet jy? ("how are you called?") and ek heet John.[84] By contrast, Dutch would use hoe heet je? and ik heet John.

In Afrikaans, heet is used to mean "to be said", for example, soos dit heet ("as it is claimed") or, as in Dutch, "to bid", as in ek heet jou welkom ("I bid you welcome" or "I welcome you"). As an adjective, like the Dutch heet, it means "hot", as in "high temperature", and can also "fiery temper".[85] In Dutch, heet can also mean "hot" in the sense of "spicy" or "horny".[86]

Like praten in Dutch, the verb praat in Afrikaans means "to talk", but can also mean "to speak", where Dutch uses spreken; compare sy praat vlot Engels ("she speaks English fluently") with zij spreekt vlot Engels. However, Afrikaans uses sprekend as an adjective meaning "speaking", as in Afrikaansprekend ("Afrikaans-speaking").

Like "football" in American and Australian English, the term voetbal is not generally used in Afrikaans to mean soccer, which, unlike in Dutch, is called sokker.[87] Instead, it is used in the context of other codes of football, such as American football, hence Amerikaanse voetbal.[88] In Dutch, soccer is only used to refer to the game when played in the United States.[89]

Changes due to spelling and pronunciation

The changes in spelling and pronunciation in Afrikaan means that two unrelated words become homophones and are written identically, unlike their Dutch equivalents; bly in Afrikaans, like blij in Dutch is used as an adjective to mean "happy", it is also a verb meaning "to remain", cognate with blijven in Dutch.

In Afrikaans, unlike Dutch, the word (meaning "after") is written with an acute accent, as na (derived from Dutch naar) means "to". Conversely, while the Dutch word for "one" is written as één, to distinguish it from the indefinite article een, in Afrikaans, een ("one") is written without any diacritics as the indefinite article in that language is 'n.

Similarly, as the Dutch word for "before", vóór, may be written with accute accents on both vowels to distinguish it from voor, meaning "for", although it is correct to write the word without them irrespective of meaning.[90] By contrast, voor in Afrikaans only means "before", the word for "for" being vir, and so no diacritics are required.

In both languages, oor means "ear", but in Afrikaans, oor (derived from Dutch over can also mean "over" or "about", as in hy praat oor die weer ("he talks about the weather", or in Dutch hij spreekt over het weer).[91] Although Dutch and Afrikaans share a number of words prefixed with oor, such as oorsprong ("origin"), this is an unrelated word meaning "original".

Although kus in Afrikaans can mean "kiss", as in Dutch, the more usual term is soen, similar to Dutch zoen,[92] as the homophone kus means "coast". In contrast to the Dutch equivalents kus and kust (plural kussen and kusten) it is only in their inflected plural forms kusse and kuste that the two Afrikaans words can be clearly distinguished.[93]

False friends due to English influence

English influence has also resulted in changes in the meanings of some Afrikaans words, such as eventueel, which now means "eventual" or "eventually", rather than "possibly", as in Dutch.[94] Consequently, some Afrikaans dictionaries give both meanings, with the entry for eventueel listing uitendelik ("finally") as well as moontlik ("possible") as definitions.[95] However, the latter is described as Nederlandisties or "Dutch-influenced".[96]

By contrast, other Afrikaans words cognate with Dutch ones retain the same meaning, such as aktueel, which, like actueel in Dutch, means "up to date" or "concerned with current affairs", although aktualiteit can also mean "reality" in the sense of the English word "actuality".[97] The Dutch word actualiteit, on the other hand, only means "topicality" or "current events". Dutch also previously spelled both actueel and actualiteit with a "k".[98]

Colloquialisms

Another consequence of the two languages diverging has been the differences between colloquialisms, meaning that a word in Dutch which has no offensive connotations is used as an expletive or term of abuse in Afrikaans, and vice versa, although other changes in meanings have also arisen.

For example, the Afrikaans phrase die meisie gooi haar flikkers ("the girl throws her sparkle") was highlighted by the Dutch journalist, Derk-Jan Eppink, in an article in the daily NRC Handelsblad, as an example of differences in meaning.[99] In Afrikaans, flikkers by iemand gooi means to flirt with someone,[100] but in Dutch, flikker means a male homosexual, while flikker op! is akin to the British English expletive "bugger off!"[101]

List of words with different meanings

Word Afrikaans meaning Dutch meaning
aardig pleasant, strange friendly
Afrikaans Afrikaans language African, also Afrikaans language
amper nearly scarcely
bliksem lightning, also expletive meaning "bastard" (as noun) and "bloody" (as adjective) lightning
die the that one, which, who
dit it this, these
doos box, also expletive "cunt" box, case
een one a, an (indefinite article)
flikker sparkle queer, homo
fok(ken) fuck, fucking to breed, to rear
het have, has the (neuter gender)
Holland Netherlands former province of Holland
houtkop racial slur for black African, literally "wooden head" "wooden head"
kopje small hill cup
na to after
Nederduits Dutch (as in Dutch Reformed Church) Low German Dutch formerly used the term to refer to the Dutch language
neuk(en) strike, hit screw, hump, have sex with
piel expletive "dick", "penis" duckling
poes expletive "cunt" or "pussy" (noun) or "fucking" (adjective) pussycat, tabby (although poesje is used as a vulgar term for "vagina")
rand edge, brink, rim South African currency, reef
vat take grab, seize
voor before for, before (written as vóór in Dutch)

Influences on Afrikaans from other languages

Malay

Due to the early settlement of a Cape Malay community in Cape Town, who are now known as Coloureds, numerous Malay words were brought into Afrikaans. Some of these words entered Dutch via the Indonesian language as part of the colonial heritage. Malay words in Afrikaans include:[102]

  • Piesang, which means banana. This is different from the common Dutch word banaan. The Indonesian word pisang is also used in Dutch, though usage is less common.
  • Baie, which means 'very'/'much'/'many' (from 'banyak') is a very commonly used Afrikaans word, different from its Dutch equivalent veel or erg.
  • Baadjie, Afrikaans for jacket, where Dutch would use jas or vest. The word baadje in Dutch is now considered archaic and only used in written, literary texts.

Portuguese

Some words originally came from Portuguese such as sambreel (umbrella) from the Portuguese sombreiro, kraal (pen/cattle enclosure) from the Portuguese curral, and mielie (corn, from milho). These words have become common in South Africa to an extent of being used in many other South African languages. Some of these words also exist in Dutch, like sambreel "parasol",[103] though usage is less common and meanings can slightly differ.

Khoisan languages

The word gogga, meaning insect, comes from the Khoisan word of the same meaning, xo-xo. Various other words used in Afrikaans also come from the Khoisan languages, such as assegaai (spear), karos (blanket of animal hides), and dagga (marijuana).[102] Some of these words also exist in Dutch, though with a more specific meaning: assegaai for example means "South-African tribal javelin" and karos means "South-African tribal blanket of animal hides".[104]

Bantu languages

The following words are some of the many Bantu words that have been adapted for use in both Afrikaans and South African English.[102]

  • Chana, from the Zulu word umtshana. Used to refer to a friend.
  • Fundi, from the Zulu word umfundi. Meaning someone who is a student/expert on a certain subject, i.e. He is a language fundi.
  • Tjaila / tjailatyd, an adaption of the word Chaila, meaning 'to go home'

Comparisons of various phrases in Afrikaans and Dutch

Afrikaans Dutch English
Verstaan jy my? Versta jij mij? / Begrijp je me?[105] Do you understand me?
Ek verstaan dit Ik versta dit / Ik begrijp het[105] I understand it
Wat is jou naam? Hoe heet je? Wat is jouw naam? What is your name?
Wat maak jy? Wat ben je aan het doen?
Compare Dutch Wat maak jij? (What are you making?)
What are you doing?
Ek hou van haar Ik vind haar leuk I like her
Ek is lief vir jou Ik hou van jou
Compare Dutch Ik ben lief voor jou (I am sweet to you)
I love you
Ek het jou lief Ik heb jou lief / Ik hou van jou
I love you
Is jy honger? Heb je honger? / Heb jij honger? Are you hungry?
Dié boek is vir jou Dit boek is voor jou This book is for you
Ek het al geëet Ik heb al gegeten I have already eaten
Kom jy saam met ons? Kom je met ons mee? Are you coming with us?
Stem jy saam? Ben je het daarmee eens?
Stem jij daarmee in?
Do you agree?
Stem jy [daartoe] in? Stem jij daarmee in? / Ga je daarmee akkoord? Do you agree [to it]?
Oop vanaand Open vanavond Open tonight
Hulle woon hier Ze wonen hier
Dialectal: Hullie wonen hier
They live here
Kan ons die middestad besoek? Kunnen we de binnenstad bezoeken?
Belgium Dutch: Kunnen we de middenstad bezoeken? [106]
Can we visit the city centre?
Ek is halfpad daar Ik ben halverwege I am halfway there
Hierdie vrug proe/smaak sleg Die vrucht hier smaakt slecht This fruit tastes bad
Het jy dit gesê? Heb jij dit gezegd? Did you say that?
Hy het op die lughawe aangekom Hij is op de luchthaven aangekomen He has arrived at the airport
Moenie dit vergeet nie! Vergeet hem niet! Don't forget it!
As dit reën, sal dié sambreel jou beskerm Als het regent, zal deze paraplu jou beschermen[107] * If it rains, this umbrella will protect you
’n Lemoen is ’n oranjekleurige vrug Een sinaasappel is een oranjekleurige vrucht An orange is an orange-coloured fruit
’n Lemmetjie is ’n klein groen sitrusvrug Een limoen is een kleine groene citrusvrucht A lime is a small green citrus fruit
Ons hou daarvan om te braai Wij houden ervan om te barbecueën
Compare Dutch: braden (to roast), Wij houden ervan om te braaien (braaien is a recent loanword from Afrikaans) **
We love to barbecue
Ek kan dit nie glo nie Ik kan dit niet geloven I cannot believe it

* In some Dutch dialects it is also common to pronounce als as as.
** In Dutch, in some dialects d between two vowels tends to degenerate to i (pronounced -[jən]) or w (e.g. goedendag > goeiedag (good day), bloeden > bloeien (bleed), rode > rooie (red), poeder > poeier (powder), loden > looien (lead), lang geleden > lang gelejen (long ago), wij deden > wij dejen (we did), onthouden > onthouwen (remember)), some of which forms are more common and more accepted than others (dialectical, spoken, informal or standard language).

Comparison of sample text

Below is a comparison of the Afrikaans words of Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (currently the national anthem of South Africa) with the Dutch translation.

Afrikaans Dutch English translation (literal)
Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit het blauw van onze hemel From the blue of our sky
Uit die diepte van ons see, Uit de diepte van onze zee, From the depths of our sea,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes Over onze eeuwige gebergtes, Over our eternal mountains
Waar die kranse antwoord gee. Waar de rotsen antwoord geven. Where the cliffs give answer
Deur ons vêr verlate vlaktes Door onze ver verlaten vlaktes Through our far-deserted plains
Met die kreun van ossewa. Met het gekreun van ossenwagens With the groan of ox-wagon
Ruis die stem van ons geliefde, Ruist de stem van ons geliefde, Rouses the voice of our beloved,
Van ons land Suid-Afrika. Van ons land Zuid-Afrika. Of our country South Africa
Ons sal antwoord op jou roepstem, We zullen antwoorden op je roepen We will answer to your calling,
Ons sal offer wat jy vra: We zullen offeren wat jij vraagt We will sacrifice what you ask
Ons sal lewe, ons sal sterwe, We zullen leven, we zullen sterven We will live, we will die
Ons vir jou, Suid-Afrika. Wij voor jou, Zuid-Afrika. We for Thee, South Africa.

See also

References

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  82. Als / zoals, Taalunie
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  107. Dutch does have the word sambreel meaning "parasol".

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