Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans , member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages ). Although its classification is still disputed, it is generally considered an independent language rather than a dialect or variant of Dutch (see Dutch language ). Afrikaans is spoken by close to 8 million people in the Republic of South Africa, where it is an official language, and by about 1.5 million people in Namibia, where it is the common language of most of the population. At least half of its native speakers in South Africa are not white. It arose from the Dutch spoken by the Boers, who emigrated from the Netherlands to South Africa in the 17th cent., but in its written form it dates only from 1861. The grammar has been considerably simplified. Its vocabulary is essentially similar to that of Dutch; Afrikaans has absorbed quite a few words from the Khoisan languages, Bantu (such as words designating local flora and fauna), and English.

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"Afrikaans." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Afrikaans." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Afrikaan.html

"Afrikaans." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Afrikaan.html

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Afrikaans

Afrikaans One of 11 official languages of the Republic of South Africa. Derived from the language spoken by the original Dutch settlers of the 17th century, it quickly evolved its own forms to become a distinct language. Afrikaans is regarded as a cultural focal point by South Africans of Dutch origin. It is the everyday means of communication for some three million speakers of European, African, and mixed descent.

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"Afrikaans." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Afrikaans." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Afrikaans.html

"Afrikaans." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Afrikaans.html

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AFRIKAANS

AFRIKAANS. A LANGUAGE related to DUTCH, the mother tongue of about 6m people in Southern Africa and a second language for millions of South Africans and Namibians. It is the source of many hundreds of loanwords in SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH, including such internationally known words as apartheid, boer, laager, trek, veld, and has in turn borrowed extensively from English.

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TOM McARTHUR. "AFRIKAANS." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "AFRIKAANS." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-AFRIKAANS.html

TOM McARTHUR. "AFRIKAANS." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-AFRIKAANS.html

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Afrikaans

Af·ri·kaans / ˌafriˈkänz/ • n. a language of southern Africa, derived from the form of Dutch brought to the Cape by Protestant settlers in the 17th century, and an official language of South Africa. • adj. relating to the Afrikaner people or their language.

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"Afrikaans." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Afrikaans." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-afrikaans.html

"Afrikaans." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-afrikaans.html

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Afrikaans

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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Afrikaans." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAN PALMOWSKI. "Afrikaans." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Afrikaans.html

JAN PALMOWSKI. "Afrikaans." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Afrikaans.html

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Afrikaans

Afrikaansaskance, expanse, finance, Hans, Hanse, manse, nance, Penzance, Romance •underpants • happenstance •advance, Afrikaans, à outrance, chance, dance, enhance, entrance, faience, France, glance, lance, mischance, outdance, perchance, prance, Provence, stance, trance •nuance • tap-dance • square dance •freelance • convenance •cense, commence, common sense, condense, dense, dispense, expense, fence, hence, Hortense, immense, offence (US offense), pence, prepense, pretence (US pretense), sense, spence, suspense, tense, thence, whence •ring-fence • recompense •frankincense •chintz, convince, evince, Linz, mince, Port-au-Prince, prince, quince, rinse, since, Vince, wince •province •bonce, ensconce, nonce, ponce, response, sconce •séance • pièce de résistance •announce, bounce, denounce, flounce, fluid ounce, jounce, mispronounce, ounce, pounce, pronounce, renounce, trounce •dunce, once

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"Afrikaans." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Afrikaans." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Afrikaans.html

"Afrikaans." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Afrikaans.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Afrikaans poetry: new voices.
Magazine article from: Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa; 1/1/2009
Afrikaans as voertaal en wetenskapstaal aan Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite.('n...
Magazine article from: Literator: Journal of Literary Criticism, comparative linguistics and literary studies; 12/1/2006
Oedipus and Afrikaans theater.(L.J. du Plessis, Theo Wassenaar, Athol Fugard...
Magazine article from: Comparative Drama; 12/22/2010

Facts and information from other sites

Afrikaans images
Afrikaans. Other (Public Domain)