In a chapter from SOUTH AFRICAN DISPATCHES is the title of this post. I
was interested specifically because it was very important that I do learn
more of the language before making prejudiced statements.
Here's what I found out...
There is a monument-AFRIKAANS LANGUAGE MONUMENT NEAR PAARL erected
specifically to salute the language and a festival celebrated in its
honor.
Woods writes: "Once sneered at by superior English-speaking South Africans
as a kitchen dialect derived from low Dutch."
Futher says: The basic origins of Afrikaans can be traced to India, as can
those of most European languages. Of all Indo-European language groups,
the direct ancestor of Afrikaans is the indo-Germaic group later
fragmented into German, Dutch, and Flemish.
From North Germanic came the Scandinavian languages; from East Germanic
the Gothic languages, which died out in the seventeenth century; and from
West Germanic came Franconian and Anglo-Frisian. From Franconian came
Dutch and Flemish, and from Anglo-Frisian came English. From Dutch and
Flemish came AFRIKAANS, the adaptation over two hundred years of the
original Dutch spoken in 1652 by the settlers who came from southern
Holland and what is today northern Belgium.
As the Dutch settlers lost touch over several generations with the culture
of Holland and were joined by settlers from Germany and France, on the
African veld they evolved their own language, which developed a practical
vigor of its own.
So as a language its qualities are undoubted. But it has an image problem
among most South Africans. Millions of Blacks regard it as the language of
oppression, the language of aparthied, and this is conveyed int he
perjorative term "isi-Bhulu" (the boer language).
Too many Afrikaans give the impression that although they are of Africa
they won't face up to the fact and are obsessed with creating a small
EUROPEAN (white) enclave.
People obsessed with whiteness of skin don't really belong in Africa. They
should emigrate to northern Europe, where skin tends to be very white
indeed. Their departure would leave the field to those REALLYcommitted to
South Africa as an AFRICAN country, and to Afrikaans as an African
language ACCEPTED by all here...
And if those obsessed with whiteness can't bear the thought of nothern
Europe, they should head south to ANTARCTICA. Down there practically
EVERYTHING is white...Donald Woods
Sjoe!
Ek het nie besef daar bestaan werklik sulke aanhoudende mense nie.
Hierdie "tottie" is seker een van die beste voorbeelde van een persoon
wat 'n hele nasie 'n slegte naam gee.
Oor die algemeen het ek nie groot probleme met yanks nie, maar sulke
opmerkings verlaag my siening van Amerika en hulle norme.
Dit wil voorkom asof hierdie persoon oningelig is oor wat werklik
in ons land aangaan, en nie ander se standpunte respekteer nie.
Ek voel dat die enigste manier om van hom ontslae te raak is om
ENIGE boodskappe van die vent te ignoreer.
'n "reply" is net nog 'n wegspring vir hom om sy onverstaanbare
engelukkigheid op hierdie groep uit te haal.
Hoe meer boodskappe in Afrikaans gepos word, hoe kleiner die kans
dat hy sy absoluut onverstaanbare terugvoer kan opdis en ons
'n hoofpyn besorg.
Hopelik word hy verveeld, en kry iets anders om hom besig te hou.
Miskien leer hy 'n etniese krygdans sodat hy as 'n _werkilke_ kryger
ander kan aanval.
Ek dink wragtig 'n mens moet hom uit los dat hy sy idees erens anders los.
Ek het gedink die nuusgroep is in Afrikaans vir Afrikaans sprekendes.
Hoekom is almal so tegoedkomend met die vent. As hy nie in Afrikaans wil
kommunikeer nie, dit is sy probleem.
Idioom: 'n Stuiwer in die armbeurs gooi.
'n Stuiwer in die armbus gooi.
"As ek ook nou 'n stuiwer in die armbeurs kan gooi,
hoekom is daar so min mense, behalwe Stefan Harms
en ek, wat idiome op die nuusgroep plaas? Stel net die
Kanadese van Suid-Afrikaanse oorsprong in hierdie
sake belang, of is meeste lede van die nuusgroep
maar net meer geinteresseer in argumenteer?"
Explanation for beginner-students of Afrikaans:
The literal translation of the above idiom is: " to
put a halfpenny into the collection purse for the poor."
In England one would probably say "to put in your
tuppence worth" or, here in North America, "to put
in your two cents' worth."
The "stuiver" was the smallest monetary unit in use
at the Cape until the mid-nineteenth century. The Dutch
East India Company introduced the colonial paper rix-
dollar at the Cape in 1781. It was declared to be equal
to 48 full weighted pennies of Holland (about 4s sterling.)
The value of the rix-dollar gradually sunk in exchange,
until in 1825 it appears to have reached its lowest point
of depression, and then became known as the "daalder."
(om te daal : to go lower. ) That is why Afrikaans people
even in the middle of this century would sometimes call
one shilling and six pennies a "daalder" or a "daler."
The various monetary units in use in Southern Africa
from the seventeenth century until now provide a rich store
of words enriching the language. It is interesting to note
that the word "dollar" comes from the Low German "daler"
from the German "Taler," short for "Joachimstaler," a coin
made from metal from Joachimstal, a town in the Erzgebirge
Mountains, now in Czechoslovakia.
Most older people in South Africa today will still have
intimate knowledge of the English monetary system that
was introduced in 1824. That consisted of pounds, shillings
and pence. Words like "crown" (5 shillings) half-crown
(two and a half shillings) guinea (twenty one shillings)
sixpence, tickey or three pence etc. will be found in books
written before the sixties. The present day system is a
decimal system, and the "rand" unit chosen was based
on the value of half a pound or ten shillings. I personally
think that it was quite a smart way to anchor the new
system, much more sophisticated and imaginative than
the way the British chose the names of the units of their
system, which gives me the cold shivers every time I
have to use it.
Yes, hoe gaan dit jong ? ...sit jy.. ..
o, ek sien jy sit lankal... ..
nou toe, ek it solank die ketel aan,...
..ek mis nie die huisgenoot nie, dankie tog,
oral waar ek by mense gekom het, moes
ek altyd hoor van die gruwelike stories
daarin, wat ek wil mis, is boerewors en
krummelpap, die suid-ooste in die Kaap,
...natuurlik net gekla oor die wind by die
huis, ek mis ook nie vir Riaan Cruywagen
nie, lees hy nog afrikaanse nuus ?
melk ?........en suiker......so ja !
... jy sê, jy't ook gehoor van die arme amerikaanse
prof en sy student wat hom so vasgeloop daar
in Sasolburg, 'n bloody skande, maar wat kan 'n
mens dan verwag van sasolburgers, beslis
nie dieselfde as die nuweburgers nie.
ek kan die prof se standpunt insien. jou navraag was gebaseer op ras, en
dit in sy verstand (en ek dit sou in myne ok) meen rassisme.
ek kan ook verstaan dat mens nie enige mens na enige mens se huis toe kan
nooi in hierdie van ons nie.
en dit beteken dat wat die prof gesê baie waarde dra:
>> NOT to come to Sasolburg on our study tour of southern Africa. The
>> group is against all kinds of racism and we do not wish to visit those
>> who are still committed to the apartheid way of thinking.
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