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Can you understand Dutch If you know Afrikaans?
Research suggests that mutual intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans is better than between Dutch and Frisian or between Danish and Swedish. Mutual intelligibility tends to be asymmetrical, as it is easier for Dutch speakers to understand Afrikaans than for Afrikaans speakers to understand Dutch.
What language did the Dutch bring to South Africa?
Afrikaans language
Afrikaans language, also called Cape Dutch, West Germanic language of South Africa, developed from 17th-century Dutch, sometimes called Netherlandic, by the descendants of European (Dutch, German, and French) colonists, indigenous Khoisan peoples, and African and Asian slaves in the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good …
Is Dutch easy to learn for Afrikaans speakers?
The written Dutch words are often comparable to Afrikaans words which means that you can easily grasp the gist of a sentence. But the majority of Dutch is as difficult for an Afrikaans-speaker to learn and understand as it is for a German expat, for example.
How similar are Afrikaans and Dutch?
Afrikaans and Dutch are mutually intelligible, owing to much of the Afrikaans language having its roots from the Dutch language. This means that most of the words have the same meaning and that the sentences are also the same. A conversation between the two languages would be no problem at all.
Did Dutch colonized South Africa?
The Dutch established a colony in Africa before many other European countries. It is also the first colonial country which came to South Africa. The number of Dutch in South Africa was only 90 in 1652, which reached 16,000 in 1795.
Can Afrikaans be understood by Dutch speakers?
Intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans Although Afrikaans is a daughter of Dutch, Dutch speakers might take some time to understand the language but they can understand Afrikaans. On the other hand, speakers of Afrikaans might not be able to readily comprehend the Dutch language.
What was the history of the Dutch in South Africa?
A short history of the Dutch in South Africa, 1652-2010. English settlers in substantial numbers first entered South African in 1820s as part of a government program to relieve poverty at home. British colonial rule was often just as brutal towards native Africans as the Dutch had been, especially in military conflicts.
Are Afrikaans and Dutch mutually intelligible?
As earlier mentioned, the mutual intelligibility between Afrikaans and Dutch is more on the written than the spoken language.
When did Afrikaans become the official language of South Africa?
Afrikaans became a part of Dutch in 1925 but it later replaced Dutch, as the latter was no longer used. In 1961, South Africa became a republic and Afrikaans language included Dutch, which was later dropped in 1984. From then until 1994, Afrikaans and English were the official languages of South Africa.