Which language is closest to Afrikaans?
Dutch
In this article, Afrikaans was compared to three West Germanic standard languages (Dutch, Frisian and German). Unsurprisingly, Afrikaans was found to be most closely related to Dutch. When Afrikaans was compared to 361 Dutch and Frisian dialects, the South-Hollandic varieties were found to be closest to Afrikaans.
Is Afrikaans basically the same as Dutch?
Afrikaans and English are the only Indo-European languages among the many official languages of South Africa. Although Afrikaans is very similar to Dutch, it is clearly a separate language, differing from Standard Dutch in its sound system and its loss of case and gender distinctions.
What languages is Afrikaans made up of?
Afrikaans is a creole language that evolved during the 19th century under colonialism in southern Africa. This simplified, creolised language had its roots mainly in Dutch, mixed with seafarer variants of Malay, Portuguese, Indonesian and the indigenous Khoekhoe and San languages.
Do Afrikaners understand Dutch?
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 do Dutch think of Afrikaners?
Generally speaking, we Dutch don’t think often of Afrikaners. Of course there are a few things that connect us like the history of Dutch settlements there, but that’s a long time ago and certainly not enough to make us think of each other as distant cousins.
Are Afrikaans white?
Afrikaners make up approximately 5.2% of the total South African population, based upon the number of White South Africans who speak Afrikaans as a first language in the South African National Census of 2011….1691 estimates.
| Ancestry | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Dutch | 66.67% |
| French | 16.67% |
| German | 14.29% |
| Scandinavian, Belgian | 2.37% |
Are Afrikaners and Boers the same?
Boer, (Dutch: “husbandman,” or “farmer”), a South African of Dutch, German, or Huguenot descent, especially one of the early settlers of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Today, descendants of the Boers are commonly referred to as Afrikaners.
Can a Dutch person understand 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.
Is Afrikaans similar to German?
Afrikaans descended from Dutch dialects in the 17th century. It belongs to a West Germanic sub-group, the Low Franconian languages. Other West Germanic languages related to Afrikaans are German, English, the Frisian languages, and the unstandardised languages Low German and Yiddish.
Are Boers and Afrikaners the same?