Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It evolved from the Dutch vernacular of South Holland spoken by the predominantly Dutch settlers and enslaved population of the Dutch Cape Colony, where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners was formed on 14 August 1875 in the town of Paarl by a group of Afrikaans speakers from the current Western Cape region. From 15 January 1876 the society published a journal in Afrikaans called Die Afrikaanse Patriot as well as a number of books, including grammars, dictionaries, religious material and histories. Die Afrikaanse Patriot was succeeded in 1905 by today's Paarl newspaper.
kykNET is a South African Afrikaans-language television channel. Owned by pay-TV operator M-Net, it was launched on the DStv satellite service in 15th November 1999. In its development phase, the channel had the placeholder name The Afrikaans Channel. On 16 July 2014 DStv announced that kykNET would be broadcast in high-definition from 12 August 2014.
Stephanus Jacobus du Toit was a South African nationalist, theologian, journalist and translator. He promoted the Afrikaans language as a symbol of Afrikaner nationalism, launched the first Afrikaans language newspaper Die Afrikaanse Patriot, and translated the Bible into Afrikaans. He was Superintendent of Education in the South African Republic from 1882 to 1889.
Arabic Afrikaans or Lisan-e-Afrikaans is a form of Afrikaans written in the Arabic script. It began in the 1830s in the madrasa in Cape Town. Beside a 16th-century manuscript in the German language written with Arabic script, it is the only Germanic language known to have been written in the Arabic script. Arabic Afrikaans is not a mixed language.
Koos Kombuis is a South African musician, singer, songwriter and writer who became famous as part of a group of anti-establishment maverick Afrikaans musicians, who, under the collective name of Voëlvry, toured campuses across South Africa in the 1980s, to "liberate Afrikaans from the shackles of its past". Fellow musicians of this movement were Johannes Kerkorrel and Bernoldus Niemand.
Karel Schoeman was a South African novelist, historian, translator and man of letters. Author of twenty novels and numerous works of history, he was one of South Africa's most honoured writers. Schoeman wrote primarily in Afrikaans, although several of his non-fiction books were originally written in English. His novels are increasingly being translated into other languages, notably, English, French and Dutch.
Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal, generally known as the WAT, is the largest descriptive Afrikaans dictionary. As comprehensive descriptive dictionary, it strives to reflect the Afrikaans language in its entirety. Not only standard Afrikaans is portrayed, but also varieties like Kaaps and Namakwalands.
Johannes du Plessis Scholtz was a South African philologist, art historian, and art collector.
The Hertzog Prize is an annual award given to Afrikaans writers by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, formerly the South African Academy for Language, Literature and Arts. It is the most prestigious prize in Afrikaans literature.
Hendrik Bernardus Thom was an Afrikaner professor and former Rector of the Stellenbosch University.
Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia; it is a separate standard language rather than a national variety, unlike Netherlands Dutch, Belgian Dutch and Surinamese Dutch. An estimated 90 to 95% of Afrikaans vocabulary is ultimately of Dutch origin, so there are few lexical differences between the two languages, however Afrikaans has considerably more regular morphology, grammar, and spelling.
Kurt Johan van Heerden, better known as Kurt Darren, is a South African singer, songwriter and television presenter, who won seven South African Music Awards (SAMA) from 2007 to 2011. He has also appeared in a number of South African films.
The Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SAAWK) is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to promoting science, technology and the arts in Afrikaans, as well as promoting the use and quality of Afrikaans. The Hertzog Prize is awarded annually by the academy for high-quality literary work, while the Havenga prize is awarded annually for original research in the sciences.
Jamestown, also known as Webersvallei plus Mountain View, is a quiet rural settlement on the southern outskirts of Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands District of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated next to Blaauwklippen Vineyards, on the eastern side of route R44 from Stellenbosch to Somerset West and the Strand coastal resort. The main access from the R44 is via Webersvallei Road, the main road in Jamestown with watererven – long, narrow agricultural plots on the south bank of Blouklip River – on the north side of the road and residential plots on the south side of the road.
Pieter van Jaarsveld, professionally known as Bobby van Jaarsveld, is a South African Afrikaans-language pop singer-songwriter and actor.
Durban Academy High School is a bilingual high school located in Fynnlands, Bluff, Durban.
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering African literature. The editor-in-chief is Hein Willemse.
Karlien van Jaarsveld is a South African singer-songwriter in Afrikaans. Her debut album, As die Gordyn val, was released in 2010. Previously a member of a rock group, she is now a solo artist who has won several awards in South Africa.
