People tell you that Afrikaans isn't a language, because it is composed of Dutch, French, Hottentot, etc. However, the manner in which the English language is patched together is wisely hidden.
1876, Die Afrikaanse Patriot:
True Afrikaners, we call on you to acknowledge with us that the Afrikaans language is the mother tongue that our Dear Lord gave us; and to make a stand with us through thick and thin for our language; and not to rest before our language is generally acknowledged as the national language of our country.
1911, C.J. Langenhoven:
For how long shall we entertain two thoughts? If Dutch is our language, why do we not speak it? If Afrikaans is our language, why do we not write it?
1914, C.J. Langenhoven:
The Provincial Council accepted my motion that enables Afrikaans as a permissible medium up to the fourth standard.
1974, Es'kia Mphahele, The Function of Literature at the Present Time: The Ethnic Imperative:
Were it not that Afrikaans literature glorifies white supremacy, and were it not for the unutterable evil this literature breathes, one would simply dismiss it as inane, a crushing bore.
1976, Andries Treurnicht:
The government is prepared to be as accommodating as possible as far as the use of Afrikaans at African schools is concerned.
1985, P.W. Botha, The Citizen:
And Afrikaans, this child from the soil of Africa, has already become an instrument for millions of people – yes, for more than just the Afrikaner…
…Afrikaans and this beautiful southern land are undeniably grown together.
Afrikaans is a language that grew and developed from the soil of South Africa, aided by a variety of languages and cultures in our land, rooted in the search for an own identity and freedom.
2002, Kay McCormick and Rajend Mesthrie, Language in South Africa, page 224:
This is not true of non-standard Afrikaans, which is valued as warm, intimate, and a sign of membership of the community.
2005, H.P. van Coller, The Medium of Teaching at South African Universities: the Position of Afrikaans:
Throughout the twentieth century, for just the reason of realising this ideal, immense expertise and energy went into developing Afrikaans. One thinks of the numerous scholars who could have made their mark internationally but chose instead to devote themselves to Afrikaans.
2006, David Goldblatt, Some Afrikaners Revisited:
At school, Afrikaans was a compulsory subject that I disliked intensely; it was a harsh language, like the people who spoke it.
By the end of the century Cape Dutch had largely become what is now Afrikaans. In the western Cape, especially in its rural towns and farms, the main variety of Afrikaans took root as the shared cultural creation…
They also re-segregated the white group into Afrikaans-speaking versus the rest. Afrikaans became the premier official language while English was given second-class treatment.
This meant that Afrikaans had to be heard in parliament, the civil service, schools, colleges and universities, and in the world of business and finance; it had to be the medium of newspapers, novels, and poems, giving expression to what was truly South African.
Minecraft has demonstrated some magnificent feats of community creation, but now it's also offering a lesson in the volatile side of crowd-sourcing. Changing the language to Afrikaans, spoken in South Africa and Namibia, yesterday caused the title screen to display the phrase "You are a NIGGER." As Minecraft Forums user EgXPlayer commented, "Thats racist."
By the time the protesters outside Hoërskool Overvaal lobbed a petrol bomb at the police, it was clear that something as simple as a school’s language policy could still inflame deadly passions 41 years after the Soweto Uprising against Afrikaans in black schools. I could not help thinking: what is it about Afrikaans that brings out the worst in us?
Mense sal jou vertel dat Afrikaans nie 'n taal is nie, omdat dit saamgestel is uit Nederlands, Frans, Hottentots ensomeer. Die wyse waarop die Engelse taal saamgeflans is, word egter wyslik verdoesel.
1905, Johannes Visscher, De Vriend des Volk:
…om in die eerste plaas te wys dat ons Afrikaans nie beskou as 'n kombuistaal nie: daarom het ons dit die slag in die voorkamer geset.
1911, C.J. Langenhoven:
Hoe lank sal ons hink op twee gedagtes? As Nederlands ons taal is, waarom praat ons hom nie? As Afrikaans ons taal is, waarom skryf ons hom nie?
Die wêreld [van 2017] lyk heeltemal anders as dié van 1937. Toe was kommunikasie beperk, en die bekendstelling van radio – in Afrikaans – het die wêreld verander.
