Have you ever had a conversation with a true hardcore Afrikaans-speaking aunty?

“Ek ken mevrou, jy’s een van daais! ʼn Afrikaner, want Afrikaners is plesierig! Dit kan julle glo” (Zoid, 2001). “I know you Ms, you are one of those. An Afrikaner, because Afrikaners are entertaining! This you can believe” (Zoid. 2001).

When we were back in school, the conservative aunty on her porch always thought we were ignorant teens. We floundered on in life with our cyber-language (WhatsApp language) and illiterate way of speaking. Despite her disapproval, we were reckless with our language and lived in the fairy-tale world of lekker sayings, where life was always thriving.

As teens, we experimented with Afrikaans privately because that hardcore-Afrikaans-speaking aunty was like a strict librarian with grey hair — always grumpy and scary. In fact, she was like a strict librarian with grey hair, always unpleasant, permanently grumpy, and sommer nors

Afrikaans is Growing: Embrace All Its Variants

However, experimenting with language and learning Afrikaans in private is no longer necessary! The ignorant teens, with their illiterate way of speaking, were finally heard by the Afrikaans Woordelys en Spelrëels (AWS) team.

Earlier in the year, it was made known that the AWS team is hard at work, busy writing the new AWS book that contains all variants of Afrikaans as a language, allowing all who speak Afrikaans (as different as they may sound) to have conversations that are acknowledged. For years, linguists frowned upon variants like slang, hoping to keep Afrikaans as ‘pure’ as possible.

BUT…If you mos communicate lekker in Afrikaans, it is mos shap, of hoe? For some linguists the various variants of Afrikaans are like kasaterwater, a watered-down version of what Afrikaans used to be, back in the day. For new, with-the-times-linguists, these variants are a sign that Afrikaans are constantly growing as a young language. In the early years, three variants of Afrikaans developed, of which other variants grew. Each variant has its own characteristics, which the new AWS book will capture. Even though a release date wasn’t made known yet, it still means that the Karoo-Afrikaans, Overbergse Afrikaans, Standaardafrikaans, Vrystaatse Afrikaans, Oos-Kaapse Afrikaans, Afrikaans-Afrikaans, Voortrekker-Afrikaans, Boesmanland Afrikaans, Namakwaland Afrikaans, Griekwa-Afrikaans, Swartlandse Afrikaans, en Kaapse Afrikaans speakers will all be acknowledged.

Everyone can Learn Afrikaans: Join the Conversation

If you are still learning Afrikaans and don’t feel confident speaking it, or perhaps you do not know enough to have a conversation or ‘seem Afrikaans’, chill! You are welcome in the Afrikaans community.

Be comfortable in your own skin and talk until you are blue in the face. It is just as much your language as the true hardcore-Afrikaans-speaking aunty’s language. In Afrikaans, we are not ’full of nonsense’ and would love to share our lekker language with everyone. Be proud of your language and share your heart’s desires with those around you. Djy is uitters special!

While we patiently await the release of the new AWS book, let’s continue learning Afrikaans. Here are some fun Afrikaans words to give you that ‘edge’ in your next conversation.

So tjom, what is your language? Come and speak it sommer lekker!

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