Linguistic barriers perpetuate inequality

ON MAY 8, 1925, the writer CJ Langenhoven introduced a bill in the parliament of the then Union of South Africa that led to Afrikaans being recognised as one of the country’s official languages, alongside English.

- FRANCOIS SMITH

It is this historic moment that marks the centenary being celebrated.

However, the language itself pre-dates its official status by centuries. The roots of Afrikaans can be traced back to the 1500s, during the first interactions between European sailors and the indigenous Khoi-Khoi people. What makes the origin of Afrikaans significant is that it developed on African soil, shaped by the contact and exchange between European colonists, enslaved people brought from Africa and Asia, and the local Khoi population.

Afrikaans is, therefore, a uniquely South African creation ~ a rich tapestry of diverse influences. It is this diversity, this cultural and linguistic fusion, that is truly worth celebrating.

A more formal effort to establish Afrikaans as a written language emerged in 1875 with the founding of the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners (Society for Real Afrikaners), which played a pivotal role in standardising and promoting written Afrikaans.

During the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), the two Boer republics - the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek and the Orange Free State - were defeated by the British Empire.