Standard Afrikaans: There Is a Fly in the Ointment

• Published in: Southern African linguistics and applied language studies Vol. 20; no. 1-2; pp. 37 - 46
• Main Author: Grebe, H P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Afrikaans
• Published: 01.01.2002
• ISSN: 1607-3614

This article discusses the central question as to whether a term such as Oosgrensafrikaans (Eastern Cape Afrikaans) interpreted in terms of how it is defined in the relevant literature truly reflects the linguistic reality of the time. Can the hypothesis that Afrikaans was standardized on the basis of Eastern Cape Afrikaans - without taking account of the Afrikaans of the inhabitants elsewhere in the Cape Colony at the time - be empirically underpinned? In order to answer this question it was necessary to investigate the linguistic uniqueness of Eastern Cape Afrikaans. This article reports on a small empirical investigation in this regard. Another possibility other than the claim that Standard Afrikaans stems from Eastern Cape Afrikaans as defined presently, remains open. Standard Afrikaans could quite conceivably have sprouted from a relatively homogenous but variable variety spoken in the regions inhabited by the Trekboers of old - the Overberg & areas immediately north & west of the Boland up to the farthest eastern boundaries of the Colony. The uncertainty surrounding the status of Eastern Cape Afrikaans as a historically unique variety of Afrikaans & especially in relationship to modern Standard Afrikaans once again highlights important issues. 2 Tables, 13 References. Adapted from the source document