What percentage of people can speak Afrikaans? (2023)

What percentage of people can speak Afrikaans?

Overview of South Africa's languages

Our other official languages are isiXhosa (spoken by 16%), Afrikaans (13.5%), English (10%), Sesotho sa Leboa (9%), Setswana and Sesotho (both 8%), Xitsonga (4.5%), siSwati and Tshivenda (both 2.5%), and isiNdebele (2%).

Who said only 44 people speak Afrikaans?

Charlize theron says only 44 people speak afrikaans｜TikTok Search.

How rare is Afrikaans in the world?

As a percentage of the total population, the largest share of around 14 percent is in South Africa. A total of about 8.3 million people worldwide speak Afrikaans as their mother tongue.

How many people only speak Afrikaans?

Will duolingo add Afrikaans?

Afrikaans may not be taught on Duolingo yet, and it may never be, but this doesn't need to be the end of your language aspirations. Luckily, you have plenty of other brilliant options where you can develop your skills from your own home.

Is Afrikaans hard for English speakers?

Afrikaans is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn because--like many of the languages on this list--it's part of the Germanic language family. It's spoken in South Africa, Namibia, and a few other countries.

Is Afrikaans a dying language?

According to the projections that we've made, by 2041 you're going to have 7.1 million Afrikaans speakers. So, there is clear growth. It's not much growth, but it is growing.

Is Afrikaans more Dutch or German?

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 a considerably more regular morphology, grammar, and spelling.

Can Afrikaners understand Dutch?

Even though Afrikaans and Dutch are two separate languages, they are still very close relatives. Therefore, most people who speak Afrikaans will be able to understand Dutch. However, there are certain words that only native speakers of Afrikaans or Dutch would understand.

What is Afrikaans a mix of?

In obvious irony, the language termed Afrikaans is not indigenous to South Africa. It's a mixture of Dutch and Zulu. The language was born out of Dutch colonization in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Is Afrikaans easier than Dutch?

You might have heard that Afrikaans is related to Dutch. It is, but they're by no means identical twins! Afrikaans is its own language – and a lot easier to pick up than Dutch.

Is Afrikaans one of the hardest languages?

Afrikaans is actually quite simple to learn, and many language learners consider it one of the easiest languages to master. Most Germanic languages have two or even three genders, but Afrikaans, like English, uses a singular gender. The verb conjugations were removed, simplifying the language even further.

Is Afrikaans a white language?

Afrikaans is home language of 2.7-million white South Africans, or about six in every 10 (60.8%) white people. Next up is English, the first language of 1.6-million white South Africans.

Is Afrikaans the youngest language in the world?

The world's youngest language, coming in at only 100 years old (officially), is the South African language of Afrikaans. Surprised? Afrikaans, the natively spoken language of 7 million South Africans, was born from the white Dutch, French, and German colonizers in South Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries.

How long does it take to learn Afrikaans fluently?

How to become fluent in Afrikaans?

Start with basic vocabulary and essential phrases. Listen to podcasts in Afrikaans or Afrikaans audio courses to get familiar with the tonation. Find an Afrikaans-speaking partner through online language courses or language teaching platforms. Find free Afrikaans lessons online for extra support.

Is Afrikaans the same as Dutch?

Although Afrikaans is very similar to Dutch, it is clearly a separate language, differing from Standard Dutch in its sound system and its loss of case and gender distinctions. Afrikaans was adopted for use in schools in 1914 and in the Dutch Reformed Church in 1919.

Is Afrikaans easier than German?

The challenging. Grammar: Much like Dutch, Afrikaans grammar is a lot simpler than German. If you're someone who likes the German rules about articles, genders, etc., then you might find Afrikaans a bit frustrating.

What language is most like Afrikaans?

Unsurprisingly, Afrikaans was found to be most closely related to Dutch. When Afrikaans was compared to 361 Dutch and Frisian dialects, the South-Hollandic varieties were found to be closest to Afrikaans.

Is Afrikaans older than Dutch?

Afrikaans can trace its roots back to 17th and 18th century Dutch. The language, which is spoken in South Africa and Namibia, as well as some areas of Botswana, began to evolve independently from Dutch in the 18th century.

Do black Africans speak Afrikaans?

Most black South Africans do not speak Afrikaans, although many learn it at school.

Why is Afrikaans so hard to learn?

Afrikaans is spoken with several different accents in South Africa. Therefore, what sounds correct to one group of speakers, is foreign to another. The way Afrikaans words are pronounced depends largely upon the situation (literally and figuratively) you find yourself in.

How many people in the world understand Afrikaans?

Worldwide, Afrikaans and Dutch as native or second language are spoken by approximately 46 million people.

What percentage of Afrikaans speakers are white?

Afrikaans is home language of 2.7-million white South Africans, or about six in every 10 (60.8%) white people. Next up is English, the first language of 1.6-million white South Africans.

Is it difficult to learn Afrikaans?

Afrikaans is actually quite simple to learn, and many language learners consider it one of the easiest languages to master. Most Germanic languages have two or even three genders, but Afrikaans, like English, uses a singular gender.

Is Afrikaans a growing language?

Absolutely not. If you look at the national census data you will will see that Afrikaans is one of the fastest growing languages in South Africa. It is one of our youngest, it's around 300 years old, but it is one of the fastest growing languages. Not only as a mother tongue, but as an additional language.

Do black South African speak Afrikaans?

Most black South Africans do not speak Afrikaans, although many learn it at school. For older generations, the language still symbolises the brutality of apartheid regime and a time they would rather forget.

What is the average height of Afrikaners?

Height in South Africa

South Africa has the 76th shortest average height for women in the world (158 cm, up from 154.9 cm in 1914), while South African men are quite short, ranked 47th overall for the average height of 166.7 cm (up from 165.3 cm in 1914).

Which is easier Afrikaans or Dutch?

Afrikaans – the easiest language to learn for both English and Dutch speakers. Afrikaans, the same as English, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, is a Germanic language. This is what makes it obviously easier to learn by a native English speaker.

Can a Dutch person understand Afrikaans?

Intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans

Although Afrikaans is a daughter of Dutch, Dutch speakers might take some time to understand the language but they can understand Afrikaans. On the other hand, speakers of Afrikaans might not be able to readily comprehend the Dutch language.