We have noticed that there is a fourth language starting to show up in our language maze - that is Afrikaans. Since Michael and I arrived in Namibia we have both been reluctant to learn Afrikaans, for historical/political reasons. Despite the fact that I find it neither a beautiful nor an attractive language, I thought it would be politically incorrect to speak Afrikaans. However, for our surprise, Afrikaans is probably Windhoek's most widely spoken language. So even though English is the official language at Julia's school, we have already noticed a few words in Afrikaans. So I am taking the opportunity to review our language diagram and bring this question to our multilingual experience - will Julia, differently than her parents, speak Afrikaans? (and is it time for us to stop being lazy and learn as well?)
1 comment:
Don't tarnish the language (Afrikaans) with the brush of some of its speakers. Afrikaans is an important language in Namibia and is also the first language of many black and coloured communities in South Africa - it doesn't belong to whites just like English doesn't belong to the British. Speaking Afrikaans allows for an easy transition to Dutch and also a good base for German. And Afrikaans can be very earthy and expressive!
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