"The Dutch are a very practical people."
Famke Janssen
Are you a fluent Afrikaans speaker? If you are, you may as well consider learning Dutch too. If you have ever heard someone speak Dutch, you would realise how many similarities the Dutch language has with the Afrikaans language that you grew up learning and speaking. Listening to Dutch being spoken doesn't sound so strange to someone who is familiar with Afrikaans.
In fact, both Afrikaans and Dutch are West Germanic languages. Should you be interested in learning the Dutch language, you need to know how Afrikaans and Dutch are similar and what sets the two languages apart. As it has been said that the Dutch are very practical people, the Dutch language is very practical to learn if you already know how to hold a conversation in Afrikaans. The more words you already know in Afrikaans, the easier it will be to grasp Dutch.
Thankfully, Afrikaans is still taught as a First Additional Language in most schools across South Africa, so most South Africans will be full capable of using their knowledge of Afrikaans to latch onto the Dutch language.
We aim to tell you everything that you need to know about learning Dutch as an Afrikaans-speaking South African. We also know how beneficial learning this European language will be in the long run.
All About Learning Dutch as an Afrikaans Speaker
So, is it hard to learn Dutch if you know Afrikaans?
If you look at the roots of certain Afrikaans words, you'll find that many of those words have been derived from the Dutch language. In fact, about 90% of Afrikaans vocabulary has its roots in Dutch.
A Dutch speaking person will rather easily be able to follow a conversation in Afrikaans. It will take a little work for an Afrikaans speaking individual to make sense of everything being said by a Dutch speaking person. However, the sooner you start looking at the Dutch language, the easier it will be for you to follow along when you hear people speaking Dutch.
You may be wondering that if Dutch and Afrikaans are so similar, why it is necessary to still spend time learning the Dutch language? Well, the operative word is similar.
While Afrikaans is similar to Dutch, it is in no way the same as Dutch.
While Western colonisers brought Dutch to the Cape, the Afrikaans language that South Africans now acknowledge as one of the official languages of the country is a mixture of Dutch, German, French, and Indonesian.
It is the fact that Afrikaans is an amalgamation of languages that can be credited with setting the South African official language apart from the language spoken by the Dutch.
As an Afrikaans speaker, it will be far easier for you to work through written Dutch, because it resembles Afrikaans considerably. However, learning how to speak Dutch may take slightly more time.
The Difference Between Afrikaans and Dutch
It can be said that Afrikaans and Dutch are two beads on the same thread. While the two beads do share, the same thread, each bead is unique in its own way. The main difference between Afrikaans and Dutch is the way that words are pronounced.
Afrikaans is the language that is known for its highly guttural pronunciation. Afrikaans requires the speaker to focus on pronouncing consonants, while Dutch speakers focus on articulating vowels.
Dutch has a slightly softer pronunciation of certain vowels than Afrikaans. So, you will find that words with common spellings will sound very different when pronounced in Dutch and Afrikaans.
Aside from the distinct sound system, both languages are entirely different from each other in terms of certain vocabulary and grammatical features.
Afrikaans shakes off some of the stringent grammatical rules that the Dutch language adheres to.
Afrikaans is a language that has many borrowed words from other languages, and this is the reason certain Dutch words and the process of sentence construction in the Dutch language seem highly different than the sentence construction in Afrikaans. Afrikaans has dismissed certain gender related grammatical rules and the language does not stick to utilising the same verb conjugation as Dutch.
Another way the Afrikaans language differs from Dutch is in terms of cultural differences. The Dutch language is the main language of Netherlands whereas Afrikaans is only one of the official languages of South Africa. Therefore, Dutch is a language that holds significant importance in the lives of the people living in the Netherlands. While Afrikaans is not the most predominant language spoken in South Africa, it does have a rich history and backstory. Afrikaans is one of the languages that is part of the core fabric of South African history.
As much as Afrikaans and Dutch are two entirely different beads on the same string, there are some noticeable similarities between the two languages that you will come to learn right off the bat. It is these subtle similarities between the two languages that will make you feel right at home when you decide to take a Dutch language class in South Africa.
How Similar is Dutch to Afrikaans?
While Dutch is not the same as Afrikaans, there are some undeniable similarities. The most obvious similarity between the two languages is that some words look alike. Here is a list of words that you will recognise almost immediately if you know Afrikaans:
- Hallo - Hallo (hello)
- Tot ziens - Tot siens (good bye)
- Dank je wel - Dankie (thank you)
- Kaartje - Kaartjie (card)
- Goedemorgen- Goeie Môre (good morning)
- Ja- Ja (yes)
- Nee- Nee (no)
- Pas op - Pas op (watch out)
- Hoeveel kost het? - Hoeveel is dit? (how much is it?)
- Hoe gaat het? - Hoe gaan dit? (how is it going?)
As an Afrikaans speaker, you will find it effortless to master certain Dutch words. While you might find the pronunciation strange at first, you will eventually get the hang of it. If you are interested in finding out more of words in the Dutch language that are rather similar to Afrikaans words, read our other articles in this series.
The other similarity between the two languages is that both languages have adapted over the years to include borrowed words from other languages. Dutch too borrows certain words from English as does Afrikaans.
How Long Will it Take to Learn Dutch if You Already Know Afrikaans?
It will take you longer to learn Dutch if you know basic Afrikaans or if you don't know Afrikaans at all. It is much easier to learn Afrikaans than it is to learn Dutch, so it makes a big difference if you decide to learn Dutch when you are already fluent in Afrikaans. It will take approximately 10 weeks to learn how to speak, write, and read in Dutch if you already know Afrikaans. However, 10 weeks is merely an estimate of how long it will take you to grasp the language. You might take longer to learn Dutch if you are working towards being proficient in the language.
There are many Dutch courses offered for South Africans and the Stellenbosch University also offers self-paced Dutch for beginners' lessons. However, we would suggest that you consider learning the language with a private qualified Dutch tutor. On the Superprof site you will find many expert Dutch speakers offering private Dutch tutorial classes throughout South Africa. You can decide whether you would like to take face-to-face Dutch lessons or whether you would rather opt for online lessons. The advantage of choosing to take lessons with a private Dutch tutor is the ability to learn the language at your own pace and at a time that is most convenient for you.
If you are a linguistics student, you may want to consider learning the Dutch language to see just how cool languages that share the same roots, but have different branches can be.
Besides you already know Afrikaans so why not learn to speak the language that has contributed so greatly to its existence?
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