Find your private tutor in Afrikaans in Johannesburg

Afrikaans Lessons in Johannesburg       

Goeie môre! Hoe gaan dit?

No, this isn’t Greek or Urdu – it is actually one of the most common ways in which speakers of Afrikaans greet one another. You would be surprised that this is an expression which you will not only hear in South Africa and in some of its neighbours, but actually anywhere in the world where is a large concentration of expats – Atlanta, London, Melbourne, Dubai and even Paraguay.

Living in Johannesburg will, in all likelihood, bring you into contact with many Afrikaans speakers. So, if you want to be invited to a ‘braai’, you’d do well to brush up on what some call the beautiful language. Many rave about how expressive Afrikaans is and how words very aptly describe things.

Learning a new language shouldn’t be difficult, particularly Afrikaans, which is regarded by many to be an easy language to learn since it, for example, only has three tenses, compared to 12 in English.

Afrikaans in the World

The youngest official language in the world, Afrikaans is an off-shoot of Dutch and was brought to these shores in the late 17th century, when the Dutch first set foot here to establish a refreshment station for voyagers to the East. The Dutch East India Company built a fort, and later a castle, to supply their passing ships with fresh provisions. To communicate and trade with locals, they had to create or set up a language which would be understood by both them and the local inhabitants. Over time, this language evolved into Afrikaans, also known as Cape Dutch. The language also has traces of French, Yiddish, Malay and other languages. Very interestingly, English and Afrikaans have very similar roots, both descending from a blending of West Nether-Frankish dialects. If it hadn't been for the invasions of the Vikings and the Norman-French, Brits would today be speaking a language very similar to Afrikaans. The similarity between the two languages was acutely experienced by J.R.R. Tolkien (writer of Lord of the Rings) when he sojourned in Scotland.

The sentences below show how close the two languages are:

• My stories begin as letters.
• My pen is in my warm hand

Both sentences read and mean exactly the same thing in both languages. You’ll soon discover that, if English is your framework of reference, the way Afrikaans words are sounded can help you spell an English word.

Some famous Afrikaans speakers, spread around the globe, are Trevor Noah and Charlize Theron in the USA. and J.M. Coetzee (writer, 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate) in Australia. So, you would really be in good company if you were to learn to speak Afrikaans!

Find an Afrikaans Tutor in Johannesburg

To be able to express yourself confidently, you will have to get the better of pronunciation, accent, oral comprehension and Afrikaans expression. Depending on your personal circumstances, this may help you communicate and advance in a professional setting where Afrikaans is the predominant language.

Many job opportunities may open up to you as a result of your knowledge of Afrikaans.These include:

• Court translator
• Translating Afrikaans to English or vice versa
• Tour guide
• Afrikaans teacher/ lecturer
• Editing/ journalism

Although there are many reasons to learn or study Afrikaans, it would be remiss not to point out that it can also be great fun.

Afrikaans will open you up to a community of Afrikaans speakers who will enrich your experience of the language and the place you find yourself in innumerable ways. They will soon have you speaking Afrikaans like a native!

How to Find a Tutor

Old-fashion methods, like newspaper ads and community notices, seldom find traction today.  While word of mouth is still a powerful medium, it has limited reach. The Internet is very often the medium chosen to research ... well, virtually anything.

Your Google entry ‘Afrikaans tutor Johannesburg’ would reward you with several pages of websites that would be of interest to you. The Internet is abundant with references to ‘Afrikaans classes near me’, covering all four corners of Egoli.

A search for Afrikaans lessons at post-matric level could bring you to the School of Literature, Language and Media (SLLM) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). Its staff is reputed to be experienced and highly qualified and would develop your spoken, transcription and translation skills.

Students are exposed to Afrikaans on three levels in two 40-hour sessions which could lead to a Certificate of Competence or Attendance, for those not taking a written test.

How to Choose a Tutor in Johannesburg

If you need assistance in Afrikaans, would definitely benefit from Afrikaans lessons with a tutor. A native speaker would, no doubt, be the ideal choice.

In this instance, location is a key consideration if you or your tutor has to travel. This would also determine the conditions under which you will study and can hamper or support your learning. If you would like to study in central Johannesburg, you would seek out a location close to a public transport node or a venue such as a library.

Price would also be an important factor if your budget is constrained. The services of a very experienced or highly qualified tutor, who could help you achieve and advanced level of proficiency in Afrikaans, would cost considerably more than those of a less-qualified tutor. If you need to revise for an examination or require help with homework, then a fellow student should be able to satisfy your need. Of course, there are also an abundance of teachers, who have day-to-day encounters with Afrikaans, the subject, and learners. Their experience could be invaluable to you if you’re still at school, because they would know the demands of your curriculum – a very important factor.

Another important consideration is the relationship that you have with your tutor. This is key and thankfully (in your favour) many tutors offer the first lesson free. Superprof is one such service where tutors operate in this way. It gives you, the student, an opportunity to see how well you and the tutor would get along. There’s no time to waste – get onto the ‘net and locate that tutor so gou as moontlik. Daar is nie tyd om te mors nie.