Speak Afrikaans? Here Are 10 Facts That Make You A True Afrikaner

At the south-most point of the African continent lies the Boers who are popularly known as Afrikaners. They speak Afrikaans, a language that has been considered most beautiful and easy to learn by most of its admirers. It is a language that’s spoken mainly in South Africa, and partly in Namibia as well as other Anglo-phonic countries. It is the youngest language to emerge in Africa and it is currently being spoken by about six million people — mostly South African Natives and some people from Namibia. For the sake of brevity, let’s look at the 10 things that make you an Afrikaner:

Here are 10 Things That Make You An Afrikaner

1. If whatever you speak is a mixture of English, Dutch, German, French and some South African language like Xhosa, then you’re speaking Afrikaans. To check on this, just try to say ‘How is he’ in your language. If it comes out as ‘Hoe gan dit’, then you don’t need a second confirmation on whether you’re an Afrikaner or not.

Afrikaan
image credit: wikihow.com

2. If your language doesn’t contain letters C and Q, you can start considering yourself an Afrikaner as soon as you can. In Afrikaans, letter C is replaced by a K for a hard C, and an S for a soft C. Similarly, Q is generally replaced by a KW. For instance, instead of writing Qwagga, you’ll be writing Kwagga if you’re an Afrikaner.

3. For married couples, if your first-born son is named after his paternal grandfather, or your first-born daughter is named after her maternal grandmother, then the two of you are typical Afrikaners. The same applies when your first-born brother is named after your father’s dad, or when your first-born sister is named after your mother’s mum.

See Also: 10 Easy Ways to Identify a True South African 

4. When you’re accustomed to greeting people with a handshake; or preferentially, greeting your friends and relatives with a kiss on the lips. This is a common practice among Afrikaner women when they’re greeting both their male and female friends or relatives. Men, on the other hand, are only allowed to kiss their female friends or relatives but not the male ones. After the greeting and the conversation part, both parties generally utter the word ‘ totsiens’ (until we meet again) as they take leave.

Afrikaan1

5. If you’ve ever worn a short with knee socks, then don’t bother to ask if you’re an Afrikaner or not. The same goes for women who wear bonnets and long dresses for vorkspele — formal fork dancing, or their male counterparts who put on skirts with long pants and vests during the dance.

See also
What Is Lobola? The Meaning, Process and How to Write Lobola Negotiations Letter

6. Another easy way to tell if you’re an Afrikaner or not is to look at the labour force. When there’s division of labour and most of the women in your community are specialized in knitting, crocheting and quilting, then You are an Afrikaner. In addition, men, on the other hand, should be somewhere doing some wood-working or delicate leather-working for their hobby.

7. If your teachers and parents liked to use the trite “idleness is Satan’s pillow” most of the time, then they were trying to confirm your true identity — you’re an Afrikaner. This is a statement that most parents or teachers use while raising their children to encourage them to work hard. As a result, most Afrikaners are generally industrious and hard-working.

8. You are an Afrikaan when the bulk of what you eat on a daily basis consists of starch, meat and cooked vegetables. In addition, you are an Afrikaner if your breakfast mainly features some special kind of porridge called putu pap or stywe pap. This porridge is normally taken together with boerowers ( Boer’s sausage — made from pork and meat). Other cuisines that confirm an Afrikaner include Sosaties and Bobotie.

9. You’re an Afrikaner if you took some catechism class at sixteen to learn the basics of Calvinism Protestantism. This is usually done to confirm a young person as a fortified member of the church. After this, you’ll be qualified to take your first communion. Additionally, parents normally allow their children to start dating at the age of sixteen.

10. Another effective way to tell if you’re Afrikaan is to try to recall your engagement, or go ahead and have one. If after your courtship you still have to go and ask your parents for a permission to engage a girl or get engaged, then you’re definitely an Afrikaner. Furthermore, you will be required to submit both your name and your spouse’s name to the pastor so that it can be read in front of the congregation for three consecutive Sundays before you can proceed with your wedding plans. This is normally done to check if there’s any objection, but, in our case, it confirms that you are a true Afrikaner.

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Andile Smith
Andile Smith
Andile provides articles on anything from Politics, Sports, History and entertainment to funny, creepy and weird. His passion for writing allows him to take what is ordinary and transform it into a real masterpiece. He's a true storyteller with a passion for tech and literature

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