History & Culture

Afrikaans is one of the native languages of South Africa that is, however, spoken mostly by the Dutch settlers in the country. The language is made up of both Bantu, Malay, Portuguese and Khoisan languages, but an estimated 90 to 95% of its vocabulary is of Dutch origin. It came about as a result of the migration and subsequent settlement of the Dutch in the area known today as South...

Johannesburg, also known as the City of Gold, Jo'burg, eGoli, or Jozi, is the largest city in South Africa. In a recent survey conducted by Conde Nast Traveler magazine in August 2014, Johannesburg was named world's unfriendliest city. Despite being the economic and cultural hub of South Africa, and being one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it was voted unfriendly due to the city's serious concerns...

With South Africa, there is always an issue to contend with. From apartheid to democracy and now its xenophobia. Before 1994, foreigners faced violence and discrimination especially from the institutionalized racism of apartheid. At the end of apartheid, we expected peace to reign and it did for a while until the xenophobic attacks began to intensify, rather than diminish. Although there are no appropriate records, the South African bigotry-related attacks began...

If you are travelling to South Africa, or you are just interested in knowing a little more about the land of Mandela, it is important to acquaint yourself with some of the commonest slang terms and phrases the people of that great nation use in everyday conversations. As such, this article highlights some 15 slang phrases you should know in South Africa, so you do not get embarrassed by misinterpreting...

Either stressed or offended, South Africans are kind of programmed every day with plenty opportunities to get angry. Anger is never without a reason, anybody can get angry as it's increasingly quite easier to be annoyed. However, being angered for the right reason(s), with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way is difficult and have pioneered avoidable crisis. As...