Afrikaans literature

Afrikaans literature is literature written in Afrikaans. Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch and is spoken by the majority of people in the Western Cape of South Africa and among Afrikaners and mixed race South Africans in other parts of South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Afrikaans used to be one of the two official languages of South Africa, (the other was English,) but it currently shares the status of an "official language" with ten other languages.

During Apartheid, in particular since the 1960s, Afrikaans literature formed one of the strongest forces in opposition to the status quo, and most acclaimed Afrikaans authors challenged the National Party government's domestic and foreign policies. Afrikaans authors were also instrumental in negotiating a transfer of power with the African National Congress.

Afrikaans literature is currently one of the strongest literatures in South Africa, and includes a vibrant collection of poetry, prose and drama, while many Afrikaans authors have been translated into other languages. Afrikaans authors of note include André P. Brink, Breyten Breytenbach, N.P. van Wyk Louw, Deon Meyer, Dalene Matthee, Hennie Aucamp, Joan Hambidge, Ingrid Jonker and Deon Opperman.

History

Afrikaans can claim the same literary roots as contemporary Dutch, as both languages stem from 17th-century Dutch. One of the oldest examples of written Cape Dutch is the poem Lied ter eere van de Swellendamsche en diverse andere helden bij de bloedige actie aan Muizenberg in dato 7 Aug. 1795 (English: Song in Honour of the Swellendam and various others Heroes at the Bloody Action at Muizenberg)[1] while the earliest Afrikaans publications are generally believed to be Zamenspraak tusschen Klaas Waarzegger en Jan Twyfelaar (English: Conversations between Klaas Waarzegger and Jan Twyfelaar) by L.H. Meurant in 1861 and Uiteensetting van die godsdiens (English: Exposition of the Religion) by Abu Bakr Effendi in Arabic Afrikaans in 1877.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bettina Baron; Helga Kotthoff (12 April 2002). "Chapter 2 - Afrikaner nationalism and the discovery of the vernacular". Language Standardization and Language Change: The Dynamics of Cape Dutch (Pragmatics & Beyond New). John Benjamins Pub Co. p. 45. ISBN 90-272-1857-9.
  2. ↑ Kriger, Robert (1996). "The Genesis of Afrikaans". Afrikaans literature: recollection, redefinition, restitution : papers held at the 7th Conference on South African Literature at the Protestant Academy, Bad Boll. Rodopi. p. 51.

External links

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