Can afrikaaners understand Dutch?

Intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans Although Afrikaans is a daughter of Dutch, Dutch speakers might take some time to understand the language but they can understand Afrikaans. On the other hand, speakers of Afrikaans might not be able to readily comprehend the Dutch language.

What are Dutch people called in South Africa?

Afrikaners
Boer, (Dutch: “husbandman,” or “farmer”), a South African of Dutch, German, or Huguenot descent, especially one of the early settlers of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Today, descendants of the Boers are commonly referred to as Afrikaners.

Did Dutch settlers in South Africa speak Afrikaans?

Afrikaans language, also called Cape Dutch, West Germanic language of South Africa, developed from 17th-century Dutch, sometimes called Netherlandic, by the descendants of European (Dutch, German, and French) colonists, indigenous Khoisan peoples, and African and Asian slaves in the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good …

Does Suriname speak Dutch?

Suriname. Suriname has many local languages but Dutch is used as a language for different groups to communicate. It is the language of government and education, even though it may only be the mother tongue of about 60\% of the population (475, 000). Most speak Sranan, an English based creole.

How many people speak Dutch in South Africa?

The older generation mainly speaks the language. An offshoot of Dutch, Afrikaans, is spoken in South Africa where it has approximately 7 million native speakers and around 10 million people who use as a second language. With more than 28 million speakers spread over three continents Dutch is one of the most widely spoken languages.

Where are Dutch speakers in the world?

There are significant numbers of Dutch speakers in France, Germany, Canada, the United States and Indonesia. Additionally, one of the official languages of South Africa is Afrikaans — an offshoot of Dutch.

Can the Dutch speak English like Timmermans?

For the Dutch, though, it’s all about trying to speak English like Frans Timmermans (deputy president of the European commission), explains Edwards, who polled hundreds of native Dutch speakers as part of her 2014 thesis English in the Netherlands. Functions, forms and attitudes.

How similar is Dutch to other languages?

Dutch is similar to both English and German and shares some grammatical structures from the two languages. It is the third most spoken language in Europe after English and German languages.