Author: Adam Oellermann
Date: 01:04:32 06/13/01
Go up one level in this thread
Hi Jeroen >"Backwards" is not the right world, it sounds very "childlike", mainly because >the simplifications in Afrikaans: e.g. all verbs aren't conjugated. >So in Dutch -ik heb, jij hebt, hij heeft, wij hebben....- etc. becomes in >Afrikaans -ik heb, jij heb, hij heb, wij heb... Furthermore no noun seems to >have a gender, so het huis, de stoel, het venster, it's all die huis, die stoel, >die vfenster (or something like that:)) etc. > >So the language seems to be built up more phonetically, and more resembling >primary sounds, and that seems to concur with the development of the language. > >But it may sound like child talk, all the grown up wisdom is available :)) : >"Om doeltreffend te lieg, moenie die waarheid heeltemaal omdraai nie: hou hom >skuins." Afrikaans seems to have been trimmed down to size in the late 1800s/early 1900s. This was done intentionally, by a team of linguists and other experts, to put together a language that was modern, easy to learn and speak and would give the Afrikaans people an identity of their own. I am very grateful for this, as Afrikaans lessons at school would've been a nightmare with conjugations and declensions and gender added! The exercise seems to have succeeded, as more people in South Africa can speak Afrikaans than can speak English. Eintlik nog 'n rooinek soos ek kan 'n bietjie van die taal praat! Regards Adam
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.