I live in a place where many south africans come to work in the feilds. Recently my aunt married one of these guys. I am very close to this aunt, and live only half a mile away. I wanted to know what language many white south african people grow up speaking? This new uncle speaks english, but he has a heavy accent which sounds like a mixture of cockney, and something else I can't put my finger on. I know this sounds stupid, but I have researched south africa, and they have so many languages, I just don't know what this accent is. so I just ask what language he may have grown up speaking?

I'm no expert, but the South Africans I have met have all spoken English and Afrikaans(similar to Dutch as their first languages) and sometimes either another African language or Dutch. The South African English accent does sound weird, though. It almost sounds as if the person wasn't a native speaker.

This is the most probable.

It's also possible it might be Greek or German or Portuguese, but those are minorities among the whites. (wikipedia lists them as languages spoken among white South Africans)

Does he speak like Leo in 'Blood Diamond'? Because then I'd assume it to be Rhodesian-ish, which is like British or Scottish English mixed with Matebele, Shona, or Afrikaan.

That accent on a white guy allways makes my mouth go dry and my nipples go hard.
First time I heard it I thought it was a French Australian guy speaking very precise RP english.

Do they not speak Dutch, french, perhaps english and bascially whichever African dialect happens to be spoken in the area they're living in?

Afrikaans, that's my guess.

In South Africa, Afrikaans, English, and Zulu are the main languages spoken. Zulu mostly by blacks obviously (though there are about 8 other native African languages as well), and Afrikaans is the common language among many whites.

Afrikaans can almost be considered a dialect of Dutch, and most Dutch speakers can understand it (and vice versa, I believe).

Afrikaans can almost be considered a dialect of Dutch, and most Dutch speakers can understand it (and vice versa, I believe).

It's really funny, like a childrens version of dutch. If a 6 year old thought up all the words and then you let a drunk man pronounce it. :)

Not to offend any South Africans, it just sounds like that. :p

If anyone wants to know what it sounds like, some nice music sung in Afrikaans;
Brixton Moord en Roof Orkes (= Brixtons Murder and Plunder Orchestra)

http://home.mweb.co.za/bm/bmro/ (homepage of the band)
http://www.samp3.com/ (can find free mp3's by them here)

I remembered the band name just because it's the most badass band name in existence.

It's really funny, like a childrens version of dutch. If a 6 year old thought up all the words and then you let a drunk man pronounce it. :)

Not to offend any South Africans, it just sounds like that. :p

.

Funny. that's how portuguese sounds to me.

Funny. that's how portuguese sounds to me.

That's how Spanish sounds to me.

That's how Spanish sounds to me.

You're just biased because you associate spanish with mexican immigrants and portuguese with tanned brazilian bitches. I mean, you had a catfight with rust over whether your beloved brazil was considered latin american or not. Fza was implying that afrikaans sounds softer and more simplified than dutch. That's the relationship portuguese seems to have with spanish. Some words really do sound like child's speak to me, because it's the same word but with less letters and spoken nasally with a different intonation. But whatever, keep hating spanish because you want to be "different"

You're just biased because you associate spanish with mexican immigrants and portuguese with tanned brazilian bitches. I mean, you had a catfight with rust over whether your beloved brazil was considered latin american or not. Fza was implying that afrikaans sounds softer and more simplified than dutch. That's the relationship portuguese seems to have with spanish. Some words really do sound like child's speak to me, because it's the same word but with less letters and spoken nasally with a different intonation. But whatever, keep hating spanish because you want to be "different"

What I actually meant is if I 6 year old thought the word up. Like if you let him show something he never seen before and let him pick a name.

Example;
someone who's single, dutch: vrijgezel, zuid-afrikaans: alleenloper (literally in dutch; alone walker)

Tunnel, dutch: tunnel, Afrikaans; Duikweg (literally in dutch; dive street)

Subway; dutch: metro, Afrikaans; moltram (literally in dutch; mole tram)

You're just biased because you associate spanish with mexican immigrants and portuguese with tanned brazilian bitches. I mean, you had a catfight with rust over whether your beloved brazil was considered latin american or not. Fza was implying that afrikaans sounds softer and more simplified than dutch. That's the relationship portuguese seems to have with spanish. Some words really do sound like child's speak to me, because it's the same word but with less letters and spoken nasally with a different intonation. But whatever, keep hating spanish because you want to be "different"

That argument was about the definition of Latin America, nothing else.

And Spanish still sounds like shit in my book. There are some good variations (ie. in Spain, maybe some of the South American ones), but I find most of them to be shiiiiit.

That argument was about the definition of Latin America, nothing else.

And Spanish still sounds like shit in my book. There are some good variations (ie. in Spain, maybe some of the South American ones), but I find most of them to be shiiiiit.

ay yo ese como chaliba y conspado es home boy. mui est bueno el chupacabra.

Wait, what's that about Chupacabra?!




What I actually meant is if I 6 year old thought the word up. Like if you let him show something he never seen before and let him pick a name.

Example;
someone who's single, dutch: vrijgezel, zuid-afrikaans: alleenloper (literally in dutch; alone walker)

Tunnel, dutch: tunnel, Afrikaans; Duikweg (literally in dutch; dive street)

Subway; dutch: metro, Afrikaans; moltram (literally in dutch; mole tram)

That's really informative. You know your shit. I approve.

Its real name is 'taal' btw

And its more akin to Flemish than Modern High Dutch.

So my Afrikaaner friends tell me.

It also shares a lot with 'Plattduutch'/Friesian

Flemish isn't even a language, just a dialect of standard dutch. And the influence of frisian is minimal, Afrikaans was also influenced by other dutch dialects, like Amsterdams. (Not saying that Frisian is a dialect ofcourse)

Taal = Language, so that would be a confusing name for a certain language...

Flemish isn't even a language, just a dialect of standard dutch. And the influence of frisian is minimal, Afrikaans was also influenced by other dutch dialects, like Amsterdams. (Not saying that Frisian is a dialect ofcourse)

Taal = Language, so that would be a confusing name for a certain language...

I said it shares a lot with Frisian, not that it was influenced by it. "Flemish" isn't a dialect, more an umbrella term for all non standard Flander's dialects (Brabant and Lux too I believe).

the reason afrikaans is "childish", lacking alot of verb conjugation etc etc is because it was very much a pidgin language, the proto-afrikaners came from many parts of europe, mainly the netherlands, france, britan, and there's even some malay influence.

So if you have people speaking all these different languages left isolated and left to develop their own tongue it's bound to have a simple structure.

My mum was an affluent white South African and speaks English as her first language, fluent Afrikaans, as well as conversational Zulu, Swahili and German.

Pretty much any white South African will speak English. Whether it was spoken at home or not, it's the primary language. Most black people will know it too.

I am a white South African.

17 and in matric. I am of British heritage but was born in South Africa and have lived here all my life.

I speak English, as do most upper class South Africans, the lower classes tend to speak Afrikaans. Most blacks speak Zulu and decent Afrikaans. 11 official languages though.

OP, the uncle you refer to probably just has a South African accent. It is unique and not really related to a language in particular although the accent is probably exacerbated by being Afrikaans. The term for uncle is "oom". The pronunciation is hard to describe though.

White South African here too, in all but residency status [left to return to England last year after twelve years there]. TED666, I would hardly go as far as to say that the lower classes 'tend to' speak Afrikaans as though there's anything other than a regional effect...I'm fluent and used it in high-brow circles all the time.

But yeah, anything that needs to be said has already - majority of South Africans will know a permutation of English, Afrikaans or Zulu [then there are the esoteric ones from school like French but that's standard] - I'll agree that the South African accent does sound a bit dodgy but it's just one of those things. I'm unfortunately cursed with an Irish/South African accent. :(

Any of you south africans want to record a voice clip and post it here?


Pretty please? :)

i would love to go to south africa for the next world cup.

I don't know if you wanted to hear an example of Afrikaans or just a South African speaking English, but if it's the latter... 1 (http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=496) , 2 (http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&speakerid=2).

Ek is lief vir jou:(

south africans are douchebags

black south africans are douchebags

I know!

I know!

almost every south african I've met or encountered has been a piece of shit, and I'm talking about the white ones, I don't think I've ever met a black south african.
The accent is just plain trashy and annoying. Ugh.

I used to hang with some Saffers. But they were all Old school. So far to the right that they thought the AWB and Terreblanche were 'kaffir' lovers. The sort who refuse to speak English EVER.

(unless they're telling you how many of their ancestors died in the 'Rooinecke' concentration camps).

Good blokes though. Good men to have at your back in a bar room brawl.

Only race more pigheaded than the Taigs.

Since seeing Blood Diamond I've always wanted to talk like Danny Archer.

In my local circles everyone says 'brew' instead of 'bro' for some reason, i dunno how it started.
In blood diamond when the dude goes through leonardo dicaprios room and then leo punches him in the stomach and says "thats fer breakin my tv, brew" we could not stop laughing for a good 10 minutes.

Just to be picky, it's spelt 'bru' - it's just part of the (white) slang along with 'kiff', 'shot' and 'lekker'. No one's trying to say 'bro'...actually don't have a clue where it comes from as I wouldn't say it has an Afrikaans root - closest thing is 'boet' which is brother.

That was a pretty goddamned funny line in Blood Diamond, nonetheless. :D

That accent on a white guy allways makes my mouth go dry and my nipples go hard.


This just made my night.

Just to be picky, it's spelt 'bru' - it's just part of the (white) slang along with 'kiff', 'shot' and 'lekker'. No one's trying to say 'bro'...actually don't have a clue where it comes from as I wouldn't say it has an Afrikaans root - closest thing is 'boet' which is brother.

lekker bru

I live in a place where many south africans come to work in the feilds.

I call bullshit. White south africans can only watch other people in work in fields.

Lekker, means tasty/delicious in dutch. Rare afrikaners.

I wanna hear more translations of silly afrikaans words like mole train!

I'll see if I can find some more. There were some incredibly funny ones, used in a dutch commercial. *looks for it*

Dutch, most likely. Have him say "Big beer glass". It'll make you crack up.

Or garage. Or girraffe

I'm South African. You get two types of white South Africans; English and Afrikaans. Afrikaaners are, on the whole, a bunch of white trash and it isn't called 'taal'. Tall is just the Afrikaans word for language.

White South African... Don't have an accent anymore.

Anyone for a zol?