Patagonian Afrikaans
| Patagonian Afrikaans | |
|---|---|
| Patagoniese Afrikaans | |
| Native to | Argentina |
| Region | |
| Ethnicity | Boer Argentines |
Native speakers | (undated figure of <600) |
| Revival | [1] |
Early forms | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| IETF | af-u-sd-aru |
Patagonian Afrikaans is a form of Afrikaans brought to Argentina by Boer immigrants following the Second Boer War (1899–1902).[2]
Today, there are still Afrikaans-speaking communities with a well established cultural identity.[3]
History
[edit]Afrikaans was brought to Patagonia in 1902 by approximately 600-650 Boers following their defeat in the Second Boer War.[4] An Argentine delegation visited South Africa around the turn of the century and published advertisements in newspapers in Bloemfontein, Philipstown, and Burgersdorp to encourage Afrikaner immigration to Chubut.[5] Many of them firstly settled in Comodoro Rivadavia, but later relocated to Sarmiento, as it had better access to fresh water. Many of these colonists' descendants still speak Afrikaans and continue to attend the Dutch Reformed Church.[6] An early arrival described the territory as "painfully discouraging: bare ridges, with huge limestone rocks scattered around, threatening to tumble down. Yes, the coast was so unattractive that one might think that this part of the creation was still incomplete, and the bare mountains were heaps of sand which were left over when the Creator - with respect - had completed His task."[7] Very few people under the age of sixty still speak Afrikaans, but it has been retained by third-generation descendants; this shift is believed to have been encouraged by intermarriage, increased immigration by Spanish speakers during the 1950s for economic reasons,[8] and the suggestion by South African journalists that Afrikaner-Argentines were less-than.[9]
Characteristics
[edit]The word nege (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈniəχə]), meaning "nine" in Afrikaans, is pronounced with a hard "g" as [ˈniəgə]).
Some words also differ completely, some of which were adapted in the twenty-first century. For example, airport in Afrikaans is lughawe, which is a word that did not exist when the first Boers settled in Argentina. In Patagonia, the word for airport is vliegtuigstasie (lit. 'aeroplane station').[10] Other examples are listed below.
| Patagonian Afrikaans | Standard Afrikaans | Standard Dutch | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| vliegtuigstasie | lughawe | luchthaven | airport |
| kapok | sneeu | sneeuw | snow |
| kapokpop | sneeuman | sneeuwman, sneeuwpop | snowman |
| leermeester | onderwyser | leraar | teacher |
| mister | meneer | meneer | mister |
| goewerment | regering | regering | government |
| juts | regter | rechter | judge |
| operasiedokter | chirurg | chirurg | surgeon |
| maalbolletjie | frikkadel | gehaktbal | meatball |
| camión | bakkie | vrachtwagen | truck |
| sí | ja | ja | yes |
References
[edit]- ^ "An almost-extinct Afrikaans dialect is making an unlikely comeback in Argentina". Quartz. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
- ^ Szpiech, Ryan (18 September 2020). "Afrikaans in Patagonia: Language shift and cultural integration in a rural immigrant community". De Gruyter. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ Henriksen, Nicholas (2018). From Africa to Patagonia: Voices of displacement.
- ^ Alberto, Paulina L. "The Other Afro-Argentines: Racial Stories Among the South African Community of Patagonia in the 20th Century" (PDF). Retrieved 6 May 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Fig, D. (1991). "Proletarianisation or Patagonia: Reassessing the Rationale for the Afrikaner Migration to Argentina, 1902–6". Social Dynamics. 17 (2): 103–125.
- ^ Van den Berg, Sam. "South Africans in Patagonia". Van den Berg Family in South Africa. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ Jacobs, A.J.J. (1934). Reisavonture onder die Boere in Argentinie (2nd ed.). Pretoria: van Schaik.
- ^ a b Coetzee, Andries W.; Henriksen, Nicholas; Garcia-Amaya, Lorenzo (2024). "Patagonian Afrikaans: A Remnant Variety Spoken in South America". In Carstens, Wannie A.M. (ed.). Afrikaans Linguistics: Contemporary Perspectives. Stellenbosch: African SUN Media. pp. 501–530. ISBN 9781991260512.
- ^ Szpiech, Ryan; Shapero, Joshua; Coetzee, Andries W.; García-Amaya, Lorenzo; Alberto, Paulina; Langland, Victoria; Johandes, Ellie; Henriksen, Nicholas (2020-11-01). "Afrikaans in Patagonia: Language shift and cultural integration in a rural immigrant community". International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 2020 (266): 33–54. doi:10.1515/ijsl-2020-2110. ISSN 1613-3668.
- ^ "An almost-extinct Afrikaans dialect is making an unlikely comeback in Argentina". Quartz. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 2024-06-08.