Af·ri·kaans
ˌa-fri-ˈkän(t)s 
ˌä-,
-ˈkänz,
ˈa-fri-ˌkän(t)s,
ˈä-,
-ˌkänz
: a language developed from 17th century Dutch that is one of the official languages of the Republic of South Africa
: of or relating to Afrikaners or Afrikaans
Examples of Afrikaans in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Caroline Linton, CBS News, 15 May 2025
Multiple people, including human rights lawyers, immigration academics, civil rights activists and a Democratic senator, have criticized President Donald Trump for giving white Afrikaans from South Africa refugee status.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
The Malay language was then supplanted by Cape Dutch, a precursor to Afrikaans.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 7 Dec. 2024
The title beast’s intermittent narration shifts at various points from Afrikaans to the Namibian Bantu language Mbukushu to Castilian, often accompanied by his fellow hippos grunting and mooing.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2024
The 1976 uprising in Soweto over the use of Afrikaans in schools touched off 15 months of rioting around the country that claimed more than 600 lives.
—Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 3 Jan. 2024
These days, the producer still communicates with her mom on a daily basis in her native language of Afrikaans.
—Jenna Wang, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023
The Soweto Uprising Around 20,000 students from schools in the Soweto area of Johannesburg protested against a mandate that local schools teach in Afrikaans.
—Foreign Affairs, 28 Dec. 2015
In June of 1976, when Kumi was ten, thousands of black students gathered in Soweto—the famous township near Johannesburg—to protest the government’s decree that Afrikaans would be a compulsory language in public schools.
—Abe Streep, Outside Online, 13 Mar. 2015
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Noun
In addition to English, Afrikaners have their own language, Afrikaans, which has its roots in Dutch and is one of the 12 official languages of South Africa.
—Caroline Linton, CBS News, 15 May 2025
Multiple people, including human rights lawyers, immigration academics, civil rights activists and a Democratic senator, have criticized President Donald Trump for giving white Afrikaans from South Africa refugee status.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
The Malay language was then supplanted by Cape Dutch, a precursor to Afrikaans.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 7 Dec. 2024
The title beast’s intermittent narration shifts at various points from Afrikaans to the Namibian Bantu language Mbukushu to Castilian, often accompanied by his fellow hippos grunting and mooing.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2024
The 1976 uprising in Soweto over the use of Afrikaans in schools touched off 15 months of rioting around the country that claimed more than 600 lives.
—Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 3 Jan. 2024
These days, the producer still communicates with her mom on a daily basis in her native language of Afrikaans.
—Jenna Wang, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023
The Soweto Uprising Around 20,000 students from schools in the Soweto area of Johannesburg protested against a mandate that local schools teach in Afrikaans.
—Foreign Affairs, 28 Dec. 2015
In June of 1976, when Kumi was ten, thousands of black students gathered in Soweto—the famous township near Johannesburg—to protest the government’s decree that Afrikaans would be a compulsory language in public schools.
—Abe Streep, Outside Online, 13 Mar. 2015
Cite this Entry
“Afrikaans.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Afrikaans. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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