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
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
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 7 May. 2025.
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