Two of the eleven official languages in South Africa are English and Afrikaans. Afrikaans,
also known as Cape Dutch, is a language that developed from Dutch dialects spoken in
the 17th century and is largely spoken in the western and southern regions of the nation.
"Ek had 'n baie lekker dag," for instance, might be written in Afrikaans. In English, this
means "I had a really good day." If a variety is spoken by a particular group of speakers
who (as a result of their own choice or by law) intermarry within their community and
maintain their own usages, then these speakers can later come to regard themselves as a
separate society. It is also possible for this group to be regarded as a unit by members of
other social groups. The group will itself (or in the eyes of other people) develop its own
dialect (or ethnolect).
In South Africa we have two official languages which are often used in different situations
and most speakers know at least these two languages. An Afrikaans speaker tends to use
English in restaurants and in certain shops; an English speaker tends to speak Afrikaans
when speaking to a government official. This is not diglossia but cod2 - the shift from one
language to another according to the demands of the situation. A diglossic situation
demands that the speakers must agree (a convention must arise) that the one variety is a
formal of high language and that the other is an informal or low language. This situation
definitely does not exist in South Africa today.
During the development of Afrikaans, however, a diglossic situation did exist: Afrikaans
was spoken at home while Dutch was the written language and spoken in official
situations. In South Africa, so-called "Coloured Afrikaans" is regarded as an ethnic dialect
although many features of this ethnolect also occur in the Afrikaans of other ethnic groups,
and the Coloureds do not form a clear social group.
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