Abstract

BREED, Adri. The development of Afrikaans linguistics as an academic discipline. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2025, vol.65, n.1, pp.112-132. ISSN 2224-7912.  https://doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2025/v65n1a6.

The development of Afrikaans linguistics as a scientific field has been documented in various sources, but the majority of these were published over thirty years ago. In an attempt to provide a more accurate assessment of the evolution of Afrikaans linguistics into a contemporaryfield, an updated description is needed that outlines recent progress, challenges, and the current status of this discipline. The aim of this article is to provide a diachronic overview of the development of Afrikaans linguistics from its inception to the present day. The greater part of the research outlined in this article consists of a literature review involving various sources, and exploring different perspectives to the development of Afrikaans linguistics. A diachronic perspective traces the historical progression of the field; a canonical approach highlights key publications and influential linguists who had made significant contributions; and a thematic approach focuses on various sub-disciplines and areas within Afrikaans linguistics. My aim in this article is to synthesise these different perspectives from various sources while simultaneously tracing the development of Afrikaans linguistics from the 17th century to the present. GS Nienaber 's (1934) book Oor die Afrikaanse taal: 'n Bydrae oor sy ontwikkeling na aanleiding van enkele versterkingswyses (On the Afrikaans Language: A contribution to its development based on some reinforcement methods) is the earliest comprehensive source providing an historical overview of the development of Afrikaans linguistics. Published nearly a century ago, this book describes the establishment of Afrikaans linguistics as a distinctfield of study. Nienaber (1934:22-23) suggests that the growth of Afrikaans linguistics reflects the evolution of Afrikaans as a language, which, according to him, can be categorised into four phases up to 1930: (i) 1657 to 1775, (ii) 1775 to 1875, (iii) 1875 to 1900, and (iv) 1900 to "today" (referring to the publication date of the book). Nienaber 's timeline ends around 1940, and in this article, I argue that three additional phases in the development of Afrikaans can be identified: (v) 1940-1994, (vi) 1994-2005, and (vii) 2005 to the present. The first phase (1657-1775) represents the formative years of Afrikaans, a period during which differences between Dutch used in the Cape Colony and Dutch used in Europe began to become noticeable. The available sources from this period shedding light on the history of the development of Afrikaans are mainly reports used by Dutch officials in the Cape Colony and other communities, including the language spoken by enslaved individuals during the colonial era, and texts written during this period by the coloured community of the Western Cape. In the second phase (1775-1875), a burgeoning Afrikaans language identity can be observed, with growing interest in Afrikaans, likely due to the British authorities' emphasis on anglicisation during this period. Some sources, such as Changuion's (1844) book De Nederduitsche Taal in Zuid-Afrika (The Dutch Language in South Africa) and Lichtenstein 's (1811) Reisen im Südlich Afrika in den Jahren 1803, 1804, 1805 und 1806 (Travels in South Africa in the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806) describe unique Afrikaans words and expressions. These are representative of the beginning of linguistic research focusing specifically on Afrikaans as an object of study. In the third phase (1875-1900), the first real documentation of Afrikaans occurs. This period sees speakers of the language gradually becoming aware of the language and the origin of a separate, autonomous, and recognised language. Such language awareness directly led to the so-called "first Afrikaans language movement," particularly realised through the establishment of the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners (GRA). According to Nienaber (1934:22-23), the fourth phase (1900-1940) marks the real beginning of Afrikaans linguistics as a distinctfield of study - and not merely a subset of Dutch or Germanic studies. This period also saw the so-called "second language movement", with a number of important grammar sources appearing that discuss the structure of the Afrikaans language. These sources have served as standard linguistic works on Afrikaans for many years. Phase five (1940-1994) can be seen as the institutionalisation of Afrikaans linguistics, marking the period when systematic linguistic studies, both in and about Afrikaans were initiated, indicating a new phase in the development of Afrikaans linguistics. During the period 1940-1994 South Africa was characterised by significant socio-political changes, including the implementation of Apartheid, a system of institutional racial segregation that lasted from 1948 until the early 1990s, and the subsequent transition to a new democratic government in 1994. With the advent of the National Party's coming into power in 1948, concrete efforts were made at the national level to promote Afrikaans as a spoken, cultural, and official language. Therefore, this was a period in which various normative sources addressing issues of "language purity, " as well as comprehensive sources outlining various aspects of Afrikaans's grammatical structure, emerged. In the course of the sixth phase (1994-2005), the publication of academic research concerning Afrikaans linguistics sharply declined. This contrasts markedly with the growth andflourishing of Afrikaans linguistics from 1940 to 1990. During the latter period Afrikaans enjoyed a privileged status under the National Party government which ruled from 1948 to 1994. Nonetheless, several changes in the development of Afrikaans linguistics can be observed during the sixth phase, namely the increase of female researchers in the Afrikaans linguistic community as well as the emergence of cognitive linguistics as a new area of study within Afrikaans linguistics. The kind of linguistic research practised in the past two decades, namely the seventh phase of the development of Afrikaans linguistics (2005-2024), is characterised by a very specific expansion within Afrikaans linguistics, namely research that utilises techniques typical of Digital Humanities. This is not only research conducted by using digital tools but it also reflects a shift of linguistic resources from printed media to digital media. Characteristic of this period is the development of two comprehensive electronic grammars, namely Taalportaal and the VivA Afrikaans Grammar. In the seventh phase of the development of Afrikaans linguistics, linguists thus employ both traditional and digital methods. A new generation of young researchers, particularly focusing on computer-based research, is emerging and unlocking new areas within the field.

Keywords : Afrikaans linguistics; language development; diachronic perspective; bibliometric research methods; digital bibliography.

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