Definition

Noun: - An earlier name for the Afrikaans language: "South African Dutch" refers to the language that developed from Dutch dialects spoken by settlers in South Africa, which later became standardized as Afrikaans. It was considered a dialect or variant of Dutch used in South Africa before being recognized as a distinct language.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The term "South African Dutch" was commonly used in the 19th and early 20th centuries to describe the vernacular spoken by the descendants of Dutch settlers.
  • Many historical documents from the Cape Colony were written in South African Dutch.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Linguistic Context: The term is primarily used in historical or academic contexts to discuss the development of Afrikaans from European Dutch.
  • The evolution from South African Dutch to modern Afrikaans involved significant simplification of grammar and borrowing from other languages.

Variants and Related Words

• Afrikaans (n): The modern standardized language that developed from South African Dutch. It is one of the official languages of South Africa.
  • Afrikaans is spoken by millions of people in South Africa and Namibia.

Synonyms

• Early Afrikaans
• Cape Dutch (Another historical term for the same linguistic variety)

Notes on Meaning

• This term is largely historical and is not used to refer to the modern language (Afrikaans). It specifically denotes the earlier, colonial-era form of the language that was closely related to and often considered a dialect of European Dutch.

Noun

1. an official language of the Republic of South Africa; closely related to Dutch and Flemish