Van Huyssteen, Gerhard B. 2019. “Wat gaan word van geskrewe Standaardafrikaans? [What is going to happen to Standard Afrikaans?].” In SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns: Verlede, hede toekoms (1909-2019), edited by Jacques Van der Elst, 86-89. ISBN: 978-0-949976-97-0. Pretoria: SAAWK.
Van Huyssteen 2019a
Abstract
What will become of written Standard Afrikaans? This is the central question in this review article on the future of Standard Afrikaans. The article kicks off with a perspective that language users of various languages have been complaining for centuries about the degradation of especially the written standard varieties of those languages – it is therefore nothing unique to Afrikaans. It is extensively argued that this is actually just normal language change that some users are denying, or trying to slow down. Within such a view, there is also no room for a "hunt for anglicisms" – they should rather be seen as constructions that are the result of normal language contact. The chapter concludes with a prediction that we will not only see the end of standard varieties of different languages, but most likely also the end of written varieties as we currently know them.
Written in:
Afrikaans
Dealing with:
Afrikaans
Keywords
Afrikaans, orthography
Afrikaans keywords
Afrikaans, ortografie