Uploaded May 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language primarily spoken in South Africa and Namibia, with smaller communities of speakers in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and other neighboring countries. It originated from the Dutch dialects spoken by the Dutch settlers who arrived in southern Africa in the 17th century. Over time, the language evolved and incorporated words and influences from other European languages, such as Portuguese, English, and German, as well as African languages like Khoisan and Bantu.
Afrikaans is the third most spoken language in South Africa, with around 7 million native speakers, and it is one of the 11 official languages recognized in the country. Afrikaans and Dutch are mutually intelligible to a certain extent, although there are significant differences in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation between the two languages.
We created those mini language challenges so you can experience Germanic languages for yourself and tell us how well can you understand each language based on your linguistic background. Do let us know in the comments about your experience.
The Germanic language family is a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, and it includes languages spoken primarily in Northern, Western, and Central Europe. The Germanic languages are traditionally classified into three main groups: West Germanic, North Germanic, and East Germanic. However, the East Germanic languages, which included Gothic, are now extinct.
West Germanic languages include:
English
German
Dutch
Frisian languages (spoken in the Netherlands and Germany)
Afrikaans (spoken in South Africa and Namibia)
Yiddish (spoken by Ashkenazi Jews in various countries)
North Germanic languages include:
Swedish
Danish
Norwegian
Icelandic
Faroese
๐ค Big thanks to Garret from South Africa!
๐๏ธโโ๏ธ Support my Work:
My name is Norbert Wierzbicki and I am the creator of @Ecolinguist channel. You can support my work by volunteering to participate in the future videos or donating to the project.
โ๏ธ Donations โ paypal.me/ecolinguistโ (I appreciate every donation no matter how big or small๐ค )
๐ Volunteer your language skills for future videos โ https://forms.gle/aZeSFSsFexbmxE7UA
๐ค Join the Ecolinguist DISCORD community โ discord.gg/xKBQCc3V57
๐ฅ Join this channel to get access to perks: youtube.com/channel/UChqLwfp3eAkAwX9DGnqr_CA/join
๐ฑ Follow me on Instagram: @the.ecolinguist
๐ฅRecommended videos:
Can Modern English Speakers Understand Old English? โ youtu.be/cGI3xroU8kI
Old English vs Modern German โ youtu.be/SFPBJRkFVTc
Dutch vs English โ youtu.be/DNDtwEXQKMY
๐ค Can American, Australian, and Non-Native English speaker understand Old English? โ youtu.be/sEaRBAT0TLs
๐ค American, Australian, and Non-Native English speaker vs Old English | #2 โ youtu.be/m9Dagt3SWoo
๐ค Old Norse | Can Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic speakers understand it? @Jackson Crawford โโ youtu.be/5MRfVHU9fr0
๐ค Latin Language Spoken | Can Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian speakers understand it? โ youtu.be/C77anb2DJGk
๐ค Big hug for everyone reading my video descriptions! You rock! ๐ค๐ช๐ป
#shorts #germanic #languages #languagechallenge #afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language primarily spoken in South Africa and Namibia, with smaller communities of speakers in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and other neighboring countries. It originated from the Dutch dialects spoken by the Dutch settlers who arrived in southern Africa in the 17th century. Over time, the language evolved and incorporated words and influences from other European languages, such as Portuguese, English, and German, as well as African languages like Khoisan and Bantu.
Afrikaans is the third most spoken language in South Africa, with around 7 million native speakers, and it is one of the 11 official languages recognized in the country. Afrikaans and Dutch are mutually intelligible to a certain extent, although there are significant differences in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation between the two languages.
We created those mini language challenges so you can experience Germanic languages for yourself and tell us how well can you understand each language based on your linguistic background. Do let us know in the comments about your experience.
The Germanic language family is a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, and it includes languages spoken primarily in Northern, Western, and Central Europe. The Germanic languages are traditionally classified into three main groups: West Germanic, North Germanic, and East Germanic. However, the East Germanic languages, which included Gothic, are now extinct.
West Germanic languages include:
English
German
Dutch
Frisian languages (spoken in the Netherlands and Germany)
Afrikaans (spoken in South Africa and Namibia)
Yiddish (spoken by Ashkenazi Jews in various countries)
North Germanic languages include:
Swedish
Danish
Norwegian
Icelandic
Faroese
๐ค Big thanks to Garret from South Africa!
๐๏ธโโ๏ธ Support my Work:
My name is Norbert Wierzbicki and I am the creator of @Ecolinguist channel. You can support my work by volunteering to participate in the future videos or donating to the project.
โ๏ธ Donations โ paypal.me/ecolinguistโ (I appreciate every donation no matter how big or small๐ค )
๐ Volunteer your language skills for future videos โ https://forms.gle/aZeSFSsFexbmxE7UA
๐ค Join the Ecolinguist DISCORD community โ discord.gg/xKBQCc3V57
๐ฅ Join this channel to get access to perks: youtube.com/channel/UChqLwfp3eAkAwX9DGnqr_CA/join
๐ฑ Follow me on Instagram: @the.ecolinguist
๐ฅRecommended videos:
Can Modern English Speakers Understand Old English? โ youtu.be/cGI3xroU8kI
Old English vs Modern German โ youtu.be/SFPBJRkFVTc
Dutch vs English โ youtu.be/DNDtwEXQKMY
๐ค Can American, Australian, and Non-Native English speaker understand Old English? โ youtu.be/sEaRBAT0TLs
๐ค American, Australian, and Non-Native English speaker vs Old English | #2 โ youtu.be/m9Dagt3SWoo
๐ค Old Norse | Can Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic speakers understand it? @Jackson Crawford โโ youtu.be/5MRfVHU9fr0
๐ค Latin Language Spoken | Can Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian speakers understand it? โ youtu.be/C77anb2DJGk
๐ค Big hug for everyone reading my video descriptions! You rock! ๐ค๐ช๐ป
#shorts #germanic #languages #languagechallenge #afrikaans
