Afrikaans Language Monument
Encyclopedia
The Afrikaans Language Monument is located on a hill overlooking Paarl
, Western Cape Province, South Africa
. Officially opened on 10 October 1975, it commemorates the semicentenary of Afrikaans being declared an official language of South Africa separate from Dutch
. Also, it was erected on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners
(the Society of Real Afrikaaners
) in Paarl, the organization that helped strengthen Afrikaners' identity and pride in their language.
and concave nature, symbolising influences of different languages and cultures on Afrikaans itself, as well as political developments in South Africa, as follows:
(There is also an open stadium at the bottom of the structure where concerts and events are held)
at the entrance are two quotations from prominent poets writing in Afrikaans:
The phrase "DIT IS ONS ERNS" (roughly "we are earnest [about this]", or "this is our earnestness") is emblazoned on the pathway leading up to the monument.
, which was built in 1893, although it refers to the Hollandse taal or 'the Dutch language. It depicts a woman pointing her finger at a book in her hands.
Paarl
Paarl is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its the third oldest European settlement in the Republic of South Africa and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington...
, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Officially opened on 10 October 1975, it commemorates the semicentenary of Afrikaans being declared an official language of South Africa separate from Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. Also, it was erected on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners
Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners
The Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners was formed on 14 August 1875 in the town of Paarl by a group of Afrikaans speakers from the current Western Cape region...
(the Society of Real Afrikaaners
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
) in Paarl, the organization that helped strengthen Afrikaners' identity and pride in their language.
Structure
The monument consists of various tapering structures of a convexConvex polygon
In geometry, a polygon can be either convex or concave .- Convex polygons :A convex polygon is a simple polygon whose interior is a convex set...
and concave nature, symbolising influences of different languages and cultures on Afrikaans itself, as well as political developments in South Africa, as follows:
- Clear West - the EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an heritage of the language - Magical Africa - the AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n influences on the language - Bridge - between Europe and Africa
- Afrikaans - the language itself
- RepublicRepublicA republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
- declared in 1961 - Malay languageMalay languageMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
and culture
(There is also an open stadium at the bottom of the structure where concerts and events are held)
Plaque Inscriptions
On a large plaqueCommemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
at the entrance are two quotations from prominent poets writing in Afrikaans:
- Afrikaans is die taal wat vir Wes-Europa en Afrika verbind... Dit vorm 'n brug tussen die groot helder Weste en die magiese Afrika... En wat daar groots aan hulle vereniging kan ontspruit – dit is miskien wat vir Afrikaans voorlê om te ontdek. Maar wat ons nooit moet vergeet nie, is dat hierdie verandering van land en landskap as't ware aan die nuwe wordende taal geslyp, geknee, gebrei het... En so het Afrikaans in staat geword om hierdie nuwe land uit te sê... Ons taak lê in die gebruik wat ons maak en sal maak van hierdie glansende werktuig... -- N.P. van Wyk Louw
- "Afrikaans is the language that connects Western Europe and Africa... It forms a bridge between the large, shining West and the magical Africa... And what great things may come from their union – that is maybe what lies ahead for Afrikaans to discover. But what we must never forget, is that this change of country and landscape sharpened, kneaded and knitted this newly-becoming language... And so Afrikaans became able to speak out from this new land... Our task lies in the use that we make and will make of this gleaming vehicle..."
- As ons nou hier in die saal af 'n ry pale sou plant, tien pale, om die laaste tien jaar voor te stel, en aan elke paal 'n merk sou maak op 'n hoogte van die vloer af ooreenkomende met die betreklike skryfgebruik van Afrikaans in die respektiewe jaartal, en 'n streep deur die merke trek van die eerste af hier naby die vloer tot by die laaste daar anderkant teen die solder, dan sou die streep 'n snelstygende boog beskryf, nie net vinnig opgaande nie, maar opgaande na 'n vinnig vermeerderende rede. Laat ons nou in ons verbeelding die boog verleng vir die tien komende jare van nou af. Sien u menere waar die punt sal wees, daar buite in die bloue lug hoog oor Bloemfontein, in die jaar 1924. -- C.J. Langenhoven
- "If we plant a row of poles down this hall now, ten poles, to represent the last ten years, and on each pole we make a mark at a height from the floor corresponding to the relative written use of Afrikaans in the respective year, and we draw a line, from the first here near the floor to the last over there against the loft, then the line would describe a rapidly rising arc, not only quickly rising, but rising in a quickly increasing manner. Let us now, in our imagination, extend the arc for the ten coming years from now. See you, sirs, where the point shall be, outside in the blue sky high over BloemfonteinBloemfonteinBloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
, in the year 1924."
The phrase "DIT IS ONS ERNS" (roughly "we are earnest [about this]", or "this is our earnestness") is emblazoned on the pathway leading up to the monument.
The Burgersdorp Monument
The first monument to commemorate Afrikaans was the monument in BurgersdorpBurgersdorp
Burgersdorp is a small town in the Ukhahlamba District Municipality of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.The Afrikaner Bond political party was founded in Burgersdorp in 1881.-Rail:The first rail connection to Burgersdorp was opened on 19 March 1885...
, which was built in 1893, although it refers to the Hollandse taal or 'the Dutch language. It depicts a woman pointing her finger at a book in her hands.