Afrikaans literature is literature written in Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 – especially since the standardization of the Afrikaans language from 14 August 1875 to the beginning of the twentieth century. Afrikaans is a daughter language of 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...

 and is spoken by the majority of people in the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 of 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...

. Afrikaans used to be one of two official languages of South Africa, (the other being English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

,) but it currently shares the status of an 'official language' with more than ten other languages.

Afrikaans is the language of the Afrikaners, many of them descendants of the Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

. Afrikaans was encouraged by the Society of Real 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...

. There is an Afrikaans Language Monument

Afrikaans Language Monument

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...

 which was opened on 1975 in Paarl, South Africa.

Notable people who spoke Afrikaans would include, but not be limited to, Jan Smuts

Jan Smuts

Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...

, Hendrik Herzog

Hendrik Herzog

Hendrik Herzog is a German football coach and a former player. He is currently a kit manager for Hertha BSC.-Honours:* DDR-Oberliga: 1986–87, 1987–88* FDGB-Pokal: 1987–88, 1988–89* DFB-Pokal winner: 1996–97...

, Louis Botha

Louis Botha

Louis Botha was an Afrikaner and first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa—the forerunner of the modern South African state...

, and Dan Pienaar

Dan Pienaar

Major General Daniel Hermanus Pienaar CB, DSO & Bar was a South African World War II military commander.Pienaar joined the artillery branch of the Natal Police in 1911, and transferred to the Union Defence Forces when they took over the NP in 1913...

.

See also

• :Category:Afrikaans-language writers
• Hertzog Prize
  Hertzog Prize
  The Hertzog Prize or is an annual award given to Afrikaans-language writers by the South African Academy for the Sciences and Arts , formerly the South African Academy for Language, Literature and Arts...
  
   – award for Afrikaans literature
• Sestigers
  Sestigers
  The Sestigers , also known as the Beweging van Sestig , were a group of influential Afrikaans-language writers in the 1960s started by André Brink and Breyten Breytenbach, which also included Etienne Leroux, Jan Rabie, Ingrid Jonker, Adam Small, Bartho Smit, Chris Barnard, Hennie Aucamp, Dolf van...
  
   – group of influential 1960s Afrikaans writers.
• Dutch literature
  Dutch literature
  Dutch literature comprises all writings of literary merit written through the ages in the Dutch language, a language which currently has around 23 million native speakers...