See Mendelssohn, South African Bibliography (Iwo). (H. C. N.) Afrikaans is the name given to the language spoken and writ ten by the descendants of Dutch, French and German colonists who settled in South Africa prior to the British occupation of i8o6. Formerly the language was also known as "Cape Dutch" or "the Taal" (Dutch for "language"). Afrikaans has developed from the seventeenth century dialects of the province of Holland ; but though it still agrees very closely with these dialects and with literary Netherlandish Dutch in sounds, syntax, vocabulary and idiom, it shows a striking simplification in its flexional system, having become even more analytic in its structure than English. Isolation from Holland, the almost total absence of conserving influences like schools and literature, the novel surroundings and changed occupations, and the incorporation of numbers of French Huguenots and German immigrants account for the rapid develop ment of a form of speech grammatically as distinct from the Dutch of Holland as Shakespeare's English is from that of King Alfred. There is considerable evidence to prove that Afrikaans had reached its modern form not much later than 1750.
Till quite recently, however, the language employed in writing was modelled on that used in Holland, and particularly on that found in the seventeenth century version of the Bible. Apart from one or two stray rhymes in old newspaper files, a few docu ments by unschooled writers, and a word-list of 1844, we find no written Afrikaans before 186o. In that year the magistrate of Cradock, Louis Henri Meurant, anonymously published a poli tical dialogue in what was almost pure Afrikaans. Meurant's example proved infectious, and Afrikaans articles began to appear in several newspapers. In 1870 followed the well-known adapta tion of Burns' "Tam o' Shanter" ("Klaas Geswint en sy Perd") by F. W. Reitz, afterwards Chief Justice and later President of the Orange Free State. In 1872 a movement in favour of Afri kaans as a written language was initiated by A. Pannevis, with whom C. P. Hoogenhout soon afterwards became associated. In 1875 a society, "Die Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners," was founded at the Paarl with the avowed object of working for an Afrikaans Bible and an Afrikaans written language. After a considerable amount of success with a newspaper (Die Afrikaanse Patriot, 1876-1904), a monthly magazine (Ons Klyntji, 1896– 1905), and a number of other publications, the movement col lapsed, largely owing to the fact that its leader, the Rev. S. J. du Toit, began to entertain political views which were not shared by the bulk of the Afrikaans-speaking population. The activities of the "Genootskap" and of the Rev. du Toit cover the greater part of the first period of written Afrikaans (186o–I900). Most of the publications of this period being primarily intended as propaganda among an almost purely rural population were written in very simple language and issued in cheap pamphlet form. A few of them are today still read (e.g., J. Lion Cachet's didactic stories Die Sewe Duiwels, S. J. du Toit's historical novel Die Koningin van Skeba, and a number of poems like the above-mentioned adaptation of "Tam o' Shanter") ; but the vast majority of these have sunk into oblivion. Another author, also entirely forgotten today, is Melt J. Brink, who worked independently of the "Ge nootskap" and who published a series of humorous farces in an ar tificial language, a mixture of Afrikaans and Netherlandish Dutch.
more conservative than that of the Rev. S. J. du Toit made the transition from Netherlandish Dutch to Afrikaans much easier, while the publication of the historical novel Johannes van Wyk by J. H. H. de Waal (1906) and of poetry of considerable literary merit like Die Vlakte by J. F. E. Celliers (1906), By die Monu ment by Totius (1908), and Oom Gert Vertel en ander Gedigte by C. Louis Leipoldt 1), furnished a most powerful ment. Propaganda work was actively carried on in the newspaper press and especially in the monthly magazines De Goede Hoop (founded 1903), Die Brandwag (1910-1922), Ons Moedertaal (1914-1915) and Die Huisgenoot (founded 1916). The result was that Afrikaans was introduced in 1914 into the schools; and in 1919 university professorships in this language were insti tuted at Stellenbosch and Bloemfontein. By the year 1924 all the Dutch Church denominations had adopted Afrikaans as an official language, and an Afrikaans version of the Bible was com pleted in 1937. In 1918 the Union legislature sanctioned the use of Afrikaans as one of the official languages for all purposes except for bills, acts, and other Parliamentary documents, in which Netherlandish Dutch had still to be used. In 1925 this restriction was removed, and since that date Afrikaans has enjoyed full official sanction. An Afrikaans literature, distinctively South African in colour and sentiment, has arisen. Poetry of outstand ing merit has been written by J. F. E. Celliers, Totius (J. D. du Toit), C. Louis Leipoldt, C. J. Langenhoven, and A. G. Visser. Most of the poetry is lyrical, but there are a few successful examples in the narrative style (e.g., Leipoldt's Oom Gert Vertel).
In prose a great deal has been published. Uit Oerwoud en Vlakte, by Sangiro (A. A. Pienaar), depicts in a highly artistic manner the tragedy of animal life in the forests of East Africa and has been translated into English under the title of The Ad ventures of a Lion Family. Novels or short stories have been written by J. H. H. de Waal, D. F. Malherbe, C. J. Langen hoven, Leon Mare, J. van Bruggen and E. de Roubaix—to men tion only a few of the best known names. Especially the works of Langenhoven exhibit qualities of style and composition that have made a wide appeal to the Afrikaans-reading public, while those of van Bruggen reflect a psychological insight and literary power of a high order. To dramatic literature some notable contribu tions have been made by J. F. E. Celliers, J. F. W. Grosskopf, C. J. Langenhoven, H. A. Fagan, C. Louis Leipoldt, and others.
In biography G. Preller's Piet Retief, N. J. van der Merwe's Marthinus Theunis Steyn, J. P. la Grange Lombard's Paul Kruger and J. D. Kestell's Christiaan de Wet are the best known works.
The most comprehensive Afrikaans grammars are: Botha and Burger, Grammar of Afrikaans; and Bouman and Pienaar, Afrikaanse Spruak kuns. For the history of the language see the article by J. J. Smith in Official Yearbook of the Union of South Africa 1919-1925; D. C. Hesseling, Het Afrikaans (Leiden, 1923) ; D. B. Bosman, Oor die Ontstaan van Afrikaans (Amsterdam, 1923) ; and S. P. E. Boshoff, Volk en Taal van Suid-Afrika (Pretoria, 1921). The history of the literature is treated by L. van Niekerk, De Eerste Afrikaanse Taalbe weging en Letterkundige Voortbrengselen (Cape Town, 192o) ; E. C. Pienaar, Taal en Poesie van die Twede Afrikaanse Taalbeweging (Cape Town, 1926) ; and P. C. Schoonees, Die Prosa van die Twede Afri kaanse Beweging (Pretoria, 1927). (J. J. S.)