SEC WK2 : The language in my country

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine how the world would have been if there were no languages.

Language, for me, is a tool that enables us to think, communicate, visualize, plan, feel, dream, to build relationships… language is never-ending.

If you have to explain to children what a language is, the easiest would be to tell them that it is how we talk to each other.

The word language is actually far more than that. It can be spoken, it can be written, it can be how you express yourself, and it can be signed.

I am a child of Africa, where +/- 3,000 of the 7,000+ languages of the world are spoken.

My beloved country, South Africa, is known as the “rainbow nation” all because of our diversity. Yet, when it comes to languages, I had to discover that we are not as diverse as the world might think. South Africa ranks at number 58 with 30 listed languages when it comes to the countries of the world.

The country that tops the list is Papua New Guinea, with 840 languages. What I found interesting is that three of the countries that are well represented on Steemit fall under the top 5.

Indonesia: 707
Nigeria: 517
India: 447

Do you want to know where your country is ranked?

Now that I think about it, we can all say +2, as there are two languages that most of us can speak, and that is the language of a father or mother and the language of emojis.
🍽 your ♨!

There might be 42 spoken and 30 listed languages in South Africa, but not even half of them are official languages. Until recently, South Africa had 11 official languages, but after a long battle from the University of Cape Town, it was changed, and we now have 12 official languages. The latest addition was the South African Sign Language, which I welcomed.

Of the 12 official languages, I can only speak two: Afrikaans and English.

Of all the languages spoken in South Africa, I can speak a little bit of German, as I had it as a school subject and also a little bit of Portuguese as I had a Portuguese restaurant and partner for many years.

As for sign language, I know some of the signs, but it is a language that I would like to learn more about, and for the language of a mother and emojis, I have perfected it.

Afrikaans is my home language. A language that I am super proud of. I think it is one of the nicest languages to speak, as it “rolls” on the tongue. If you can speak English, it is also a language that is easy to learn. Afrikaans is a young language with an incredible vocabulary with words like lekker (nice), knormoer (starter), kattekwaad (mischief), trapsuutjies (chameleon), and more.

"There's about 44 people still speaking it, it’s definitely a dying language, it's not a very helpful language." This is what well-known South African actress, Charlize Theron, had to say about Afrikaans.
Wrong! It is the home language of +/- 8.4 million South Africans.

Afrikaans was in the news the last couple of months with the saying “Suid Afrika, hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie” (They don’t know what we know) that was started by Dricus du Plessis, a mixed martial artist when he won a fight last year.
This phrase was then adopted at the Rugby World Cup in 2023 by the South African national team, the Springboks.

On Sunday, it was replaced with “Suid Afrika, nou weet hulle wat ons weet!” (Now they know what we know) when he became the first South African to win the UFC middleweight world champion title.

It gave me goosebumps when I heard my home language spoken on television, knowing that billions around the world were watching.

It was not my Afrikaans that helped me in my business success, but my English. Not only is it the most spoken language in South Africa, but it is also the “official business language." Most meetings are conducted in English.

It was the language spoken in the Small Business Forum, of which I was a member, and also in the governing bodies of the schools in which I served.

Although I am Afrikaans-speaking, I made sure that my children received an English education. If you want to further your education and later your career, not only in South Africa but also internationally, you must be fluent in English.

My son is working in Ireland as a medical doctor. To enable him to get a post there, he had to write an English test, IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and he had to score an overall band of 7.0, which was not easy. With his English education and background, he wrote the test twice.

As for my daughter, she was tiny when she decided that she wanted to speak French. She took extra classes, and when she worked in England, a highlight for her was going over to France, where she gained the respect of the locals when she could address them in their own language even when it was still a bit broken.

Today, it is no longer required of me to teach my children a language, but is it now my responsibility towards my grandchildren to make sure that my children play it forward and give their children the best education in English.

To sum up my post,

• The name of my country is South Africa, and you will find 42 spoken, 30 listed, and 12 official languages.
• I am fluent in two of these languages, Afrikaans and English.
• As English is the most spoken language, it has helped me to improve my life and what I have achieved in life tremendously.
• Oh yes! I was more than willing for my children to learn more languages, as it not only opened so many doors for them but also helped them regain respect.

I leave you with the words of South Africa's beloved Madiba, Nelson Mandela.

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