Learning Afrikaans

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Garp, Sep 23, 2011.

Loading...
  1. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    With all the talk of South African degrees, I thought I would post it. It is a pretty cool site by a professor and assists you to learn Afrikaans for free (even has audio to help with pronunciation).

    For those who do not know, Afrikaans is a sister language to Dutch and is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn in terms of grammar. It is similar in that sense to English without all of the gender/case/declensions. It is spoken by millions world wide (in South Africa and Namibia as well as a growing ex pat community in the UK).

    openlanguages.net: Learn Afrikaans Online for Free
     
    Garp, Sep 23, 2011
    #1
  2. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    Okay...saw the list of similar posts and discovered someone posted this link in the previous thread (back in July). Does anyone have knowledge of any similar program that is downloadable and free? Would appreciate additional resources.

    In terms of ways to listen to the spoken language I found:

    A Religious TV Station online http://www.kruiskyk.tv/

    Radio http://www.rsg.co.za/ AND Radio Pretoria se Tuisbladsy

    Plus this cool site for Web TV from all over the World Free access to 9730 TV-Stations from all over the world. Sports, Music, Politics, Kids, News, Entertainment, Shopping, Education, Religion
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 23, 2011
    Garp, Sep 23, 2011
    #2
  3. rmm0484

    rmm0484 Member

    Yes, Afrikaans is easy to understand/read, especially if you have had some German or Danish (my situation). I have been accepted by the University of the Free State and in the course of the acceptance, in viewing the Staff's correspondence back and forth to the Director, AfriKaans is used. I can ususally make out what they are saying...
     
    rmm0484, Sep 23, 2011
    #3
  4. GermanSpeaker

    GermanSpeaker New Member

    While it is spoken by millions, it is certainly limited from a geographical perspective. Although as you point out, there is a growing ex-pat community. There are not many distance learning courses available for Afrikaans now, but a grounding in German or Dutch will help, along with some form of natural or simulated immersion in the language being used in a conversational setting.

    That is the most natural way to learn a new language in any event! If you do decide on German as a foundation for Afrikaans I got great success with this Learning German for Beginners course! Good luck!
     
    GermanSpeaker, Oct 21, 2011
    #4

Share This Page