Jislaaik, dis lekker om n bietjie Afrikaans oorsee te hoor, né? Okay, who are we kidding? Once you’ve jumped the proverbial ship and landed on foreign shores, the chances of hearing the Afrikaans language are very slim. And that’s kind of sad, don’t you think? You spend your entire life learning all the ins and outs of regte egte Afrikaans (and the not so regte egte too), and then bam, a new country steals the joy of being able to say things like “lekker soos ‘n krekker” and having your kids and friends understand you. Sounds a little soul-destroying, doesn’t it? Well, not if you take your time to keep the language of your homeland alive!

We’re here to serve as a reminder of your roots! You can go anywhere you want in the world, but you can never deny the Afrikaans soul that lives and breathes inside you! That’s a little dramatic, but you get the point. Why let your children grow up without understanding their mother tongue? Why let your comprehension of your tribe (that’s those of us still in SA) become a distant memory? Some might say that keeping your language alive will keep a connection between you and the loved ones still living in the sunshine of your country left behind.

Teaching Afrikaans to your children, especially, will help them feel connected to their home country. It will also ensure easier connections with returning to visit South Africa and help them have a cool party trick, speaking a language no one else in their new country can speak or understand! Score! Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to keep your inner Afrikaner alive and well!

Keep Afrikaans alive

How to keep Afrikaans alive while abroad

Whether your Afrikaans is a little rusty or you want to teach your growing children more about South African languages and how to speak them, there are simple ways to go about it. Below are a few suggestions to get Afrikaans flowing in your home and possibly even your group of friends while abroad.

• Hire an Afrikaans tutor

Yup, you guessed it. The easiest way to learn Afrikaans is to get someone to teach you. Now, you’re probably wondering how you’re supposed to pull that kind of rabbit out of a hat, right? Surely Afrikaans tutors overseas are as rare as unicorn sightings! Well, here’s the thing. You can be taught by an Afrikaans tutor online!

• Gift the family members Afrikaans dictionaries

You might think that an Afrikaans dictionary won’t do much to incorporate more Afrikaans language in your life, but you’re wrong. Pair an Afrikaans dictionary gift for each family with an Afrikaans night once a week, and you’re on the right path. Everyone has to speak Afrikaans for the duration of dinner, and if they get stuck, they have an Afrikaans dictionary to help them out. Easy-peasy strategy, right?

• Use a language learning app

Want to, well, absolutely anything? There’s an app for that! Now, it’s good to note that not all apps offer Afrikaans courses, but Mondly is a good app to try. Mondly offers free Afrikaans lessons daily that are fun and inspire quick and easy learning. The app focuses on improving vocab, grammar, and pronunciation. The exercises included focusing on reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

• Order Afrikaans exercise books & host fun family lessons

Another way to teach Afrikaans to your family is to get your hands on some Afrikaans school books and start from scratch as a family. Afrikaans lessons can be a fun activity for the family to do together. If you can’t find any Afrikaans language study books online, ask family or friends to send you old textbooks from home.

• Watch weekly Afrikaans movies or series together

What could be more fun than gathering as a family to watch some Afrikaans series and movies together? Most of them offer English subtitles to help you follow the story line. Afrikaans series and soapies include 7de Laan, Die Binnelanders, Die Siener, Kompleks, and Arendsvlei. Some great Afrikaans movies to try include Die Stropers, Ander Mens, Toorbos, Wesens, Fiela se Kind, Meisies wat Fluit, and Die Parkie Storie.

• Read an Afrikaans book together as a family

One of the best ways to learn a new language is to immerse yourself in it. Read the language, try to say the words, and try to jump into the deep end of understanding sentences. By reading Afrikaans books, you can increase your knowledge reasonably quickly. Choose a book for the family to read together and commit to reading a few pages every day. Spend time discussing what you have read with each other. Some great books to try include Infanta by Deon Meyer, Liewe Lisa by Kristel Loots, Orion by Deon Meyer, and Vier Susters by Gerda Taljaard.

Keeping your roots alive with FinGlobal

At FinGlobal, we’re deeply rooted in South Africa. While we help thousands of South Africans reach distant shores safely, we want to keep them connected to where they came from. Because of that, we provide customised services designed to suit the needs of the average South African. We ensure that all your taxes, FOREX, pension payouts, and more run smoothly when you’re heading off to start a new adventure. For quality advice backed by ten years of experience, accreditations, and professionalism, the FinGlobal team is more than capable of handling your emigration requirements.

To discuss your unique requirements with our team, all you have to do is get in touch with us. Give us a call on +27 28 312 2764 or send us an email at info@finglobal.com, and we will assist you promptly.