"Coloureds"

Lou   Monday, September 29, 2003, 15:10 GMT
Good point.
Clark   Monday, September 29, 2003, 16:09 GMT
Ek het Afrikaans gelern met 'n boek.
Lou   Wednesday, October 01, 2003, 13:21 GMT
Did you have a cassette or CD to practise with too? Little correction, 'Ek het Afrikaans geleer ...' I'd be interested in knowing what your reason for learning Afrikaans was. Did you try some Zulu too, or Xhosa, or any of the other 11 South African official languages?
Hamba Kahle - go well - laat dit goed gaan.
Clark   Wednesday, October 01, 2003, 16:22 GMT
Ah yes! In some languages, like the Scandinavian ones, to teach and to learn are the same verb. And it does not help that I mix up my Afrikaans with PA German.

No, I did not have any CD's or cassettes. Just learnt it by ear.

As for the other languages of South Africa, no, I am not interested in them. I am really only interested in European languages as spoken by Europeans. I am not racist or anything, that is just my personal preference.
Tremmert   Wednesday, October 01, 2003, 17:47 GMT
Lou, I thought you left SA at some point? Why then do you say this is such a terrible thing to do? Of course running away from problems doesn't solve them, on the other hand if you were living in Zimbabwe at the moment there would be a limit to what you could do and beyond that it would be wise to leave for somewhere not run by a fascist.

Also I have a complaint about Zulu - almost no schools seem to offer it as a subject, or at least didn't a few years ago when I could have taken it as a Matric subject. Countries like Canada go to great lengths to enable their citizens to learn one another's languages, but our government doesn't seem to bother with that. If you search the internet there are online courses for almost any language except for Zulu and Xhosa. So I'm stuck with about a three word Zulu vocabulary even if I would like to learn more.

Sala kahle.
Tremmert   Wednesday, October 01, 2003, 17:49 GMT
I've just realised that the advertisements at the top of this page are 'personalised' to the forum topic - if you look at a topic like 'thick american accent' the advertisements are for accent training!
Lou   Wednesday, October 01, 2003, 19:45 GMT
At the moment I work in a country, or part of a country where German is spoken. I go back to SA as many times as I can in a year, and will be going back permanently within the next year. And no, I didn't leave for political reasons, but because of a relationship. As it wasn't thought out very carefully, and I have never fitted in here at all, I can't wait to get back and continue working with children. At the moment it is long-distance, through a friend who is also involved in the same thing, with visits when I go back.
Leaving my family and friends, without really realizing what I was to expect on the other side was the terrible thing. You're right about Zimbabwe, and yet I always wonder what all those are going to do who can't go anywhere.
I think the languages that are offered in the SA schools now, depend on which part of the country you are in, and the courses only started after
we had left school, Tremmert.
And Clark, I think it's very interesting that you learnt Afrikaans, it being spoken only in South Africa. I can understand that your interest lies in one group of languages. We can't learn them all!
Clark   Thursday, October 02, 2003, 05:19 GMT
Ek hou van Afrikaans (ek denk dat dit is Neederlands; ""hou van")! I love Afrikaans. It is one of my favourite languages. I thin k it is this way because it is really simple but mostly because I love South Africa (even though I have never been there; but then again, I have never been to France either).

Lou, what German-speaking country are you in? Sprichst du Deutsch auch?

Also, Lou and Trmmert, what do Coloured people look like? Is there that much of a difference that you could tell a Coloured person just by looking at him/her? And I am under the impression that "true" Coloureds are the descendents of the Dutch and the San and Khoi tribes. So what then would a Cape Malay look like?

In South Africa today, are these terms still used by anyone (Coloureds, Cape Malay)?
Cj   Thursday, October 02, 2003, 13:47 GMT
I am a coloured and am proud to be called just that. I've moved away from The Aparthed connotation and I don't mind being called classified as a coloured.
Cj   Thursday, October 02, 2003, 13:51 GMT
Cape malays r usually muslims, so therefore they tend to look like Arabs and other Islamics people. Coloureds on the other hand, are a more diverse people and vary in skin colour from dark brown to pale.
Da Frogg   Thursday, October 02, 2003, 15:31 GMT
Why would muslims look all the same?
Jamie On   Thursday, October 02, 2003, 16:49 GMT
<<they tend to look like Arabs>> wtf?!?!!
To Cj   Thursday, October 02, 2003, 17:11 GMT
It's interesting to see how ignorant people may be!

Surely, the European muslims look like Arabs?

Surely the Chinese muslims look like Arabs?

Surely the Pakistais muslim look like Arabs?

Surely, the Japanese muslims look like Arabs?

Surely, the Ouzbekistani muslims look like Arabs?

Surely, the Tchetechens muslims look like Arabs?

Surely, the Nigerian Muslims look like Arabs?

...

Open a book, my boy!
Tremmert   Thursday, October 02, 2003, 18:44 GMT
Lou, actually I have not left school - I'm in my final year. However I don't know anyone who would take a language as a matric subject after only a few months of study ;)
Tremmert   Thursday, October 02, 2003, 18:50 GMT
Clark, while I think you could make yourself understood in Afrikaans and with your German knowledge you could probably understand an Afrikaner, you seem to make mistakes with some very simple words which I can see even though my Afrikaans is far from fluent what with my learning it only as a school subject.

Eg, in Afrikaans think is 'dink', not 'denk'.