WORD OF WELCOME

Dear Web User

A word of hearty welcome! On this website various languages live together in harmony. For the past three years the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch and Modern European Languages has consisted of the following languages: Afrikaans, Dutch, French and German. The unmistakable connection between Afrikaans and Dutch (especially in the South African academic context) is thus ackowledged, but at the same time the three European languages also receive the independence they deserve, as each is taught independently.

Language gives you wings!

Did you know that Afrikaans:

• is studied in some overseas countries, including the Czech Republic, Russia and the US?
• cannot be ignored if you want to be successful in the trade and business world. More than half of the buying power of luxury goods in South Africa is for example in the hands of Afrikaans speakers!

Did you know that Dutch:

• is the mother tongue of people in the Netherlands and Flanders, which is not even as big as the Free State, but is one of the most prosperous countries in the world? The Netherlands is for example, the second biggest exporter of food in the world and its people are some of the best savers on the planet!

Did you know that German:

• is the language that is spoken the most in Europe? Almost 24% of the inhabitants of the European Union speak German as their mother tongue and 31% can speak and understand it.
• is recommended to students by 40% of all scientists in the US? In Japan, 68% of all Japanese students are learning to speak German.

Did you know that French:

• is spoken by 150 million people across the world and that besides English, it is the language with the biggest distribution on earth?
• is used as governance, trade and educational language by 30 million people in 26 African countries, while a further 40,6 million Africans use French occasionally?