The Afrikaans Language Monument ( af, Afrikaanse Taalmonument) is located on a hill overlooking

Paarl Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...

, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Officially opened on 10 October 1975, it commemorates the semicentenary of Afrikaans being declared an official language of South Africa separate from

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. Also, it was erected on the 100th anniversary of the founding of

Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners The Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners (Afrikaans for "Society of True Afrikaners") was formed on 14 August 1875 in the town of Paarl by a group of Afrikaans speakers from the current Western Cape region. From 15 January 1876 the society published a ...

(the Society of Real

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

s) in Paarl, the organisation that helped strengthen Afrikaners' identity and pride in their language.Charles S. B. Galasko. The Afrikaans Language Monument, Paarl. ''Spine'' 1 November 2008 – Volume 33 – Issue 23. The monument was used as a filming location for the Twelfth series of

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

Structure

The monument consists of various tapering structures of a

convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytope ...

and

concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex * Concave set * The concavity In ca ...

nature, symbolising the influences of different languages and cultures on Afrikaans itself, as well as political developments in South Africa, as follows: *Clear West – the European heritage of the language *Magical Africa – the African influences on the language *Bridge – between Europe and Africa *Afrikaans – the language itself *Republic – declared in 1961 *

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

language and culture (There is also an open stadium at the bottom of the structure where concerts and events are held)

Plaque inscriptions

On a large

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pla ...

at the entrance are two quotations from prominent poets writing in Afrikaans: * –

N.P. van Wyk Louw Nicolaas Petrus van Wyk Louw (11 June 1906 in Sutherland, Cape Colony – 18 June 1970 in Johannesburg), almost universally known as N.P. van Wyk Louw, was an Afrikaans-language poet, playwright and scholar. He was the older brother of Afrikaans ...

*:"Afrikaans is the language that connects Western Europe and Africa... It forms a bridge between the large, shining West and the magical Africa... And what great things may come from their union – that is maybe what lies ahead for Afrikaans to discover. But what we must never forget, is that this change of country and landscape sharpened, kneaded and knitted this newly-becoming language... And so Afrikaans became able to speak out from this new land... Our task lies in the use that we make and will make of this gleaming vehicle..." * –

C.J. Langenhoven Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven (13 August 1873 – 15 July 1932), who published under his initials C.J. Langenhoven, was a South African poet who played a major role in the development of Afrikaans literature and cultural history. His poetry was ...

*:"If we plant a row of poles down this hall now, ten poles, to represent the last ten years, and on each pole we make a mark at a height from the floor corresponding to the relative written use of Afrikaans in the respective year, and we draw a line, from the first here near the floor to the last over there against the loft, then the line would describe a rapidly rising arc, not only quickly rising, but rising in a quickly increasing manner. Let us now, in our imagination, extend the arc for the ten coming years from now. See you, sirs, where the point shall be, outside in the blue sky high over

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

, in the year 1924." The phrase ''"DIT IS ONS ERNS"'' (roughly "we are earnest

bout this Bout can mean: People *Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer * Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland * Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrum ...

, or "this is our earnestness") is emblazoned on the pathway leading up to the monument.

Burgersdorp monument

The first monument to commemorate Afrikaans was the monument in

Burgersdorp Burgersdorp is a medium-sized town in Walter Sisulu in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In 1869 a Theological Seminary was established here by the ''Gereformeerde Kerk'', but in 1905 it was moved ...

, which was built in 1893, although it refers to the ''Hollandse taal'' or ''the Dutch language''. It depicts a woman pointing her finger at a book in her hands.

References

External links

{{Portal, South Africa, Languages
Homepage

Flight over the Afrikaans Language Monument

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080215200910/http://www.museums.org.za/TaalMon/English.htm History and description of the Paarl monument
Afrikaans Museum & Monument

* ttp://www.paarldirectory.co.za/ Directory to Paarl 1975 establishments in South Africa Buildings and structures completed in 1975 Afrikaans Monuments and memorials in South Africa Paarl Buildings and structures in the Western Cape Obelisks in South Africa