From Cape Dutch to Afrikaans: A Comparison of Phonemic Inventories

Abstract

This study focuses on the changes Afrikaans has undergone since Dutch colonisers introduced Cape Dutch to the indigenous population. Afrikaans has been influenced through both internal and external language forces. The internal forces were driven by koineisation, while the external language forces are the results of language contact. The phonemic inventories of Afrikaans, Cape Dutch, Modern Standard Dutch, South African English, Xhosa and Zulu have been compared based on current and historical comparison studies. Internal language change has caused the voiced fricatives to fortify, while external forces have reintroduced voiced fricatives after fortition occurred. Xhosa and Zulu have influenced some vowels to become more nasalised, while internal forces have risen and centralised vowels and diphthongs. Contact with South African English has enriched the phonemic inventory with affricates.