| Afrikaans Language Monument |
Article Index for Afrikaans |
Website Links For Afrikaans |
Information AboutAfrikaans Language Monument |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT AFRIKAANS LANGUAGE MONUMENT | |
| 1975 architecture | |
| monuments and memorials in south africa | |
| monuments and memorials | |
| afrikaans | |
|
, Western Cape , South Africa .]] The Afrikaans Language Monument (, Western Cape Province , South Africa . Completed in 1975 , it commemorates the semicentenary of Afrikaans being declared an official language of South Africa separate from Dutch . STRUCTURE The monument consists of various tapering structures of a Convex and Concave nature, symbolising influences of different languages and cultures on Afrikaans itself, as well as political developments in South Africa, as follows:
PLAQUE INSCRIPTIONS On a large Plaque at the entrance, two quotes from prominent Afrikaans poets are enscribed:
: "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..."
: "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 , in the year 1924 ." The phrase ''"DIT IS ONS ERNS"'' (roughly "we are earnest this ", or "this is our earnestness") is emblazoned on the pathway leading up to the monument. CONTROVERSY When the British design magazine . THE BURGERSDORP MONUMENT The language monument at Paarl wasn't the first monument to commemorate Afrikaans. That honour goes to the monument in Burgersdorp, South Africa, which was built in 1893. The monument depicts a woman pointing her finger at a book in her hands. Although the main inscription on that monument refers to the ''Hollandse taal'' (Dutch language), it can be understood to mean Afrikaans. The monument was damanged during the Anglo-Boer War, and Lord Milner had it removed. It was replaced with a replica in 1907. The original was later discovered in King William in 1939, and moved back to stand next to the replica in Burgersdorp.http://www.places.co.za/html/burgersdorp.html Some sources claim that Lord Milner had removed the original monument not because it was damaged, but because he was opposed to Afrikaans, and that the replica was built not by government but by a group of Afrikaners.http://www.dieafrikaansepatriot.co.za/phpbb/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=56&sid=3370195c4f8c4de374ca82619d6f2083 REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|