Afrikaans is a West Germanic language that originated in the 17th century, primarily as a spoken variety of Dutch brought to South Africa by settlers and slaves. The language developed as a creole, influenced by various languages, including Dutch, Portuguese, Malay, and indigenous African languages. As the early settlers, known as Boers or Afrikaners, began to interact with local populations and slaves from other regions, Afrikaans emerged as a distinct vernacular. Initially, it was seen as a lower-class version of Dutch and was not formally recognized.
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By the 19th century, Afrikaans began to gain recognition as a separate language, distinct from Dutch, with the first Afrikaans Bible translation completed in 1933. The language's status evolved through the 20th century, particularly with the establishment of apartheid, when Afrikaans was enforced as one of the official languages of South Africa alongside English. Despite facing resistance from non-Afrikaans-speaking groups, the language has continued to thrive, with millions of speakers today in South Africa and Namibia, as well as in diaspora communities.
​To read more about this language, Click Here, Here, Here, Here, and/or Here.
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Read about a print error from book 2 Potter of Babble found - Click Here.
The Afrikaans Potter translations were published by Human & Rousseau. Books 1 - 5 were translated by Janie Oosthuysen and book 6 and 7 were translated by Kobus Geldenhuys. Only a few print runs of the books were produced. Moreover, I've heard from Afrikaans speakers that the translation wasn't very well done, making the book not so popular. Today, the books are out of print and quickly becoming harder to find, even in South Africa, as the Harry Potter translation collectorship continues to grow. I am only aware of these books being published in softcover - if you know a hardcover edition, please let me know.
Harry Potter en die Towenaar se Steen
ISBN: 0798140232

...en die Kamer van Geheimenisse
ISBN: 0798140240

...en die Gevangene van Azkaban
ISBN: 0798140836

...en die Beker Vol Vuur
...en die Orde van die Feniks
...en die Halfbloed Prins
...en die Skatte van die Dood
ISBN: 0798141034

ISBN: 0798143789

ISBN: 0798146184

ISBN: 9780798149167


In 2024, Human and Rousseau, the original publishers of the Afrikaans Potter books, released the books featuring Jonny Duddle cover art. The collector world was quite shocked as the original Afrikaans Potter books had been out of print for quite some time, which was why those books were increasing in value. The text blocks of the Duddle cover books were only slightly revised. Only the 1st book is pitured here, but thus far, the plan is release all 7 books in the Cuddle covers.