The course caters to beginners as well as participants with some previous knowledge of Afrikaans. The emphasis in the first semester is on oral interaction in everyday situations. In addition, participants will be introduced to short written Afrikaans texts and recordings of oral interactions in Afrikaans. An introduction to some basics of Afrikaans grammar illustrates aspects of an analytic language, while some basic linguistic analysis familiarises participants with discursive aspects of Afrikaans texts. This should lay the foundation for later semesters in which the aim will be to understand contemporary and older written Afrikaans sources, to conduct interviews in Afrikaans with a variety of interlocutors and to collaborate with speakers of Afrikaans.
This Afrikaans course is offered in collaboration with the Graduate Network African Studies and the Lehr- und Forschungsstelle Namibian and Southern African Studies. To register, please contact Giorgio Miescher (Giorgio.Miescher@unibas.ch). Priority will be given to members of the Graduate Network African Studies. Prospective participants who are not graduate students or postdocs in African Studies should contact Veit Arlt (Veit.Arlt@unibas.ch) about possible participation and course fees.