I'm Afrikaans. What does that mean?

Recently I've been having several conversations and arguments with work colleagues about their perceptions of Afrikaans people. You see I work in a very English dominated industry and every now and then there's an argument about how to sell stuff to Afrikaans people. When this issue gets raised, various eyebrow-raising thoughts come to the fore. I'm going to TRY and list all the misconceptions people have about Afrikaans speaking people.

1. We can't talk English at all.

Very korrekt. I are Afrikaans and Engliesh are not reeli my thirst language. What a load of crap. The fact of the matter is that most Afrikaans speaking people get drilled, from a very young age, that if they want to get anywhere, English is the way to go. Which is a definite truth as probably 60% of the world's population speaks English in some way or form. If you really want to have fun, ask any English person to speak a bit of Afrikaans. Kak funny!

2. We all dress the same.

Apparently being a Afrikaans guy means you have to wear the following:

• Two-tone khaki shirts (because that's just how we roll)
• Pt-shorts (because that's all shorts we own and all we Afrikaners do is play rugby)
• Rugby socks (sigh)

Yeah. Sadly a lot of the South African population think we're all farmers or struggling AWB members.

3. We only listen to Afrikaans music

I recently told a friend (who isn't Afrikaans) about the awesome concert by Park Acoustics that was going to happen at the Voortrekker Monument. The woord 'Voortrekker' didn't even properly leave my mouth before he said: "But won't they only play Afrikaans music?" Now folks, as much as we love our language, there are more than enough reasons to not always listen to music in Afrikaans: Kurt Darren, Nicholis Louw and the holy grail, Steve Hofmeyr. To give you an idea of some Afrikaans guys making incredible music just look at the likes of AKing, Kinky Robot, Fokofpolisiekar and BOO!

4. We're all closet racists

Very touchy subject. Yes, some crazy Afrikaans guy did implement the Apartheid system. Do I know him? No. Do I believe in this system? Hell no. I've been kicking it with black, coloured, asian, pink and purple friends since my younger years. Seriously people, there's a lot more cooler black people to hang out with than talking crap around a braai with some white people still stuck in the 80's. You know the kind. Those who start of their sentences with "I'm not a racist but...". We're not all like that. Please start realising this.

5. We all live in Benoni or Brakpan.

Too many times as a conversation ended with "...like some Afrikaans guy from Brakpan" or "...he was like this Afrikaans Benoni boytjie." Now, as much as I'm intrigued by the thought that we all have our own little colony set up in Benoni and Brakpan, that seizes to be the case. Yep, sorry to break your hearts but a lot of us are chilling around in Bryanston, rocking it in Cape Town, and watching soccer in Soweto. And don't worry we're regular folk like everyone else. We don't bite.

Now see, Afrikaners aren't always what you make them out to be. If one is around you, try talking to him or her, they'll more than likely talk back without giving you the fright of your life. ; )

Disclaimer: No person of any culture, race or creed was harmed during the writing of this post.