Attempting to read PROOI, Deon Meyer's latest in the Bennie Griessel series, in Afrikaans. (PREY in English, but the title when translated in September will be THE LAST HUNTER.) Every once and a while I have to fetch the dictionary/woordeboek to follow the story at all. We'll see in September how much I "got the plot!"

Kinda like getting the picture key in paint-by-numbers form, so far. Struggling with context, but I know how the story goes/went. Afrikaans, like German, uses lots of combination words for those in English having one. I simply haven't the vocabulary.

Not to mention that cultural diffences are quite common.What we might find normal to us would be offensive to another culture. I recall in the movie "The ugly American" (if I remember right)starring Marlon Brando,when after war 2 he was sitting in a Japanese tea house + used the napkin to clean his ear wax.Even I was offended.

"The Last Hunt", English version available in November came to my door from England. Much clearer in my own tongue now (but I did have the plot right from PROOI.)

quote:

Originally posted by BNagel:
"The Last Hunt", English version available in November came to my door from England. Much clearer in my own tongue now (but I did have the plot right from PROOI.)

Modern English is a spawn of German and Middle English. It’s amazing how many Germanic words (like your woordeboek above) are perfectly understandable when spoken if not read slowly.

Then throw in that kicker of the Dutch with all those 'oughs' We do have a bastardization of languages here in America but every other nation must claim the same from some point at least.