Is Afrikaans a dying language? Five findings from cultural dynamics

A recent study by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on South African culture over the last decade has revealed fascinating trends into how we live, worship, speak and marry.

How religious are South Africans today?

South Africa remains a predominantly religious country, with Christianity continuing to dominate. The proportion of Christians rose from 75.9% in 1996 to 84.5% in 2022.

The percentage of people with no religious affiliation dropped significantly, from 11.7% to just 2.9%.

Traditional African religions have seen a resurgence, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal (13.5%), Eastern Cape (11%) and Limpopo (6.3%).

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Is Afrikaans really a dying language?

While Afrikaans remains the third most spoken language in South Africa, its share of speakers has declined from 14.5% in 1996 to 10.6% in 2022.

“The actual number of Afrikaans speakers increased between 1996 and 2022 by more than 700 000 persons,” noted the study.

Afrikaans is still the primary language for over 70% of coloured South Africans, though this group has seen a 10% decline in usage since 1996.

Stats SA highlighted that Afrikaans remains dominant in the Northern Cape, where 54.6% of residents speak it.

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South African language for chance in academic success

According to Stats SA, English speakers consistently recorded the highest progression ratios from Grade 9 to completing Grade 12.

“Having English as the medium of instruction in the South African schooling system may be an added advantage for English speakers and possibly justify the higher progression ratios achieved,” the report said.

Afrikaans speakers follow closely, while school pupils who speak indigenous African languages, such as isiXhosa and isiZulu, historically lag behind.

However, Stats SA said “there has been a significant increase in the educational progression in the past decades, from 0.42 in 1960 to 0.61 in 2022″.

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Are more South Africans choosing to marry later in life?

The study saw a significant decline in marriage rates with only 23.8% of South Africans aged 12 and older being legally married in 2022, compared to 35.6% in 1996.

Conversely, the number of people who have never married has risen from 52.8% to 61.7%.

“The sharp decline in marriage rates suggests a broader societal shift away from marriage,” the report notes.

The average age at marriage has also increased. Men now marry at an average age of 34.5 years, while women marry at 31.4 years.

“Higher marriage rates were observed among white and Indian/Asian population groups as compared to black Africans and coloureds.”

How multilingual is South Africa becoming?

Gauteng and the Western Cape lead the way, with 17% and 10.5% of households, respectively, being multilingual.

Multilingual households have more than doubled, from 3.5% in 1996 to 9.4% in 2022.

The report also highlighted the growing presence of non-official languages such as Shona, Portuguese and Chichewa reflecting increased migration.

“The cultural landscape in South Africa has and continues to be shaped by Western and Eastern traditions”.

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