“… In one of the furniture shops i came across a saleslady and a client. the client was afrikaans. i knew this because she spoke afrikaans. the saleslady spoke english. it was an endearing experience to witness. the lady spoke in afrikaans and the sales lady replied in english. this went on for about ten minutes. both could understand each other. neither tried to speak the other’s language.

where else can you do that besides in south africa.” ~ eKapa

Officially, the youngest language in the world is Afrikaans. By the early-20th century Afrikaans had developed from Dutch, French and other influences into a fully fledged language with its own dictionary. After a mere 90 years, it is the second most spoken language in South Africa. Zulu is the most spoken – the Zulu people being the largest ethnic group.