De La Rey, De La Rey sal jy die Boere kom lei?
South Africa has important links to the Netherlands. In 1652 the Dutch East India Company established a small trading post in Cape Town. This served as a halfway point for ships making their way to the East to trade. The Cape Town post provided sailors with food and supplies as well as an overall resting place. The Dutch language stuck during colonialist times and Afrikaans emerged as an offshoot of a number of Dutch dialects spoken by the settlers arriving in the Cape.
As a South African (whose second language is Afrikaans) I find fascination in reading the signposts of shops and businesses in the Netherlands. I understand most of these signs and I can culturally relate to them (to a certain extent). There is a definite sense of familiarity since names are the same as in Afrikaans. Many of these signs are humorous; some are a little silly or a bit odd for South Africans. Nonetheless, I will add to this list of signs as I find them. So keep coming back – this blog post will be updated!
A sign from a beach bar in Scheveningen, Den Haag. Lekker indeed!
A sign from Amsterdam – a bar with the name Wynand Fockink (of Frisian origin).
Takkie Kakkie? That can’t be right, can it?
Joost is also a popular Afrikaans name in South Africa
A Bit Odd, But Nonetheless Thought-Provoking
Nee! No! A Pavement Sign Prohibiting Dogs from Pooping Outside a House, Den Haag
Coke Light is Branded in Traditional Dutch (and Afrikaans names) Here!
Pick Up Your ‘Hondenpoep’ / Dog Poop (a sign in a park in Den Haag)
Feel at Home with South African Bobotie from an Albert Heijn Supermarket
A Sign from a Woodcut at the Escher Museum, Den Haag
Elizabeth Joss-Bethlehem
Elizabeth Joss-Bethlehem is the founder and main writer at The Museum Times. She works as a university lecturer by day and is an avid travel blogger and arts and culture enthusiast by night. Elizabeth started The Museum Times out of the need to give smaller, lesser-known museums more exposure.
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