Not going to SA until 2014, but getting started already

Rohan,
That is what really intrigued me about Afrikaans, the German aspect. When I heard our guide speaking on the phone with the owner of the reserve I could have sworn they were speaking German. I was catching some of the words very easily. I am German and know some German. The nice thing is I pick up German very quickly. My husband is Dutch, so I like the aspect of the relationship to the Dutch language as well.

So far, I have purchased a mini dictionary and Colloquial Afrikaan - The Complete Course for Beginners. I am still working on learning the pronunciation of the vowels and constants. I plan to take my time going through this book, which is fairly small and learn as much as I can. Then I plan to move on to something more difficult. You can go to Amazon.com to find a great selection of learning material. They even have books in Afrikaans, which as I learn I may get to help me translate.

This will be great fun, and I plan to teach our grandson some words too. He is only 6 months, so by time he can talk Ouma en Oupa will teach him some Afrikaans.

Good luck all!!

Good luck, it will be great and a lot of fun especially as you will get to practice with Afrikaans people when you get to your hunting destination. Being of German decent and knowing a bit of German is a benefit and will make things that much more easier because the language is partly derived from German, but will still be a great challenge to master. Practice makes perfect...just dont forget to practice with your bow!!!