Script guide › Latin
Afrikaans vs German
Afrikaans and German sit in the same corner of the writing-system map — Grafle's Latin group — and players mix them up constantly. Here's the fastest way to tell them apart.
The tell
German Capitalizes Every Noun and uses ä/ö/ü/ß; Afrikaans does neither — and its standalone 'n is unique.
Side by side
Afrikaans
Alle menslike wesens word vry en gelyk in waardigheid gebore.
Hallo, hoe gaan dit? Dis 'n lekker dag vandag.
'n Boer maak altyd 'n plan.
Afrikaans's own tells
- Looks like simplified Dutch — the standalone 'n (apostrophe-n) is the giveaway.
- Uses y where Dutch has ij: vry, gelyk.
On signs in:
- South Africa
- Namibia
German
Alle Menschen sind frei und gleich an Würde geboren.
Schöne Grüße aus Österreich!
Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm.
German's own tells
- Nouns are Capitalized mid-sentence — unique to German.
- Umlauts ä ö ü plus the sharp ß, and long compound words. (Switzerland writes ss instead of ß.)
On signs in:
- Germany
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg