Given that the Dutch are former colonial masters of South Africa, some sparks are bound to fly when the two countries lock horns here at the PCA Stadium today
Given that the Dutch are former colonial masters of South Africa, some sparks are bound to fly when the two countries lock horns here at the PCA Stadium today. Historical links between South Africa and the Netherlands go back to 1652, when the Dutch East India Company established a supply station for ships at Cape of Good Hope.
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| Star batsman Ryan ten Doeschate is among four Dutch players of
South African descent |
Afrikaans, one of 11 official languages in South Africa, is an offshoot of Dutch and is believed to have emerged in colonial times as a way for masters and slaves to communicate. It remains the primary language in South Africa.
As many as four players in the Netherlands' World Cup outfit are of South African descent ufffd Eric Szwarczynski, Wesley Barresi, Bernard Loots and Ryan ten Doeschate. Besides, Alexei Kervezee was born in Walvis Bay, now Namibia. Talk about African connections!
In fact, Loots, a 31-year old fast bowler, moved to Holland only in 2006. "I am through and through South African. I moved to Holland to experience a different culture. I did a bit of travelling around Europe as my girlfriend was in Holland. I loved the place, so decided to migrate immediately. At that time, a lot of my South African friends were moving to England, but I chose Holland," he said.
Loots, a backpacker-turned-cricketer, said he wanted to experience an international environment that was missing in SA. "I played a lot of club cricket in South Africa,u00a0 even played with Herschelle Gibbs. I chose Holland to experience a different culture, it didn't take me much time to fit in," he added.
Unlike Loots, Szwarczynski moved to Holland at an earlier age. "I was born just 100 Kms north of Johannesburg, but Holland is my home now. I have been there since the age of 16, and my grandparents are Dutch. So I found it easy to get comfortable in Holland," said the 28-year old.
So, how similar are the two languages? "Many words are the same but the way they (South Africans) pronounce is very different, and the grammar is also different. It took me almost three months to learn Dutch," said Loots.
