This guide adapts rules and examples from Microsoft’s Localization Style Guide for Afrikaans (originally written for software/UI localization). The underlying linguistic rules apply universally — to legal contracts, medical documents, marketing copy, and any Afrikaans translation work. Restructured and reformatted as a general Afrikaans translator reference by ChatsControl.

Afrikaans Translation Style Guide — Voice, Word Choice & Common Pitfalls (Legal, Medical, Marketing, IT)¶

TL;DR¶

• Afrikaans translation across spheres prioritizes a warm, conversational register — avoid overly formal Dutch-influenced vocabulary like ‘poog’ (use ‘probeer’), ‘rakende/aangaande’ (use ‘oor’), ‘afsluit’ (use ‘verlaat/toemaak’).
• Address users with informal ‘jy/jou’ as the default in consumer-facing software, marketing and patient-facing medical content; ‘u’ only for sworn legal and very formal correspondence.
• Afrikaans uses compounds extensively — write multi-part compounds as one word (Internetrekeninge, aantekenskripverwerking); use hyphens only per 2009 AWS rules (acronyms, vowel clashes, proper nouns).
• Follow 2009 AWS (Afrikaanse woordelys en spelreëls, 10th edition) as the absolute normative authority — it takes precedence over the Kuberwoordeboek/Cyber Dictionary in all conflicts.
• Use the decimal comma (5,25 cm not 5.25 cm) per South African Government Notice R1146; use a space (not period or comma) for thousands (1 526 not 1,526).

Register and tone for modern Afrikaans translation¶

Register is the level of formality, warmth, and conversational ease the target text projects. Modern Afrikaans readers across consumer-facing spheres expect a register that feels human rather than bureaucratic. Older Afrikaans translation tended toward Dutch-derived formality (poog, betreffende, aangaande, verspreid, ontsper) — those forms now feel distant and institutional to most readers.

Three principles define the modern register:

• Warm and relaxed. Sounds like honest conversation rather than a formal notice. Less institutional, more grounded — matching how Afrikaans-speakers actually speak.
• Crisp and clear. Written for scanning first, reading second. Short sentences, simple structure. Simplicity is the default.
• Ready to help. Anticipates what the reader needs and offers it at the right moment.

In Afrikaans, prefer shorter words when they are well-established and less formal. “Probeer” is shorter than “poog” — but “poog” is heavily formal. Don’t use shortened words that don’t appear in the dictionary or that you wouldn’t expect to see in a newspaper.

Why this matters: Bureaucratic register damages outcomes across spheres in Afrikaans-speaking markets. In marketing copy it kills conversion — readers bounce when text sounds Dutch-stiff. In patient-facing medical materials (instructiebriewe, prospektusse) it reduces comprehension and compliance. In software UI it creates friction at every interaction. In consumer-facing legal documents plain-Afrikaans drafting is the modern expectation. Only sworn legal translation and pure technical specifications retain the older formal register.

Audience targeting: technical vs. consumer vocabulary¶

The same source text requires different vocabulary depending on who reads the translation. Use technical terms for technical audiences; for consumers use common words. This applies in every sphere — legal counsel docs use Latinisms while consumer-facing versions need plain Afrikaans; clinical reports use medical Latin while patient leaflets switch to everyday terms; developer docs use English jargon while end-user help uses Afrikaans.

Sample modern voice text¶

Addressing the user to take action¶

Explanatory text and support¶

Promoting features and providing how-to guidelines¶

Inclusive language¶

Microsoft technology reaches every part of the globe, so it is critical that all communications are inclusive and diverse. These principles apply to any modern Afrikaans translation work.

General principles:

• Comply with local language laws.
• Use plain language — straightforward, concrete, familiar words help people of all learning levels.
• Be mindful when referring to parts of the world — avoid politically disputed names; use equivalent references (don’t mix countries with states or continents).
• Represent diverse perspectives in text and images.
• Don’t generalize or stereotype people by region, culture, age, or gender.
• Don’t use profane or derogatory terms or cultural-appropriation slang.
• Don’t use terms with unconscious racial bias or terms associated with military/political/controversial historical events.

Avoid gender bias¶

Use gender-neutral alternatives. Avoid compounds containing gender-specific terms (man, vrou).

For generalizations, use plural noun forms (mense, individue, studente). For generic references, avoid gendered pronouns (sy, hy, hom). Instead:

• Rewrite using second or third person (‘jy’ or “‘n mens”).
• Rewrite using a plural noun and pronoun.
• Use articles instead of a pronoun (‘die dokument’ instead of ‘sy dokument’).
• Refer to a person’s role (leser, werknemer, kliënt).
• Use ‘persoon’ or ‘individu’.

In Afrikaans, if you can’t rewrite around the problem, it is acceptable to use the plural pronoun ‘hulle’ in generic references to a single person. Do not use constructions like ‘hy/sy’ or ‘sy/hy’. When writing about a real person, use the pronouns the person prefers.

Accessibility¶

Focus on people, not disabilities. Don’t use words that imply pity such as ‘getref deur’ or ‘ly aan’. Don’t mention a disability unless relevant.

Use generic verbs that apply to all input methods and devices:

Keep paragraphs short — aim for one verb per sentence. Read text aloud as if a screen reader were speaking it. Spell out words like ‘en’, ‘plus’, ‘omtrent’ — screen readers can misread ‘&’, ‘+’, ‘~’.

Language-specific standards¶

Abbreviations¶

You may need to abbreviate some words in the UI due to space, especially where Afrikaans uses a prepositional phrase rather than a single short preposition (t.o.v., d.m.v., i.v.m., m.b.t., m.b.v.).

• Full stops are used in such abbreviations. Each lower-case letter (including the last) is followed by a full stop. Exceptions: see Ch. 3 of 2009 AWS.
• Capital-letter abbreviations of common nouns do not take full stops. The full forms do not need initial capitals: PIN’s (persoonlike identifikasienommers), OTM’e (outomatiese tellermasjiene).

Note: ‘bv.’ and ‘ens.’ are not used in the same list of items.

Acronyms¶

Acronyms are words made up of the initial letters of major parts of a compound term (WYSIWYG, DNS, HTML).

In English it is considered redundant to include a generic term after an acronym if one of its letters stands for that term (PIN number, HTML language). In Afrikaans this is more acceptable, particularly if the acronym is often used standalone:

• (-) MIV-virus → use MI-virus
• (+) HOD-diploma
• (-) OTM-masjien → acceptable but ‘kitsbank’ is better
• (-) PIN-nommer → acceptable but ‘PIN-kode’ is better

Localized acronyms — in help or documentation, spell out the words the first time the acronym is used. Include the Afrikaans translation, the US term, and the acronym:

Datatoegangsobjekte (Data Access Objects, DAO)

In UI there is usually not enough space; use judgment. Be consistent within a product.

Unlocalized acronyms — many acronyms are standardized and stay untranslated (ANSI, ISO, ISDN). Don’t replace English acronyms like ‘DLL’ or ‘DPI’ with Afrikaans versions. However:

• Well-known existing Afrikaans abbreviations should not be discarded in favour of American ones (‘PC’ should not replace ‘rekenaar’; ‘US/UK’ should not replace ‘VSA/VK’).
• If an acronym is technical and space allows, supply an Afrikaans explanatory translation.
• No full stops in acronyms or capital-letter abbreviations.

When an acronym forms part of a compound noun, link it by hyphen to the rest of the compound (see 3.14 and 12.8–12.11, 2009 AWS). For plurals of acronyms: see 3.18, 13.9, 13.18 of 2009 AWS.

Adjectives¶

Limit adjectives to keep text short and concise. Too many adjectives make a sentence too wordy. See 25.1 of Skryf Afrikaans van A tot Z.

Articles¶

Afrikaans uses the indefinite article “‘n” and the definite article “die”. The indefinite “‘n” always appears in lower case, even at the beginning of a sentence — the following word takes the capital: “‘n Mooi dag.”

Unlocalized feature names are used without articles in Afrikaans (as in English): “Leer meer oor jou Bluetooth-foon.”

Localized feature names are also used without articles: “Leer meer oor Kalender.”

English loan words — when choosing an article:

• Motivation — does the English word have formal features that fit Afrikaans noun classes?
• Analogy — is there an equivalent Afrikaans term whose article fits?
• Frequency — what article is most often used in technical documentation?

Loanwords (nouns) are not usually defined by an article (“HTML-formaat”).

Articles and demonstratives in error messages¶

Many English error messages vary in their use of articles, demonstratives and possessives. Be consistent in Afrikaans. While English omissions can be followed, it sometimes sounds odd. Retain articles where possible. Avoid the second-person possessive ‘jou’ wherever an article suffices:

Capitalization¶

Some strings are concatenated at runtime and may seem to lack a subject. Don’t start such strings with an upper-case letter unless the spelling rules require it.

Follow ordinary Afrikaans syntactical capitalization (Chapter 9, 2009 AWS):

1. If a sentence starts with a symbol, number or figure, the following word is lower case (except proper nouns).
2. If multiple options are given as run-ons below an introductory phrase, the run-ons start lower case. If items are independent (typically after “die volgende:” or “byvoorbeeld:”), they start with a capital.
3. The initial indefinite article (“‘n”) always stays lower case; the following word takes the initial capital. Don’t let auto-capitalize tools capitalize “‘n”.
4. Common nouns referring to commands or buttons retain their capitals: “Indien jy wil voortgaan, klik Ja”, “Gaan na Opsies om te sien watter keuses daar is.”

Don’t mimic English over-capitalization. Use Afrikaans spelling conventions. For two-word translations of capitalized English nouns, be consistent: capitalize both, neither, or one — but apply uniformly. For Afrikaans phrasal verbs (separable verbs) like “gaan uit” or “skakel af” used as a button or command, capitalize only the first part: “Gaan uit”, “Skakel af”.

Compounds¶

Compounds should be understandable and clear. Avoid overly long or complex compounds. See 14.3 of 2009 AWS for compound formation.

Afrikaans uses compounding extensively. The rules are in Chapters 12 (Koppeltekens) and 14 (Skryfwyse – los en vas) of 2009 AWS, plus cross-references at 5.6, 7.1, 7.2. Follow these strictly, consistently, conservatively.

Hyphens play an important role:

• Never use an en dash instead of a hyphen, or a hyphen where an en dash is appropriate. MS Word may convert a placeholder hyphen (space-hyphen-word as in “staatskole en -hospitale”) to a dash — use a hard hyphen (Ctrl+Shift+Hyphen).
• In normal compounding, the hyphen has no space on either side. Exceptions in rules 12.24 and 12.25 of 2009 AWS.
• Be consistent and systematic in hyphen use — same compound, same hyphenation always.
• Special attention for compounds containing an abbreviation or acronym (12.8–12.11, 2009 AWS).
• Hyphens should be used conservatively — but in long compounds (three or more roots, or two long roots) hyphens can enhance readability.
• For compounds containing proper nouns (14.6–14.12), the hyphenated variant (proper noun + hyphen + lower-case common noun) is preferred.

Overly long compounds should be avoided by paraphrasing where it can be done effectively.

Why this matters: Compound miscoding (writing parts as separate words, wrong hyphen placement) is the #1 visible marker of English-source translation in Afrikaans. In legal text: “data verwerking ooreenkoms” is wrong; “dataverwerkingsooreenkoms” is right. In medical text: “pasiënt inligting brief” is wrong; “pasiëntinligtingbrief” is right. Get the compound right and the text reads as native Afrikaans.

Contractions¶

Contractions are used in Afrikaans to make style more informal and sentences shorter.

Gender (grammatical, not biological)¶

• In Microsoft Voice Afrikaans, it is NOT acceptable to use a plural pronoun if the antecedent is singular. “Die gebruiker moet hulle vergewis van die inhoud van die lisensiekontrak” is not acceptable, even though increasingly done in English. The only exception is when the antecedent is nominally singular but notionally plural (some collective nouns). Plural pronoun ≠ acceptable way to avoid gender-specific language.
• Afrikaans uses the possessive masculine pronoun ‘sy’ for non-human objects, masculine ‘hy’ for living things (unless biologically female), and non-personal ‘dit’ for non-living objects (mostly as subject or object):
• Die rekenaar werk nie, want sy hardeskyf is stukkend. (The PC doesn’t work because its hard disk is broken.)
• Die motor kan nie ry nie, want dit het nie ‘n battery nie. (The car won’t go because it doesn’t have a battery.)
• Die hond het vir hom ‘n skaduplekkie gesoek. (The dog found itself a patch of shade.)
• This is grammatical gender, not biological — no need to avoid it for inclusivity reasons.
• The relative pronoun “who” is ‘wat’ regardless of human/non-human antecedent — except when accompanied by a preposition or ‘se’ (possessive particle), in which case ‘wie’:
• Die program wat gebruik word, is verouderd.
• ‘n Gebruiker wat sukkel, kan die hulplyn gebruik.
• ‘n Gebruiker wie se rekenaar te klein is, gaan sukkel.
• Die mense na wie jy soek, is …

Localizing colloquialism, idioms, metaphors¶

• Don’t replace a source colloquialism with an Afrikaans colloquialism unless it is a perfect, natural fit.
• Translate the intended meaning of the colloquialism (not literally), but only if it is integral to the text.
• Omit the colloquialism if it can be omitted without losing meaning.

Nouns and English loan words¶

Afrikaans doesn’t differentiate noun classes by animacy, shape or gender the way some languages do. For English loan words, use the same Motivation/Analogy/Frequency framework as for articles.

Inflection of English loanwords for number:

Plural formation — see 2009 AWS. The apostrophe is used in plurals of:

• Abbreviations: TV’s, 1990’s
• Degrees and diplomas: B.Ed.’s
• Single letters: b’s
• Dates (the year): 1980’s
• Digits: 10’e, gr. 8’s

Prepositions¶

Be aware of proper preposition use. Many translators omit prepositions or change word order under English influence.

Some English transitive verbs are not transitive in Afrikaans and require a link verb (loop → laat loop). Some Afrikaans verbs have become transitive (migreer). Afrikaans phrasal verbs split depending on syntactical environment.

Common preposition phrases:

Pronouns¶

The possessive ‘se’ needs to be as close to the noun it refers to as possible — don’t separate them by a noun.

The comparative pronoun ‘wat’ is used with reference to people, animals and objects. When it appears as ‘wie’, it is usually with ‘se’. Errors creep in when a preposition occurs with the pronoun.

Example: “Rekenaarkundiges moet hiervan kennis neem” — NOT “Rekenaarkundiges moet van dit kennis neem.”

Using ‘you’ too often can seem threatening or unfriendly. In Afrikaans, using ‘we’ to refer to the computer is less natural.

Punctuation¶

After commas and periods, include a space.

Important conventions:

1. Predicates of complex sentences are separated by a comma whether or not adjacent. After “om te + verb” as a noun clause, no comma is needed.
2. A defining adjectival clause is terminated by a comma, unless two equivalent clauses are linked by ‘en’ or ‘of’, or it is the final clause.
3. A non-defining adjectival clause is preceded by a comma before the relative pronoun and terminated by a comma.
4. A dash (en dash) between words has a single space on either side.

Comma — decimal separator. South African Afrikaans uses a decimal comma per South African Government Notice R1146 of 5 July 1974 (regulating the Measuring Units and Measurement Standards Act, Act 18 of 2006). Don’t use a space — a space separates the numeral from the abbreviation. For paper sizes (US norms), keep the period and “in” for inches.

Inches. “in” as an abbreviation for “inch” is not acceptable in Afrikaans — change to “dm.” (with full stop), which has been the recognized abbreviation for decades.

Thousands separator. A space (not period or comma) per Notice R1146. Use a hard space (Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar) to avoid wrapping. No space between currency symbol and the first digit:

Colon. Not followed by a capital letter unless it is a proper noun or full sentence:

• Vermy asseblief die volgende elemente: selfspeur, grafieka en tabelle.
• Koop asseblief hierdie koeldranke op my lys: Coke, Fanta en Sprite.
• Die Skype-gebruiker het gesê: “Briljante produk.”

Dashes and hyphens — three characters:

Hyphen divides words between syllables, links compound parts, and connects parts of inverted/imperative verbs. Example: bo-op, vroue-emansipasie.

En dash in English is used in number ranges. In Afrikaans, the hyphen is used in number ranges. The hyphen is also used in combination with a symbol: 9 mm-pistool, 5 l-bottels, A4-formaat.

Ellipses (suspension points)

• Three dots only.
• If source uses a single character for the ellipse, use the single character. If source uses three dots, use three dots.
• Per Norme vir Afrikaans, no spaces between the dots. There should always be a space between the dots and any preceding/following word. No space between the dots and a following punctuation mark.
• No additional full stop (fourth dot) when ellipse ends a sentence.

Examples:

• Werkers wat heeldag slaap …?
• “Ek het jou mos gewaarsku …,” het sy gesê.

Full stop ends sentences. Also used in abbreviations (Chapter 3, 2009 AWS).

Quotation marks — default is double quotes in both initial and final positions (raised position). Use single quotes within double quotes. Both straight and curly quotes are acceptable in Afrikaans — for consistency, use the same style as the source.

Example: “In ‘Siener in die suburbs’ word die vraag gestel of ‘eendsterte’ normale lewens kan lei.”

Parentheses — no space between parentheses and the text inside. Example: “Ek gaan volgende week (Dinsdag en Woensdag) in die Kaap wees.”

Sentence fragments¶

For English Microsoft voice, sentence fragments help convey conversational tone. In Afrikaans, fragments often come across as abrupt or artificially short. Try to find a suitably short expression, but don’t be afraid to translate with a slightly longer phrase.

Symbols and special characters¶

Ampersand (&) — always translate as “en” when referring to running text. Don’t keep “&” unless it is part of a tag, placeholder, shortcut or code.

Verbs and tense¶

Afrikaans has very simple tenses. You can’t change tense to make text more informal. Narrative text uses the present tense, in contrast with English (past tense). If the source uses simple present where a perfect would be more usual, translate in the most appropriate Afrikaans way, even if longer or passive.

Do not use an English verb as a loan word unless you are confident it is recognized as a fully-fledged Afrikaans word. Try never to borrow English verbs. If you must borrow, treat it as Afrikaans — follow Afrikaans morphology. Strictly for example: if “chat” and “erase” were borrowed, write “gechat” / “geërase” (not ge-chat / ge-erase), “chattery” / “erasery” (not chat-ery / erase-ery), “chatsessie” / “kitserase” (not chat-sessie / kits-erase). Best practice: avoid borrowing verbs at all costs.

Gerunds (continuous operations). English “-ing” gerunds are difficult to translate. Using a nominalized form of the verb may be awkward. Nominalization through suffixes like -ing follows rules 14.24–14.26 of 2009 AWS. Every Afrikaans verb can be used as a noun without morphological change — often a better option. Either format usually requires the definite article and a preposition like ‘van’. Consider using a verb format for headings if the nominalized form is awkward — e.g., “Hoe om ‘n lêer te stuur” or “Hoe om style te gebruik”.

Important matters in verb use:

1. For ge-/-ge- in verb categories, see rules 17.1–17.8 of 2009 AWS. Consistency is crucial.
2. While the (main) verb often comes later in Afrikaans, it is wrong to think “all verbs go to the end”. Verbs should be placed as close to their subjects as possible. Avoid stringing several verbs from different clauses together at the end.
3. Split phrasal verbs correctly (see 14.48–50, 17.2, 17.3 of 2009 AWS).
4. Predicates belonging to different clauses are separated by a comma.
5. The verb ‘to be’ (wees/is/was) can be omitted in certain short sentences — sparingly and consistently in the same lexical environment.
6. English modal ‘may’ is generally translated as ‘kan’. Use ‘mag’ for permission, negatives (geen, nie), or restrictive adverbs (slegs). Sometimes ‘sal’ + a modal adverb (dalk, miskien) is better than ‘kan’.

Error messages¶

Apply Microsoft voice principles. Use consistent terminology and language style across error messages.

Standard error message phrases¶

Placeholders. Letter conventions:

• %d, %ld, %u, %lu → number
• %c → letter
• %s → string

Example: “Checking Web %1!d! of %2!d!” → “Checking Web of .” “INI file “%1!-.200s!” section” → “INI file ‘’ section.”

Keys¶

References to key names appear in normal text (not small caps). Same in Afrikaans.

Keyboard shortcuts¶

Localization terminology¶

Standard shortcut keys¶

Trademarks and version numbers¶

Trademarked names and “Microsoft Corporation” should not be localized unless local laws require translation and an approved translated form is available. List: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/intellectualproperty/trademarks

Version numbers always contain a period: “Version 4.2” → “Weergawe 4.2”.

Voice and video considerations¶

A good voice video addresses only one intent, is not too long, has high audio quality, uses visuals that add information, and uses the right language variant in voice-over.

Successful techniques:

• Focus on the intent.
• Show empathy.
• Use SEO — include search phrases in title, description, headers.
• Talk to the customer as if they are next to you.
• Record a scratch audio file. Check length, pace, clarity.

For English pronunciation, generally pronounce English terms and product names the English way (with Afrikaans accent), with numbers in Afrikaans. Match tone to audience — informal/playful for consumer products and games; formal/informative for technical texts.

Reference materials¶

Normative references (adhere strictly):

1. Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns. 2009. Afrikaanse woordelys en spelreëls. 10th edition. Cape Town: Pharos. (2009 AWS) — absolute authority. Where it conflicts with the Kuberwoordeboek/Cyber Dictionary (Protea, 2006), 2009 AWS takes precedence.

Informative references (supplementary):

1. Viljoen, HC (ed.), Du Plooy, NF and Murray, S. 2006. Kuberwoordeboek/Cyber Dictionary (Afrikaans-English/English-Afrikaans). Pretoria: Protea Boekhuis.
2. Du Plessis, M (ed.). 2005. Pharos Afrikaans-Engels-Engels-Afrikaanse woordeboek. Cape Town: Pharos.
3. Botha, WJ (ed.). 2005. Elektroniese WAT (A–Q). Stellenbosch: Buro van die WAT. Or printed Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (A–R), 1955–2009.
4. Odendal, FF, & Gouws, RH (eds.). 2005. HAT: Verklarende handwoordeboek van die Afrikaanse taal. 5th edition. Cape Town: Maskew Miller Longman. Or e-HAT, 2009.
5. Afrikaanse SkryfGoed 4 (spellchecker), http://speltoetser.co.za/
6. WSpel (spellchecker), http://wspel.wordpress.com/
7. Pharos Online (online dictionaries), http://www.pharosonline.co.za/
8. Müller, Dalene. 2003. Skryf Afrikaans van A tot Z. Cape Town: Pharos.
9. Carstens, WAM. 2011. Norme vir Afrikaans. (5th edition) Pretoria: Van Schaik.

FAQ¶

Should I use ‘jy’ or ‘u’ when translating to Afrikaans?¶

Use informal ‘jy/jou’ as the default for consumer-facing software, marketing copy, online help, patient-facing medical materials and most product documentation — modern Afrikaans Microsoft voice explicitly uses ‘jy’. Reserve ‘u’ for sworn legal documents, very formal correspondence, and content addressed to elderly or institutional audiences. Don’t mix the two within the same document.

Which authority do I follow for Afrikaans spelling?¶

The 2009 AWS (Afrikaanse woordelys en spelreëls, 10th edition, published by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, Pharos) is the absolute normative authority. Follow it strictly, consistently and conservatively. When the Kuberwoordeboek/Cyber Dictionary (Protea 2006) conflicts with 2009 AWS — and it does in several places — 2009 AWS wins every time.

How are compound nouns written in Afrikaans?¶

As a single word (Internetrekeninge, aantekenskripverwerking, kuberveiligheid). Afrikaans uses compounding extensively. Hyphens are used only per 2009 AWS Chapter 12: with acronyms or abbreviations (HTML-formaat, IP-adres), with proper nouns (Microsoft-produk), to prevent vowel clashes (bo-op, vroue-emansipasie), or for readability in long three-root compounds. Don’t use an en dash where a hyphen belongs.

Which Afrikaans words should I avoid in modern translation?¶

Overly formal Dutch-derived vocabulary: ‘poog’ (use ‘probeer’), ‘rakende/aangaande/in verband met’ (use ‘oor’), ‘asook/sowel as’ (use ‘en’), ‘versper/ontsper’ (use ‘aktiveer/deaktiveer’), ‘konfigureer’ (use ‘opstel’), ‘afsluit’ (use ‘verlaat/toemaak’). These survive in legal and government text but feel alien in consumer-facing content.

How does Afrikaans handle numbers and decimals?¶

Decimal separator is a comma (5,25 cm — not 5.25 cm) per South African Government Notice R1146 of 5 July 1974. Thousands separator is a (preferably non-breaking) space, not a comma or period (1 526 — not 1,526 or 1.526). Currency symbol attaches directly to the first digit ($1 526,75 — no space between $ and 1). For inches use the abbreviation ‘dm.’ (with full stop), not ‘in’.

How does grammatical gender work in Afrikaans pronouns?¶

Afrikaans uses the possessive masculine pronoun ‘sy’ to refer to non-human objects (Die rekenaar werk nie, want sy hardeskyf is stukkend), the masculine pronoun ‘hy’ for living things (unless biologically female), and the non-personal ‘dit’ for non-living objects mainly as subject or object. This is grammatical gender, not biological — no need to avoid it for inclusivity reasons. Don’t use plural ‘hulle’ with a singular antecedent (‘Die gebruiker moet hulle vergewis…’ is not acceptable in modern Microsoft Afrikaans style).

What authoritative Afrikaans references should I use?¶

Normative: 2009 AWS (Afrikaanse woordelys en spelreëls, 10th ed., Pharos). Informative: Pharos Afrikaans-Engels woordeboek, HAT (Verklarende handwoordeboek van die Afrikaanse taal, 5th ed., or e-HAT), Elektroniese WAT, Müller’s Skryf Afrikaans van A tot Z, Carstens’ Norme vir Afrikaans, Afrikaanse SkryfGoed and WSpel spellcheckers, Pharos Online, and the Kuberwoordeboek/Cyber Dictionary for IT terms (with the 2009 AWS caveat above).

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Afrikaans (PDF) — via Microsoft Globalization hub
• Pharos Online (Afrikaans-English dictionaries)
• Afrikaanse SkryfGoed (spellchecker)
• WSpel (spellchecker)
• Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns