(University of the Free State, 2003) Erasmus, Piet
English: This article deals with the relation between language and power in the (re)production
of Afrikaner culture. Against a historical background the author first considers
current Afrikaners’ uncertainty about a suitable way to understand “themselves”. Secondly,
the use of Afrikaans to establish and maintain the Afrikaner’s position of
power is reviewed. Thirdly, it is argued that it is anthropologically important to realise
that people themselves give active content to their destiny; they are not passive victims
of inevitable, arbitrary processes of assimilation, identification or the abuse of
power.