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Glite Dictionary
Taal language

Taal language

8.4
An official language of South Africa closely related to Dutch and Flemish
  • noun
translation icon : idioma Taal
  • The Taal language was officially recognized alongside English in South Africa.

Examples

  • Is the Taal language similar to Dutch?

  • Many South Africans grew up speaking Taal language at home and school.

  • Linguists study the Taal language to understand its evolution from Dutch.

  • The Taal language is widely spoken in South Africa.

  • In South Africa, Taal language is spoken by millions as a first language.

  • The government promotes the Taal language in schools to preserve its use.

  • My grandmother taught me to read and write in Taal language when I was young.

Synonyms

Afrikaans
vsTaal language
6.3

A language people speak in South Africa that comes from Dutch

is the same language but known by a different historical name

Surface Forms

Taal language singular
Taal languages plural

Morphology

Taal + language

The compound follows the transparent naming pattern 'X language' where 'language' clearly signals that 'Taal' is the name of a language; a B1 learner who knows 'language' and treats 'Taal' as a proper name will infer it denotes a language called Taal. They might not deduce the additional encyclopedic detail that it is Afrikaans or an official South African language, but the core meaning is compositionally clear.

Etymology

Taal language comes from the Dutch word taal, which simply means 'language'. Early Dutch settlers in South Africa called their speech taal, and that speech became the language now called 'Afrikaans', so Taal language refers to that official South African language.