What's the correct term for South Africans whose native tongue is Afrikaans?
 

Last month I toured some of the battlefields of the Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer wars. Now I need to write a report on the trip for our newsletter at work.

I'm not sure, though, of the correct term for South Africans whose native tongue is Afrikaans. Do people still use the word "Boer" or has that passed out of use? Our battlefield guides used it all the time but that was with reference to the Boer War. Do people now say "Afrikaners" or does that have other connotations?

I should have asked this while on tour, but didn't think about it until too late.

The correct term is South African.
Boer is an Afrikaans word that translated means farmer.

I do not howver think that an Afrikaans speaking South African would be concrened if you referred to an Afrikaner, just as a Zulu or Xhosa speaker would if you refrerred to them as Zulus or Xhosas.

I believe that each ethnic group in South Africa is proud of their heritage, however are just as proud as they are of being South African.

If I were you I would simply refer to them as Afrikaans speaking South Africans and you will not offend anyone.

In a historical context it is perfectly acceptable to use "Boers" as the name for the people who fought in the Anglo-Boer War. People today use the word "Afrikaner" to refer to white Afrikaans-speakers and it is also an acceptable term, so no worries there. However, if reporting on historical events, you would not use "Afrikaner" for the people who fought that war.

That's the simple answer and should suffice for your purposes, but be aware that there are complicated undertones. ;)

For example, there are more mixed-race people in South Africa who speak Afrikaans as home language than there are whites who do.

Here is more reading for you - section 3 deals with "Afrikaner vs Boer":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikan...er_versus_Boer

Every once in a while I came across a village in the middle of nowhere that alot of people seemed to speak Afrikaans. Surprising enough that these were in countries like Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The adult men in the community tradionally worked in SA.

Does anyone know the the traditional dainty Afrikaner dance? I crack up everytime I see these huge boers prancing around the dance floor.

often referred to as "lang arm" means long arm.
Othewise "tikkiie draai" taken from the old coin implying that you turn on a ticky.

Thanks for your helpful and sensitive answers.