August 1795
Early written Afrikaans appears in a Muizenberg poem
An anonymous poem associated with the Muizenberg campaign used an early Cape Dutch or Afrikaans vernacular form.
probable
publication
An anonymous poem associated with the Muizenberg campaign used an early Cape Dutch or Afrikaans vernacular form.
Significance
Valuable dated milestone in a gradual language history, not a single “origin moment”.
Why it matters
Valuable dated milestone in a gradual language history, not a single “origin moment”.
Disputed interpretations
Its dating is broadly accepted, but its classification as the 'oldest Afrikaans' text and the boundary between Cape Dutch and Afrikaans are matters of linguistic interpretation.