Academic Afrikaans is not just formal Afrikaans with longer words. It is a register defined by a small cluster of grammatical choices that, used together, instantly signal "this is scholarship": the impersonal daar word passive, hedged rather than asserted claims, heavy nominalisation, a closed set of logical connectors (derhalwe, gevolglik, voorts), and the impersonal tone that keeps the writer's I out of view. English-trained writers tend to import the wrong instincts — informal connectors, first-person assertion, plain active sentences — and produce something that reads as competent but not scholarly. This page operationalises the handful of moves that mark the register, so you can switch it on deliberately. For general formality (letters, official documents), see formal writing; this page is specifically about academic prose.
The impersonal passive: daar word ... ge-
The signature structure of academic Afrikaans is the daar word + past participle passive. It removes the human agent entirely — no ek, no die navorser (the researcher), no ons — and presents the action as something that simply is done. This is the grammatical embodiment of scholarly objectivity: the finding stands on its own, not on the authority of a named person.
Daar word aangevoer dat hierdie benadering tekortkominge het.
It is argued that this approach has shortcomings.
In hierdie studie word ondersoek ingestel na die invloed van taalkontak.
In this study, an investigation is conducted into the influence of language contact.
Daar word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat verdere navorsing nodig is.
It is concluded that further research is necessary.
Notice the word order: daar fills the first slot, word sits second as the finite verb, and the participle (aangevoer, ingestel, gekom) goes to the very end of the clause. This daar word frame is so characteristic that a single sentence in it is enough to colour a whole paragraph as academic.
Hedging: claiming carefully
Scholarly writing rarely asserts bluntly; it hedges, framing claims as appearances, arguments, or suggestions rather than facts. Afrikaans has a tidy set of fixed hedging frames built on the verbs blyk ("to appear"), skyn ("to seem"), and the impersonal daar word. These let you advance a claim while signalling appropriate caution.
| Hedge | Literal | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Dit blyk dat... | It appears that... | cautious factual claim |
| Dit wil voorkom asof... | It would appear as if... | tentative observation |
| Daar word aangevoer dat... | It is argued that... | attributing an argument |
| Daar word beweer dat... | It is claimed that... | reporting a claim (neutral) |
| Dit skyn asof... | It seems as if... | impression, not assertion |
Dit blyk dat die twee veranderlikes sterk korreleer.
It appears that the two variables correlate strongly.
Dit wil voorkom asof die vroeëre model nie meer houdbaar is nie.
It would appear that the earlier model is no longer tenable.
The difference between dit blyk dat and a bald Die twee veranderlikes korreleer is the difference between scholarship and a slogan. Hedging is not weakness; it is the honest acknowledgement that a study shows evidence, not certainty.
Nominalisation: turning verbs into nouns
Academic prose compresses information by turning verbs and adjectives into nouns — ondersoek (to investigate) becomes die ondersoek (the investigation); ontwikkel (to develop) becomes die ontwikkeling (the development). This nominalisation lets you pack a whole event into a noun phrase that can then be the subject of a further claim, building the dense, abstract texture of scholarly writing. The common Afrikaans nominalising suffixes are -ing, -heid, and -teit.
| Verb / adjective | Nominalisation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ontwikkel | die ontwikkeling | the development |
| ondersoek | die ondersoek | the investigation |
| moontlik | die moontlikheid | the possibility |
| kompleks | die kompleksiteit | the complexity |
Die ontwikkeling van die teorie het oor dekades plaasgevind.
The development of the theory took place over decades.
Die kompleksiteit van die verskynsel maak 'n eenvoudige verklaring onwaarskynlik.
The complexity of the phenomenon makes a simple explanation unlikely.
For the stylistic trade-offs — nominalisation can clarify or it can obscure — see nominalisation and style.
The closed set of formal connectors
This is where academic Afrikaans is most sharply distinct from everyday speech, and where English-trained writers most often slip. Logical relations between sentences are carried by a closed, formal set of connectors. Spoken Afrikaans uses dus ("so"), daarom ("that's why"), en toe ("and then"); academic Afrikaans reaches for their elevated counterparts: derhalwe (therefore), gevolglik (consequently), voorts (furthermore), ten slotte (finally), nietemin (nevertheless).
| Everyday | Academic | English |
|---|---|---|
| dus, daarom | derhalwe | therefore, thus |
| so, daarom | gevolglik | consequently |
| en, ook | voorts | furthermore, moreover |
| op die ou end | ten slotte | finally, in conclusion |
| maar tog | nietemin | nevertheless |
Crucially, these connectors are inversion-triggering: when one opens a sentence, the finite verb comes immediately after it, before the subject. This verb-subject inversion is part of what makes them feel formal, and getting it wrong is a tell-tale sign of a non-native hand.
Die data is onvolledig; gevolglik moet die resultate met omsigtigheid hanteer word.
The data are incomplete; consequently, the results must be treated with caution.
Die hipotese is bevestig. Derhalwe word die alternatiewe model verwerp.
The hypothesis was confirmed. Therefore, the alternative model is rejected.
Voorts moet daarop gelet word dat die steekproef klein was.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the sample was small.
Objective tone: keeping the I out of view
Academic Afrikaans suppresses the first person far more strictly than English does. Where an English writer may say "I will argue" or "we found," Afrikaans prefers the impersonal: daar word geargumenteer, die ondersoek toon, or the impersonal mens ("one"). When a first-person voice is unavoidable, the cautious plural ons is preferred to ek, and even that is used sparingly.
❌ Ek dink hierdie verklaring is die beste.
Too subjective for academic register — avoid first-person opinion verbs.
✅ Daar word aangevoer dat hierdie verklaring die mees oortuigende is.
It is argued that this explanation is the most convincing.
Soos uit die data afgelei kan word, neem die tendens toe.
As can be deduced from the data, the trend is increasing.
Citation and reference language
Afrikaans scholarship uses a standard set of verbs and phrases to bring in other sources. Authors are introduced with volgens ("according to"), and their claims reported with voer aan ("argues"), beweer ("claims"), wys daarop ("points out"), or toon aan ("demonstrates"). The reference list is the bronnelys or verwysingslys, and a citation is a verwysing.
Volgens Smith (2019) is die verband nie kousaal nie.
According to Smith (2019), the relationship is not causal.
Jansen (2021) voer aan dat die metode hersien moet word.
Jansen (2021) argues that the method should be revised.
Hierdie standpunt word ook deur ander navorsers gedeel (vgl. Botha, 2018).
This view is also shared by other researchers (cf. Botha, 2018).
The abbreviation vgl. ("compare," from vergelyk) and bv. ("for example," from byvoorbeeld) are standard in Afrikaans academic apparatus, alongside e.g.-style Latinate forms in some fields.
Common mistakes
❌ So, ons het gevind dat dit nie werk nie.
Informal connector and first person — 'so' and 'ons het gevind' are conversational, not academic.
✅ Daar is bevind dat die metode nie effektief is nie.
It was found that the method is not effective.
❌ Gevolglik die studie het misluk.
Missing inversion — after 'gevolglik' the finite verb must precede the subject.
✅ Gevolglik het die studie misluk.
Consequently, the study failed.
❌ Ek glo hierdie teorie is reg.
First-person belief — too subjective; hedge and depersonalise instead.
✅ Dit blyk dat hierdie teorie die data die beste verklaar.
It appears that this theory best explains the data.
❌ Die ding wat ons ondersoek het, was groot.
Vague and colloquial — 'die ding wat' belongs in speech, not scholarship.
✅ Die voorwerp van die ondersoek was omvangryk.
The object of the investigation was extensive.
Key takeaways
- The hallmark of academic Afrikaans is the impersonal daar word ... ge- passive, which removes the agent and signals objectivity.
- Hedge claims with fixed frames — dit blyk dat, dit wil voorkom asof, daar word aangevoer dat — rather than asserting bluntly.
- Nominalise to compress events into noun phrases (ontwikkeling, kompleksiteit) and build the dense scholarly texture.
- Use the closed set of formal connectors — derhalwe, gevolglik, voorts, ten slotte, nietemin — and remember they trigger verb-subject inversion at the start of a sentence.
- Keep the first person out of view: prefer the impersonal passive and mens to ek, and report sources with volgens, voer aan, toon aan.
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Formal and Academic WritingC1 — Formal written Afrikaans has its own toolkit — the pronoun u, full uncontracted forms, the passive, nominal style, a closed set of high-register connectors like derhalwe and ten einde, and fixed letter formulas such as Geagte and Die uwe.
- Discourse Connectors: in elk geval, trouens, boonopB2 — Sentence-level connectors like boonop, trouens and nietemin take first position and trigger V2 inversion, structuring an argument across sentences.
- Nominalisation and Nominal StyleC1 — How formal Afrikaans turns verbs and whole clauses into nouns — die implementering van die beleid, na bestudering van die feite — to compress information, and how to judge when this nominal style helps and when it merely clogs the sentence.
- Register and Style: OverviewB2 — A map of Afrikaans register — formal vs informal, spoken vs written, standard vs vernacular — and the insight that register lives mostly in word choice and the jy/u pronoun, not in grammar.