Interview

Me: Piet, you have been in the States for almost a year. Has it been a rough adjustment for you?

Piet: Ya. It, er, it was not so easy to start. This town is, er, quite busy. A lot happens here.

Me: How is it different from where you are from?

Piet: Home, it is not loud, quiet. We work hard and are home. Here, people, they, er, do not work. They have fun a lot. They do not work.

Me: Tell me about yourself.

Piet: Me?

Me: Yes. You are an interesting person.

Piet: Och. I am an Afrikaner. I am from by Heidelberg in Suid Afrikaanse… South Africa. My father is a farmer. I have three sisters and one brother, all small than me.

Me: What is your first language?

Piet: I learned Tswana first, after English for school.

Me: I’m sorry, I mean: what do you speak at home?

Piet: Afrikaans.

Me: What language were your lessons in at school?

Piet: In Afrikaans… But one in English also. Then all in English when I went to Natal.

Me: Do you read much in either language?

Piet: Ya, I read a lot as a kindt (?). I read the Bible before, then I read it in English for a practice.

Me: How hard was it to learn English?

Piet: It is very hard to take English. When I went to Natal I had no English really. They maked me take a second class to learn it. I had my classmates poke at me for being Afrikaner. Kevin helped me, he was at the school before and he took me in.

Me: What was the hardest thing about learning English?

Piet: … Writing is hard. I do not like to do that. English, Afrikaans, it is no good. I have big hands and can not hold the pencil.

Me: I can see that! If that was hard, what was easy?

Piet: I like to hear people talk, and to read. I like that. If it is fun, it is easy, ya?

Me: You like to read!

Piet: Ya!

Me: Do you remember how you learned to read?

Piet: No. I just learned. My mother read to me as a kindt (?), and I start to read also.

Me: What about reading in English, when did you learn to do that?

Piet: I went to school in Heidleberg and we have a class for English. We read in there. In Natal, we read everything in English. It was hard. I did not know anything the book said. The words were long and made non-sense. I was not happy!

Me: What did your teachers do to help you?

Piet: They had a second class for me and other Afrikaners and Blacks who go there. I think there were three. In this class they maked us work at English.

Me: Did this class help at all?

Piet: No. They do not like Boers at this school. Or Blacks, but we are the bad ones, ya? The second class was to make us more different than the classmates.

Me: Did they do any activities that made English easier?

Piet: Och, (?), no! It was a book. We were quiet and read the book and did the exercises. The teacher made to it we were quiet.

Me: But your English is very good, how did you learn then?

Piet: Kevin was a help. I maked friends with rugby and I listen to the talk. I had a little from school in home. Soon I was talking also. I am not the best, but I have learned here also in America. With the girls I am quiet.

Me: When you speak in English, do you find some words sound different from Afrikaans?

Piet: … er, I do not, er…

Me: Like the word “school”. You say “skool”.

Piet: Och, ya. It is the same word for me, but, ya, I say like that.

Me: Why do you think you say it in Afrikaans when you are speaking English?

Piet: It is the same word. You know what I am, er, talk about.

Me: Okay, that makes sense. Do you sometimes have a hard time with words that sound similar in English to Afrikaans words?

Piet: …er, I do not under, er, understand

Me: Some words sound the same in English and Afrikaans – is that difficult for you?

Piet: Ya, it was. I want to say the word like I am home. That is why I am quiet.

Me: Coming to America, was it hard to understand people here with the different accents?

Piet: The way they talk is hard. They talk from here (points at nose). We talk from here (points at throat). They are fast also. Americans do not work, but they are fast on everything. It is hard to listen.

Me: If you could change how you learned English, what would you change?

Piet: I would learned it when I was a kindt (?). I learned Tswana and I do not need it. English is better for working at home now.

Me: Thank you for your time.

Piet: No problem, ya!