What is Afrikaans and where is it spoken? A language guide

Afrikaans is a language that has its roots in Dutch. It was first spoken by the Dutch settlers who arrived in South Africa in the 1600s. Afrikaans started to develop as a distinct language in the 1800s, and became widely used during the Apartheid era in South Africa. After apartheid ended, Afrikaans continued to be one of the country's official languages - but was only decreed as real in 1925.