“My Brain Freezes”: Confused Man Asks About Afrikaans Word ‘Kwekery,’ Humours South Africans

• A man named Floyd Rocks asked for the pronunciation and meaning behind the Afrikaans word 'kwekery'
• He humorously told the online community that whenever he sees the word, his brain freezes
• Local social media users laughed their way to the comment section and joked about the man's pronunciation

A local man needed a few questions answered when he saw the word 'kwekery' (a nursery for plants in English) on a poster outside. His pronunciation and confusion of the Afrikaans word left several people online in stitches.

Using the name Floyd Rock on his TikTok profile, the man presented two questions to the Boers (farmers) and Afrikaners. While pointing his camera at the business's poster, he commented:

"I need an honest answer: How on earth do you pronounce this? Second of all, what on earth is this? Can you please explain that to me? Help me understand. Every time I see this, my brain freezes, and I have no idea how to pronounce it."

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Internet users answer man's kwekery question

Thousands of local members of the online community gathered in Floyd's comment section to answer his question with detailed explanations and drop a few jokes about his confusion. More South Africans told the man that there is a difference between Afrikaners and Boers, as he used the terms interchangeably when he asked Afrikaans speakers for assistance with the pronunciation and meaning.

@lize4983 said with a laugh:

"Get yourself an Afrikaans friend. They will easily teach you how to pronounce it."

@chrismfeka chuckled and confessed to the public:

"The answers are saying 'nursery.' My whole existence, I thought it had something to do with poultry farming."

@natasja.s informed the man:

"If you can say kwêvoël, hadeda in Afrikaans, you have the first part. It's just a bit softer; the ê is not as pronounced. And then the rest is kwe-ki-ry, 'ke' as in the sound 'k' in Afrikaans, and then 'ry,' as in ride or drive. As for the second part, Afrikaner does not equal farmer. Afrikaners speak Afrikaans. You get English-speaking and African language-speaking farmers as well. Even other languages."

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@danacoetzee0 found the clip amusing and wrote:

"My friend, you just made my day. There are many days I struggle to pronounce African surnames with my Afrikaans brain. The struggle is real."

@antjebotha jokingly exclaimed in the comment section:

"I am never pronouncing kwekery right again! Petition to change pronunciation here!"

@marlee783 told Floyd:

"Don't ever feel ashamed to ask. We can all teach each other. We have Zulu and Xhosa friends, and they help us a lot. Don't get me started on PE's new name. I sound drunk when I try to pronounce or type it."

Watch the TikTok video posted on Floyd's account below:

3 Other stories about Afrikaans words

• In another article, Briefly News reported that an American woman married to a South African man charmed people when she shared her three favourite Afrikaans words after learning the language for five years.
• A content creator accepted a follower's challenge and attempted to complete her skincare routine using only Afrikaans words. The video entertained South Africans, who shared their struggles learning the language.
• An American man who enjoys speaking different languages shared the origins of a few Afrikaans words, noting that they were borrowed from other international languages. His brief explanation irritated many Afrikaans speakers.

Source: Briefly News