Words of Afrikaans origin have entered other languages. British English has absorbed Afrikaans words primarily via British soldiers who served in the Boer Wars. Many more words have entered common usage in South African English due to the parallel nature of the English and Afrikaner cultures in South Africa. Afrikaans words have unusual spelling patterns.
Most of these words describe the African flora, fauna or landscape.
Afrikaans (or Cape Dutch) common names for plants and animals often entered the English vernacular:
There are also several English words derived from Cape Dutch, a forerunner of Afrikaans:
There are almost innumerable borrowings from Afrikaans in South African English.
Veld, meaning field in Afrikaans, is the name given to various types of open country in Southern Africa that is used for pasturage and farmland. To most South African farmers today the 'veld' refers to the land they work, much of which has long since ceased to be 'natural.'
Veld: Afrikaans for natural African bush vegetation, usually savanna grass and thorn trees, can also refer to grazing, field, or hunting ground.