Sikh teenager masters African language

Johannesburg, South Africa: While most Indian-South African students shy away from Afrikaans, 13-year-old Angad Sena’s mastery over the language has won him national accolades in just two years since he arrived from India.

When Angad arrived in Pretoria in 2011 with his father Tejinder and teacher mother Amarjeet, he opted for Afrikaans, rather than Zulu, as a second compulsory language at Theresa Park Primary School. His father was on a three-year contract, working as an engineer for a Tata company.

Afrikaans came easily to Angad, who speaks English, Hindi, Marathi and Punjabi. In 2012, after having studied the language for just two years, he came first in a national contest. This year, he came second nationally after speaking about his own success in mastering Afrikaans. “There was a girl who beat me because she was in an Afrikaans school from the start,” he said.

Proudly wearing his turban, Angad said it was not difficult being the only boy in his school doing so. “They ask questions because they are curious about it and it gives me the opportunity to educate them about my culture, religion and language.”

Source: The Tribune