Comments on: The Naartjie

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:10:00 +0000

Originally, from Arabic, Nerdy Dork. The Spanish word ‘naranja’ for an orange, comes from the Arabic word ‘naranj’, because the Arabs introduced the fruit into Spain during their 800 years’ presence there. The ‘j’ (called the ‘jota’ in Spanish) is a guttural, similar to the Scottish ‘ch’ as in ‘loch’. However, as the English (and Americans!), unlike the Scots, can’t pronounce this sound, an English reader of many centuries ago reading the Spanish word would probably have pronounced the ‘j’ as it would sound in English. It seems possible that someone could have been confused between ” a naranj ” and, ” an aranj “. The bizarre spelling system of our language would have been responsible for the final changes.

By: peter kellett

peter kellett — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:02:00 +0000

From the Spanish, probably. In Spain, the ‘J’ ( called the ‘jota’ ) and the ‘g’ followed by an ‘e’ or an ‘i are pronounced as a guttural, i.e. like the ‘ch in the Scottish word ‘loch’. So ‘naranja’ and ‘orange’, pronounced in Spanish, i.e.with the ‘e’ pronounce, could bear some resemblance to each other. Going into English, it’s possible that the ‘n’ could have been added because of the initial vowel, and the pronunciation changed because of the perceived pronucnciation.

By: ntlakuso

ntlakuso — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:57:05 +0000

Well, honestly, this name guided how the other cultures in South African call it. Im not an Afrikaaner, but we call it nerekisi, which is taken from naartjie.

By: Howlie

Howlie — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:17:50 +0000

I live in south africa and cant believe americans didnt know this

By: Terry@ Medical Lab Coats

Terry@ Medical Lab Coats — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:26:57 +0000

I thought you were gonna ask what rhymes with “Orange”. LOL

By: Tyron

Tyron — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:43:50 +0000

Naartjie’s are some damn good!

By: Sashan

Sashan — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:06:27 +0000

The root of the word ‘naartjie’ is from the Tamil word ‘nartei’. Afrikaans as a language was very slightly influenced by Asian languages due to the slaves the early Dutch settlers brought to the country from Asia, who were predominantly Indian, in the 16 and 17 ’00s.

By: GeekDinner, in our Neighbourhood {Restaurant} | Cape Town Daily Photo

GeekDinner, in our Neighbourhood {Restaurant} | Cape Town Daily Photo — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:01:50 +0000

[...] Neighbourhood Restaurant and Pub hosted our merry group of geeky friends at Tuesday’s bimonthly GeekDinner, code-named Naughty Naartjie. [...]