The principal subject of the conference was the issue of the standardization of Afrikaans and the consequences of the exclusion of varieties of the language. Essentially it was about the making of dictionaries and orthography and the establishing of Afrikaans as a medium in schools, churches and universities and as an official language where the different varieties of Afrikaans have not been taken into account. ... Ampie Coetzee Afrikaans, it has been said, came into being as a language because the slaves of Asian and African origin as well as the dispossessed Khoikhoi had to learn Dutch in order to survive and operate in the gradually expanding colony of the DEIC, in interaction with their masters and with one another. This is, in my view, the simplest and most lucid general statement about the origins of Afrikaans, one on which all of us who have an interest in the matter, can agree. ... Neville Alexander Varieties of Afrikaans ought to be included everywhere and always and should never be considered alien! In including these varieties every speaker of these varieties has a contribution to make and a responsibility. There will have to be a change of attitude on the part of Standard Afrikaans to enable Afrikaans to become Afrikaans in its fullest extent. ... Dirk van Schalkwyk