Work
C.J. Langenhoven's most famous work is the original South African Anthem Die Stem (i.e., "The Voice / The Call of South Africa") which he wrote in 1918. Parts of this anthem have been worked into the new national anthem since apartheid was abolished.
Aside from this, his writing career spanned almost every genre, from poetry to ghost and alien stories. Langenhoven also translated several works into Afrikaans, amongst these was the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. He created new Afrikaans proverbs and even wrote a love poem (albeit in nonsense verse) to his dog.
Langenhoven was instrumental in the movement for the acceptance of Afrikaans as a language, in general and as the first language in schools, instead of Dutch. This culminated in the language officially being used in parliament in 1925, and by 1927 was recognised as an official language of South Africa, together with English.
Read more about this topic: Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven
Famous quotes containing the word work:
“[My early stories] are the work of a living writer whom I know in a sense, but can never meet.”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)
“Grandiosity lessens as work proceeds.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Gustav Aschenbach was the writer who spoke for all those who work on the brink of exhaustion, who labor and are heavy-laden, who are worn out already but still stand upright, all those moralists of achievement who are slight of stature and scanty of resources, but who yet, by some ecstasy of the will and by wise husbandry, manage at least for a time to force their work into a semblance of greatness.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)