LANGENHOVEN, CORNELIS JACOB
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Cornelis Jacob Langenhoven (August 12, 1873-July 15, 1932) was a writer, journalist, and politician, but above all fighter for the rights of the Afrikaans language. He was born at Hoeko, in the district of Ladysmith, in Cape Province. His early schooling as well as his university education was through the medium of English. Until his middle years, Langenhoven had little interest in Afrikaans and even declared in 1893 that the language offered no scope for intellectual training.
PHOTO CAPTION: Cornelis Jacob Langenhoven. SOURCE: EA Library
After practising as a lawyer in Cape Town, Langenhoven settled in Outshoorn, and it was here that his interest and love for the new language Afrikaans, was awakened. After a short spell as a solicitor, Langenhoven became the editor of a local newspaper, Het Zuid-Western, which he used effectively to plead the cause of Afrikaans.
In an effort to expand his sphere of influence, Langenhoven entered the political arena. Shortly after his election as a member of the Cape Provincial Council in 1914, Langenhoven proposed a motion which was accepted unanimously, that Afrikaans replace Dutch as the medium of instruction at schools. In the Senate, to which he was nominated in 1921 and of which he remained a member until his death in 1932, Langenhoven continued his fight for the rights of the Afrikaans language in all spheres. He was largely responsible for the acceptance in Parliament in 1926 of Afrikaans as one of the official languages of the country.
During his years as senator Langenhoven continued his journalistic career and he regularly wrote a column in Die Burger, the influential Cape Afrikaans newspaper. He also published a steady stream of political and especially literary works which, after his death, were bound into 16 volumes of 400 pages each.
Langenhoven is particularly remembered for his endeavours to develop the Afrikaans language as a means of expression. His lucid and witty style made him a beloved writer and it is said that he actually taught the Afrikaner to read his own language. Langenhoven also tried his hand at poetry, and although he did not attain great heights in this genre, he was the author of Die Stem, the South African national anthem.
J. D. DU BRUYN
