Volk

Volk is an Afrikaans word derived from the Dutch and German term for a people or an ethnic group. Related to the English term "Folk".

In Afrikaans it has had a number of uses:

To refer to the equivalent of "Nation", as in the German nationalist context where it has been used to refer to the German people as a nation, with a history and destiny.

To refer to an ethnic group or a "people".

To refer to the workers on the farms etc. (This couls be used neutrally, but more often soemwhat denigratingly).

As an equivalent of the English "folk", especially in combinations, e.g. volksfees (= "folk festival") , volksmusiek ("folk music"), volkskuns, ("folk art") etc.