Standard Afrikaans is an impressive achievement, particularly in the light of its early history as a counter-imperial instrument. As in the case with standard language varieties elsewhere, standard Afrikaans bears the imprint of social, cultural and political preferences. This paper is based on the assumption that most languages have different varieties; that in the interest of general communication one “standard variety” is privileged through various social processes; that not only linguistic but also socio-political preferences play a role in downplaying and suppressing non-standard varieties; that in the case of standard Afrikaans a significant percentage of mother tongue speakers were actively excluded and that a concerted process of inclusion and a broadening of standard Afrikaans is necessary. This paper will discuss aspects of early conceptions of the formation of Afrikaans with, among others, reference to generalizing views about refining the language, the language politics of “refinement”, exclusions in the compilation of dictionaries and the nationalist basis of purism in language.