Submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Afrikaans in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1995. / The aim of the research was to identify the role of mother tongue influence in the Afrikaans of Zulu speaking pupils. The research was conducted in the Mehlwesizwe and Hlabisa inspection circuits respectively. The results showed that most deviations which could be ascribed to mother tongue influence were syntactic. Followed by lexical phonological and morphological deviations that there was a need for the use of the communicative approach in the teaching of Afrikaans which can result in the pupils being able to communicate in the language . Successful communication would determine whether the language is correct or not. The amount of exposure to Afrikaans as well as the residential area of the respondent did not necessarily determine the measure of proficiency in the language. The results also showed that Afrikaans occupies third place after the mother tongue and English in the research area. So is it fair to teach pupils a second language higher grade syllabus in Afrikaans ? Why not make provision for a second Language lower grade or even a third language Afrikaans sylabus?