dᵻspˈaɪt æt tˈaɪmz æɾ ˈɑːdz wɪððɪ ɐpˈɑːɹθeɪd ɡˈʌvɚnmənt, vˈæn hˈɪɹdən nˈɛvɚ lˈɛft sˈaʊθ ˈæfɹɪkə pˈɜːmənəntli, ænd nˈaʊ tˈiːtʃᵻz æt ðə jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi ʌv kˈeɪp tˈaʊn, wˌɛɹ hiː ɪz ðə hˈɑːfmaɪɚ pɹəfˈɛsɚɹ ɪnðə skˈuːl ʌv lˈæŋɡwɪdʒᵻz ænd lˈɪɾɚɹᵻtʃɚz, ænd tʃˈɛɹz ðɪ ˈæfɹɪkˌɑːnz ænd nˌɛðɚlˈændɪk stˈʌdiz sˈɛkʃən.
Despite at times at odds with the apartheid government, van Heerden never left South Africa permanently, and now teaches at the University of Cape Town, where he is the Hofmeyr Professor in the School of Languages and Literatures, and chairs the Afrikaans and Netherlandic Studies Section.