National anthem of South Africa - wikipedia National anthem of South Africa National anthem of South Africa National anthem of South Africa Also known as Nkosi Sikelel ' iAfrika ( first segment ) English : God Bless Africa Die Stem van Suid - Afrika ( second segment ) English : The Call of South Africa Lyrics Enoch Sontonga, 1897 C.J. Langenhoven, 1918 Music Enoch Sontonga, 1897 Martin Linius de Villiers, 1921 Adopted Audio sample `` National anthem of South Africa '' file help The current national anthem of South Africa was adopted in 1997 and is a hybrid song combining new Afrikaans and English lyrics with extracts of the hymn `` Nkosi Sikelel ' iAfrika '' ( English : `` God Bless Africa '' ) and `` Die Stem van Suid - Afrika '' ( English : `` The Call of South Africa '' ). Contents 1 Structure 2 History 3 Lyrics 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Structure The fact that it shifts ( modulates ) and ends in a different key, a feature it shares with the Italian national anthem, makes it compositionally unusual. The lyrics employ the five of the most widely spoken of South Africa 's eleven official languages -- Xhosa ( first stanza, first two lines ), Zulu ( first stanza, last two lines ), Sesotho ( second stanza ), Afrikaans ( third stanza ), and English ( final stanza ). History `` Nkosi Sikelel ' iAfrika '' was composed by a Methodist school teacher named Enoch Sontonga in 1897. It was first sung as a church hymn but later became an act of political defiance against the apartheid regime. `` Die Stem '' is a poem written by C.J. Langenhoven in 1918 and was set to music by the Reverend Marthinus Lourens de Villiers in 1921. `` Die Stem van Suid - Afrika '' / `` The Call of South Africa '' was the co -- national anthem with ' God Save The King ' / ' God Save The Queen ' between 1938 and 1957, when it became the sole national anthem until 1994. `` Die Stem van van Suid - Afrika '' / `` The Call of South Africa '' was composed of 8 stanzas ( The original 4 in Afrikaans and 4 in English - a translation of the Afrikaans ). It was seldom sung in its entirety with the first stanza being the most widely known and sung. The South African government adopted both songs as national anthems in 1994, when they were performed at Nelson Mandela 's inauguration. They were merged in 1997 to form the current anthem. The new English lyrics were adapted from the last four lines of the first stanza of ' Die Stem van Suid - Afrika ' / The Call of South Africa, with the changes made to reflect hope in post-apartheid South African society. For the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Morné du Plessis suggested that the Springboks learn all the words of `` Nkosi Sikelel ' iAfrika '', and `` they did so with great feeling '', according to their instructor Anne Munnik. Lyrics Language Lyrics English translation Xhosa Nkosi sikelel ' iAfrika Maluphakanyisw ' uphondo lwayo, Lord bless Africa May her glory be lifted high, Zulu Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo. Hear our prayers Lord bless us, your children. Sesotho Morena boloka setshaba sa heso, O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, O se boloke, O se boloke setshaba sa heso, Setshaba sa, South Afrika, South Afrika. Lord we ask you to protect our nation, Intervene and end all conflicts, Protect us, protect our nation, the nation of South Africa, South Africa. Afrikaans Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit die diepte van ons see, Oor ons ewige gebergtes, Waar die kranse antwoord gee, Out of the blue of our heavens, Out of the depths of our seas, Over everlasting mountains, Where the echoing crags resound English Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom In South Africa our land ! See also South Africa portal National anthem of the Transvaal National anthem of the Orange Free State List of national anthems References Jump up ^ `` South Africa -- National Anthem of South Africa ( Die Stem van Suid - Afrika / Nkosi Sikelel ' iAfrika ) ''. NationalAnthems.me. Retrieved 27 November 2011. Jump up ^ `` SA National Anthem History ''. Retrieved 21 October 2007. Jump up ^ `` The Presidency : National Anthem ''. Retrieved 6 June 2012. Jump up ^ Carlin, John ( 2008 ). Playing the Enemy. New York : Penguin. pp. 147, 153. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59420 - 174 - 5. Jump up ^ Carlin, John ( 2008 ). Playing the Enemy. New York : Penguin. pp. 173 -- 178. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59420 - 174 - 5. Jump up ^ Official South African government translation : http://www.southafrica-newyork.net/consulate/anthem.html External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to National anthems of South Africa. The National Anthem National Anthem of South Africa -- Streaming audio, lyrics and information Audio recording of the National Anthem ( instrumental only, MP3 file ) Brief introduction to the anthem and notation The South African national anthem in MIDI format The South African national anthem in MP3 format National anthems of Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Côte d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea - Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Réunion Rwanda Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia Somaliland Saint Helena South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Complete list Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania and the Pacific Islands South America Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_anthem_of_South_Africa&oldid=809910000 '' Categories : African anthems National anthems National symbols of South Africa South African music South African songs Multilingual songs Hidden categories : EngvarB from July 2016 Use dmy dates from July 2016 Articles with hAudio microformats Pages using infobox anthem with unknown parameters Commons category without a link on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Afrikaans Asturianu বাংলা Башҡортса Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Fiji Hindi Français Galego 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia IsiZulu Italiano עברית ქართული Lietuvių Lumbaart Magyar മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Sesotho sa Leboa Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Yorùbá 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 12 November 2017, at 07 : 43. 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Question: who wrote the national anthem of south africa
Answer: Enoch Sontonga