The languages of South Africa The languages of South Africa The languages of South Africa 06 Sep 2015 Tweet on Twitter We’re not called the rainbow nation for nothing. South Africa has 11 official languages, and scores of unofficial ones. English is the most commonly spoken language in official and commercial public life – but only the fifth most spoken home language. The country’s democratic Constitution, which came into effect on 4 February 1997, recognises 11 official languages, to which the state guarantees equal status. Introduction Besides the 11 official languages, scores of others – African, European, Asian – are spoken in South Africa, as the country lies at the crossroads of southern Africa. Languages spoken here, and mentioned in the Constitution, are the Khoi, Nama and San languages, sign language, Arabic, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telegu and Urdu. There are also a few indigenous creoles and pidgins. English is generally understood across the country, being the language of business, politics and the media, and is regarded as the country’s lingua franca.

But it only ranks a joint fifth (with Setswana) as a home language. South Africa’s linguistic diversity means all 11 languages have had a profound effect on each other. South African English, for example, is littered with words and phrases from Afrikaans, isiZulu, Nama, and other African languages. And African-language speakers often pepper their speech with English and Afrikaans, as this isiZulu example recorded in Soweto by MJH Mfusi shows (English is in italics, and Afrikaans in bold): “I-Chiefs isidle nge-referee’s * Spoken as a home language ** Unspecified and not applicable are excluded Source: Census 2011 Most South Africans are multilingual, able to speak more than one language. English- and Afrikaans-speaking people tend not to have much ability in indigenous languages, but are fairly fluent in each other’s language. Most South Africans speak English, which is fairly ubiquitous in official and commercial public life. The country’s other lingua franca is isiZulu.

isiZulu, isiXhosa, siSwati, and isiNdebele are collectively referred to as the Nguni languages, and have many similarities in syntax and grammar. The Sotho languages – Setswana, Sesotho sa Leboa, and Sesotho – also have much in common. Many of South Africa’s linguistic groups share a common ancestry. But as groupings and clans broke up in search of autonomy and greener pastures for their livestock, variations of the common languages evolved. Provincial variations The languages you will hear most frequently spoken in South Africa depend on where in the country you are. isiXhosa, for instance, is spoken by around 80% of South Africans in the Eastern Cape, while 78% of people in KwaZulu-Natal speak isiZulu. isiZulu is also the most frequently spoken home language in Gauteng, but at a much smaller percentage. The Western and Northern Cape provinces, Afrikaans comes into its own.

Predominant languages by province (Census 2011 figures) are: Eastern Cape – isiXhosa (78.8%), Afrikaans (10.6%) Free State – Sesotho (64.2%), Afrikaans (12.7%) Gauteng – isiZulu (19.8%), English (13.3%), Afrikaans (12.4%), Sesotho (11.6%) KwaZulu-Natal – isiZulu (77.8%), English (13.2%) Limpopo – Sesotho (52.9%), Xitsonga (17%), Tshivenda (16.7%) Mpumalanga – siSwati (27.7%), isiZulu (24.1%), Xitsonga (10.4%), isiNdebele (10.1%) Northern Cape – Afrikaans (53.8%), Setswana (33.1%) North West – Setswana (63.4%), Afrikaans (9%) Western Cape – Afrikaans (49.7%), isiXhosa (24.7%), English (

20.3%) Source: Statistics SA Afrikaans Afrikaans is the third most common language in South Africa.

It is spoken by 13.5% of the population, or 6 855 082 people – mainly “coloured” and white South Africans. The language has its roots in 17th century Dutch, with influences from English, Malay, German, Portuguese, French, and some African languages. One of the first works of written Afrikaans was Bayaan-ud-djyn, an Islamic tract written in Arabic script by Abu Bakr. Initially known as Cape Dutch, Afrikaans was largely a spoken language for people living in the Cape, with proper Dutch the formal, written language. Afrikaans came into its own with the growth of Afrikaner identity, being declared an official language – with English – of the Union of South Africa in 1925. The language was promoted alongside Afrikaner nationalism after 1948 and played an important role in minority white rule in apartheid South Africa. The 1976 schoolchildren’s uprising was sparked by the proposed imposition of Afrikaans in township schools. Afrikaans is spoken mainly by white Afrikaners, coloured South Africans and sections of the black population.

Although the language has European roots, today the majority of Afrikaans-speakers are not white. Most Afrikaans speakers live in the Western Cape, where it is the language of just less than half (48.4%) of the provincial population. It is also common in Gauteng, where 12.2% of the provincial population consider Afrikaans to be their home language. Afrikaans is the dominant language in the Northern Cape, spoken by more than half (53%) of the provincial population. Afrikaans is spoken by 12.4% of the Free State’s population, 10.4% of the people of the Eastern Cape, and 8.8% of the people of North West. Home language to: 13.5% of the population (6 855 082 people) Linguistic lineage: Indo-European > Germanic > West Germanic > Low Franconian > Afrikaans Source: Census 2011 and Ethnologue English English has been both a highly influential language in South Africa, and a language influenced, in turn, by adaptation in the country’s different communities. Around half of the country’s people have a speaking knowledge of English.

English was declared the official language of the Cape Colony in 1822 (replacing Dutch), and the stated language policy of the government of the time was one of Anglicisation. On the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, which united the former Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State with the Cape and Natal colonies, English was made the official language together with Dutch, which was replaced by Afrikaans in 1925. Today, English is South Africa’s lingua franca, and the primary language of government, business, and commerce. The new education curriculum makes two languages compulsory at school, with English the language of learning and teaching at most schools and tertiary educations. According to the 2011 census, English is spoken as a home language by almost 5- million people (or 8.2% of the population). South Africa’s Asian people, most of whom are Indian in origin, are largely English-speaking, although many also retain their languages of origin. There is also a significant group of Chinese South Africans, also largely English-speaking but who also retain their languages of origin as well.

South African English is an established and unique dialect, with strong influences from Afrikaans and the country’s many African languages. For example: “The old lady has been tuning me grief all avie, after she bust me and the okes gooi-ing yooees in her tjor”, would translate as: “My mother has been shouting at me all afternoon after she caught my friends and I doing U-turns in her car.” As a home language, English is most common in Gauteng, where more than a third (32.8%) of all English-speaking South Africans are found, making up 13% of the provincial population. Just less than a third (27.3%) of English speakers live in KwaZulu Natal, where it is the language of 13% of the people in the province, and 23.5% in the Western Cape, where it is spoken by 19.7% of the provincial population.

Home language to: 9.6% of the population (4 892 623 people) Linguistic lineage: Indo-European > Germanic > West Germanic > English Source: Statistics SA and Ethnologue isiNdebele isiNdebele, the language of the Ndebele people, is one of South Africa’s four Nguni languages. The Ndebele were originally an offshoot of the Nguni people of KwaZulu- Natal, while the languages amaNala and amaNzunza are related to those of Zimbabwe’s amaNdebele people. Like the country’s other African languages, isiNdebele is a tonal language, governed by the noun, which dominates the sentence. isiNdebele is a minority language, spoken by only 2% of South Africa’s population, or just over 1-million people. It is largely found in Mpumalanga, where 37% of its speakers are found, or 10% of the provincial population. More than a third of isiNdebele speakers reside in Gauteng, but make up only 3% of the province’s population.

Home language to: 2.1% of the population (1 090 223 people) Linguistic lineage: Niger-Congo > Atlantic-Congo > Volta- Congo > Benue-Congo > Bantoid > Southern > Narrow Bantu > Central > S group > Nguni > isNdebele Alternate and historical names: Tabele, Tebele, Ndebele, Sindebele, Northern Ndebele Source: Statistics SA and Ethnologue isiXhosa South Africa’s second-largest language, isiXhosa is spoken by 16% of all South Africans, or 8-million people. It is a regional language, with a third of its speakers living in the Eastern Cape, where it is the language of almost 78% of the provincial population. It’s also strong in the bordering Western Cape, where 17% of all isiXhosa speakers live, making up nearly a quarter (24%) of the provincial population.

There are a fair number of isiXhosa speakers in the Free State (7.5%), Gauteng (6.6%), North West (5.5%) and the Nothern Cape (5.3%) and Gauteng, but it is not widely spoken in the other provinces. isiXhosa is one of the country’s four Nguni languages. It too is a tonal language, governed by the noun, which dominates the sentence. While it shares much of its words and grammar with isiZulu, 15% of its vocabulary is estimated to be of Khoekhoe (Khoisan, or Khoi and Bushman) origin.

Home language to: 16% of the population (8 154 258 people) Linguistic lineage: Niger-Congo > Atlantic-Congo > Volta- Congo > Benue-Congo > Bantoid > Southern > Narrow Bantu > Central > S group > Nguni > isiXhosa Alternate and historical names: Xhosa, Xosa, Koosa Dialects: Gealeka, Ndlambe, Gaika (Ncqika), Thembu, Bomvana, Mpondomse (Mpondomisi), Mpondo, Xesibe, Rhathabe, Bhaca, Cele, Hlubi, Mfengu. Source: Statistics SA and Ethnologue isiZulu isiZulu is the most common language in South Africa, spoken by nearly 23% of the total population, or 11.6-million people. It’s the language of South Africa’s largest ethnic group, the Zulu people, who take their name from the chief who founded the royal line in the 16th century. The warrior king Shaka raised the nation to prominence in the early 19th century. The current monarch is King Goodwill Zwelithini.

A tonal language and one of the country’s four Nguni languages, isiZulu is closely related to isiXhosa. It is probably the most widely understood African language in South Africa, spoken from the Cape to Zimbabwe. The writing of Zulu was started by missionaries in what was then Natal in the 19th century, with the first Zulu translation of the bible produced in 1883. isiZulu is an extremely regional language, with 77.8% of its speakers to be found in KwaZulu-Natal. More than 18% of isiZulu speakers are to be found in Gauteng, the second province in which it is in the majority, with its speakers making up 19.5% of the provincial population. In Mpumalanga it is spoken by nearly a quarter of the population, who make up 7.6% of all South African isiZulu speakers. The presence of the language in the remaining six provinces is negligible.

Home language to: 22.7% of the population (11 587 374 people) Linguistic lineage: Niger-Congo > Atlantic-Congo > Volta- Congo > Benue-Congo > Bantoid > Southern > Narrow Bantu > Central > S group > Nguni > isiZulu Alternate and historical names: Zulu, Zunda Dialects: Lala, Qwabe Source: Census 2011 and Ethnologue Sesotho sa Leboa Sesotho sa Leboa, or Northern Sotho, is referred to as Sepedi in the Constitution. However, this is inaccurate, as Sepedi is just one of some 30 dialects of the Northern Sotho language, and linguists do not consider that the two are not interchangeable. Sesotho sa Leboa is the fourth most common language in South Africa, spoken as a home language by 9.1% of the population, or 4.6-million people. It is one of South Africa’s three Sotho languages, with different dialect clusters found in the area where it is spoken.

Sesotho sa Leboa is the language of Limpopo, where it is spoken by more than half of the provincial population. In fact, 61% of all people who speak Sesotho sa Leboa live in Limpopo. It is also found in Gauteng, where nearly third (27.8%) of Sesotho sa Leboa speakers are to be found, making up 10.5% of the population. In Mpumalanga, 9.3% of the population speak Sesotho sa Leboa, or 8% of all speakers of the language. Confusion in the Constitution: According to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, the language was mentioned correctly as Sesotho sa Leboa in the interim Constitution of 1993. However, when the final version of the Constitution came into law in 1996, the language had been changed to Sepedi. The reason for the change has not been established. References to Sesotho sa Leboa were retained in the nine other translations.

The Pan South African Language Board (Pansalb), set up by the government to promote multilingualism and language rights, supports the use of Sesotho sa Leboa, but says it also uses both words in certain structures to avoid conflict.

Home language to: 9.1% of the population (4 618 576 people) Linguistic lineage: Niger-Congo > Atlantic-Congo > Volta- Congo > Benue-Congo > Bantoid > Southern > Narrow Bantu > Central > S group > Sotho-Tswana > Sotho > Northern Sotho Alternate and historical names: Pedi, Sepedi, Northern Sotho, Sesotho sa Leboa Dialects: Masemola (Masemula, Tau), Kgaga (Kxaxa, Khaga), Koni (Kone), Tswene (Tsweni), Gananwa (Xananwa, Hananwa), Pulana, Phalaborwa (Phalaburwa, Thephalaborwa), Khutswe (Khutswi, Kutswe), Lobedu (Lubedu, Lovedu, Khelobedu), Tlokwa (Tlokoa, Tokwa, Dogwa), Pai, Dzwabo (Thabine-Roka-Nareng), Kopa, Matlala-Moletshi.

Dialects Pai, Kutswe, and Pulana are more divergent and sometimes called “Eastern Sotho”. Sesotho, Sesotho sa Leboa and Setswana are largely mutually intelligible, but have generally been considered separate languages. Source: Statistics SA and Ethnologue Sesotho Sesotho is another of South Africa’s three Sotho languages, spoken by 7.6% of the country’s population, or 3.8-million people. It is the language of the Free State, which borders the kingdom of Lesotho, a country entirely surrounded by South African territory. Sesotho is spoken by 62.6% of the Free State population, with almost half of all Sesotho-speaking South Africans living there. It is also found in Gauteng, where it is spoken by 11% of the provincial population, which is more than a third (36%) of all Sesotho-speaking South Africans. In North West it is spoken by 5.7% of people who live there. Sesotho was one of the first African languages to be rendered in written form, and it has an extensive literature.

Sesotho writing was initiated by the missionaries Casalis and Arbousset of the Paris Evangelical Mission, who arrived at Thaba Bosiu in 1833. The original written form was based on the Tlokwa dialect, but today is mostly based on the Kwena and Fokeng dialects, although there are variations. The first work of Sesotho literature was Thomas Mofolo’s classic novel Chaka, which was completed in 1910 and published in 1925, with the first English translation produced in 1930. The book reinvents the legendary Zulu king Shaka, portraying him as a heroic but tragic figure, a monarch to rival Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Home language to: 7.6% of the population (3 849 563 people) Linguistic lineage: Niger-Congo > Atlantic-Congo > Volta- Congo > Benue-Congo > Bantoid > Southern > Narrow Bantu > Central > S group > Sotho-Tswana > Sotho > Sesotho Alternate and historical names: Suto, Suthu, Souto, Sisutho, Southern Sotho Dialects: Sesotho, Sesotho sa Leboa and Setswana are largely mutually intelligible, but have generally been considered separate languages. Source: Statistics SA and Ethnologue Setswana Setswana is largely found in North West, a province bordering the country of Botswana, where the language dominates. One of South Africa’s three Sotho languages, it is the country’s sixth most common home language, being spoken by 8% of the total population, or just over 4-million people. Setswana is spoken by 63.4% of all North West residents, where 53.8% of all Setswana- speaking South Africans live.

It is also found in the Northern Cape, where it is spoken by 33% of the provincial population, as well as in Gauteng (9.1%) and the Free State (5.2%). Setswana was the first Sotho language to have a written form. In 1806, Heinrich Lictenstein wrote Upon the Language of the Beetjuana (as a British protectorate, Botswana was originally known as Bechuanaland). In 1818, Dr Robert Moffat from the London Missionary Society arrived among the Batlhaping in Kudumane, and built Botswana’s first school. In 1825 he realised that he must use and write Setswana in his teachings, and began a long translation of the Bible into Setswana, which was finally completed in 1857. One of most famous Setswana speakers was the intellectual, journalist, linguist, politician, translator and writer Sol T Plaatje. A founder member of the African National Congress, Plaatje was fluent in at least seven languages, and translated the works of Shakespeare into Setswana.

Home language to: 8% of the population (4 067 248 people) Linguistic lineage: Niger-Congo > Atlantic-Congo > Volta- Congo > Benue-Congo > Bantoid > Southern > Narrow Bantu > Central > S group > Sotho-Tswana > Tswana Alternate and historical names: Chuana, Coana, Cuana, Tswana, Sechuana, Beetjuans Dialects: Hurutshe, Kwena, Ngwato, Ngwaketse, Tlhaping, Rolong, Tlokwa, Kgatla, Lete (originally a non-Tswana tribe). Other dialects include Khurutshe, Kubung, and Nare. Sesotho, Sesotho sa Leboa and Setswana are largely mutually intelligible, but are separate languages. Source: Census 2011 and Ethnologue siSwati SisSwati is one of South Africa’s minority languages, spoken by only 2.5% of South Africans, or just under 1.3-million people.

It is the language of the Swazi nation, spoken mainly in eastern Mpumalanga, an area that borders the Kingdom of Swaziland. The Swazi people originated from the Pongola river valley in KwaZulu-Natal, migrating from there to Swaziland. Their country was under British control from 1903 to 1968. The vast majority (85%) of sisSwati speakers live in Mpumalanga, where they are the majority linguistic group, making up 27.4% of the provincial population. Just over 10% of siSwati speakers are found in Gauteng, where they make up only 1.1% of the population. SiSwati is one of South Africa’s four Nguni languages, and is closely related to isiZulu. But much has been done in the last few decades to enforce the differences between the languages for the purpose of standardising siSwati.

Home language to: 2.5% of the population (1 297 046 people) Linguistic lineage: Niger-Congo > Atlantic-Congo > Volta- Congo > Benue-Congo > Bantoid > Southern > Narrow Bantu > Central > S group > Nguni > siSwati Alternate and historical names: Swazi, isiSwazi, Swati, Tekela, Tekeza Dialects: Baca, Hlubi, Phuthi Source: Statistics SA and Ethnologue Tshivenda Tshivenda is generally regarded as a language isolate among S-group languages. While the Nguni group, for example, has four languages (isiZulu, isiXhosa, siSwati and isiNdebele), the Venda group has only one – Tshivenda. It is the tongue the Venda people, who are culturally closer to the Shona people of Zimbabwe than to any other South African group. Another of South Africa’s minority languages, it is spoken by 2.4% of South Africans, or a little more than 1.2-million people.

It is concentrated in the province of Limpopo, where almost 74% of Tshivenda speakers live, or 16.7% of the provincial population. Another 22.5% of Tshivenda speakers live in Gauteng, where they make up 2.3% of the population. Tshivenda shares features with Shona and Sesotho sa Leboa, with some influence from Nguni languages. The Tshipani variety of the language is used as the standard. The Venda people first settled in the Soutpansberg Mountains region, where the ruins of their first capital, Dzata’s, can still be found.

Home language to: 2.4% of the population (1 209 388 people) Linguistic lineage: Niger-Congo > Atlantic-Congo > Volta- Congo > Benue-Congo > Bantoid > Southern > Narrow Bantu > Central > S group > Tshivenda Alternate and historical names: Venda, Chivenda Dialects: Phani, Tavha-Tsindi, Ilafuri, Manda, Guvhu, Mbedzi, Lembetu Source: Statistics SA and Ethnologue Xitsonga The Tsonga people came to South Africa long after most other African people, settling in the Limpopo River valley. Their language, Xitsonga, is spoken by 4.5% of the national population, or around 2.3- million people. It is found in Limpopo (39.8% of Xitsonga speakers and 17% of the provincial population), Gauteng (34.9% of speakers and 6.6% of the population) and Mpumalanga (18.3% and 10.4%).

It is also found in eastern Limpopo and Mumalanga, areas near the border of the country of Mozambique, as well as in southern Mozambique and southeastern Zimbabwe. Xitsonga is similar to Xishangana, the language of the Shangaan people, with some Nguni influences. Home language to: 4.5% of the population (2 277 148 people) Linguistic lineage: Niger-Congo > Atlantic-Congo > Volta- Congo > Benue-Congo > Bantoid > Southern > Narrow Bantu > Central > S group > Tswa-Ronga > Xitsonga Alternate and historical names: Tsonga, Shitsonga, Thonga, Tonga, Shangana, Shangaan Dialects: Luleke (Xiluleke), Gwamba (Gwapa), Changana, Hlave, Kande, N’walungu (Shingwalungu), Xonga, Jonga (Dzonga), Nkuma, Songa, Nhlanganu (Shihlanganu).

“Tsonga” can be used to describe Xishangana (Shangana or Changana), Tswa, and Ronga, although it is often used interchangeably with Xishangana, the most prestigious of the three. All are recognised as languages, although they are mutually intelligible. Source: Census 2011 and Ethnologue Indigenous creoles and pidgins Tsotsi taal, an amalgam of Afrikaans, English and a number of African languages, is widely spoken in urban areas, mainly by males. The word “tsotsi” means “gangster” or “hoodlum” – given the association with urban criminality – while “taal” is Afrikaans for “language”. Otherwise known as Iscamtho, tsotsi taal developed in cities and townships to facilitate communication between the different language groups. It is a dynamic language, with new words and phrases added regularly. Fanagalo is a pidgin that developed on South Africa’s gold mines, to allow communication between white supervisors and African labourers during the colonial and apartheid era.

It is essentially a simplified version of isiZulu and isiXhosa – about 70% of the lexicon is from isiZulu – and incorporates elements from English, Dutch, Afrikaans and Portuguese. Source: SAinfo reporter and MediaClubSouthAfrica.com – get free high-resolution photos and professional feature articles from Brand South Africa’s media service. Reviewed: August 2015 Would you like to use this article in your publication or on your website? See: Using SAinfo material TAGS South Africa's languages – Travel Tips An Ndeble man, speaker of isiNdebele © South African Tourism There are 11 official languages spoken in South Africa and many unofficial ones. English is the official language of business, politics and media, but on South Africa's streets you'll find a heady mix of languages spoken from all over the world, most notably Africa, Europe and Asia. Most South Africans are multilingual and often mix languages together so you'll hear IsiZulu, for example, peppered with English or Afrikaans phrases.

According to South Africa's 2001 census, 23,8% of the population speaks IsiZulu, followed by the 17,6% who are Xhosa speakers. Only 8% of the population's mother tongue is English. With South Africa's population having increased to just under 50 million in 2010, these figures are somewhat outdated, but do one an indication. A list of the 11 official languages spoken in South Africa: Afrikaans Tshivenda Xitsonga The languages you will hear most frequently depend on where you are in the country. For example, in the Eastern Cape, more than 80% of the population speaks IsiXhosa, while in KwaZulu-Natal, isiZulu is most widely spoken. But tourists need not be concerned. English is widely spoken throughout most of South Africa save for some very rural areas. The languages of South Africa fall into two main language families, Nguni and Sotho. The Nguni languages include isiZulu, isiXhosa, siSwati and isiNdebele, while the Sotho languages encompass Setswana, Sepedi and Sesotho.

Here is a brief South African language guide to some common phrases: SAlanguages.com website on the languages spoken in South Africa SAlanguages.com : website dedicated to the languages of South Africa The Republic of South Africa has eleven official languages and prides itself on its diversity. This website is concerned with the languages (official and non-official) spoken in South Africa. Use the hyperlinks below to get more information on specific languages or language issues. South Africa Languages and Culture Xhosa Approximately 16 percent of South Africaï¿½s population, or 8.3 million people, cite Xhosa as being their home language. Xhosa is characterised by a number of clicking sounds, which are formed by the tongue. Those that speak the language are usually part of an ethnic group known ... xhosa language Zulu To about 22.7% of South Africans, Zulu is considered to be their home language and 50% of the South Africaï¿½s inhabitants understand the language. Zulu falls under the Nguni group and is one of the Bantu languages. Xhosa and Zulu are the only two languages mutually understandable. The Zulu nation ...

zulu language Afrikaans The Afrikaans language is one of South Africaï¿½s official languages and a large proportion of the local population uses it as their first or second language. It is still taught in schools. Afrikaans has a fascinating history of its own, and a heritage and culture that are deeply ... afrikaans language Venda This language also known as Luvenda or just Venda, and Tshivenda, originated from the Bantu language. Well over 650 000 of Tshivenda speakers live in the northern parts of South Africaï¿½s Limpopo Province. Those that speak Tshivenda have a royal family line, and adhere to strict traditions ... venda language Ndebele Many South African African people can speak Ndebele and it is in fact a beautiful language if you know how to speak and understand it well. Ndebele is a Bantu language that is spoken by Ndebele South Africans (the Ndebele people are also sometimes referred to as amaNdebele) ... ndebele language Sepedi Sepedi is also sometimes referred to as Sesotho sa Laboa or Northern Sotho.

The language of Sepedi is spoken by approximately 4,208,980 individuals and it is one of the eleven official languages in South Africa. The language is usually spoken in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and ... sepedi language Setswana Setswana is commonly known as Tswana, and is actually Botswanaï¿½s national language. However, the majority of Tswana or Setswana speakers are found in South Africa. It is the Northern Cape that is the source of the Setswana and Afrikaans speakers. When travelling to ... setswana language Southern Sesotho This Bantu language originates from the Bantu-Nguni era and is also known as Suto, Souto, Sisutho as well as Suthu. The dialects originates from Suto, Pedi as well as Tswana which are intelligible but at the same time is also considered to be separate languages ... southern sesotho language Swati Swati might not sound familiar to you, but rather Sewati, Swazi or siSwati as these are all the same language, just in different names.

Swati is a part of the Nguni Group and it is one of the many Bantu languages. It is mainly spoken by people in South Africa and Swaziland. It is one of the official ... swati language Tsonga The language of Tsonga is mainly spoken throughout southern Africa by the Shangaan - Tsonga culture. Tsonga is a part of Bantu branch when it comes to the Niger-Congo languages. The speakers of this language are often referred to as Shangaans, but the Tsongas say this is incorrect ... tsonga language Language in South Africa: An official mess | The Economist Language in South Africa Tweet I QUIZ myself once in a while: How many official South African languages can I name? There are eleven—Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu—but I usually get stuck around six or seven. I often wonder how the South African government can keep track of them all. It turns out that they really can’t.

Many languages are regulated by some kind of authority, such as Spain's Real Academia Española (a government body) or France's Académie Française (more of an outside advisor). South Africa’s eleven languages are all regulated by the chronically underfunded Pan South African Language Board ( PanSALB ), a governmental department. English is in no danger, of course. Afrikaans is mostly regulated by a separate body, Die Taalkommissie . As a result, PanSALB concerns itself mostly with the nine official Bantu languages, as well as Khoi, San and South African Sign Language. I wrote last week that literature in southern African languages is sick before ever having a chance to be healthy. Yes, there are social and historical reasons why literature development has been slow. But some blame rests with PanSALB, the sole institution dedicated to these languages. It is repeatedly accused of corruption and mismanagement . During a recent inquiry, it was uncooperative . The parliament's culture committee has voted to reduce funding for PanSALB until it “got its house in order”, after wondering aloud in April how its budget of 56m rand ($6.9m) produced so little.

Thandile Sunduza, the chairwoman of the committee, thinks it best to eliminate PanSALB altogether, saying in May “There is nothing that has been done—no program, nothing, any money. There is nothing.” To be sure, mismanagement is endemic in South Africa's government. Even if PanSALB were able to produce textbooks in, say, Pedi, recent events suggest that they would never make it to Pedi-speaking students in Limpopo province. But for infant literatures, PanSALB’s incompetence could be fatal. PanSALB is the only major funding and support lifeline for many South African languages. The South African government has taken some hopeful steps, given PanSALB’s absence. The Use of Official Languages Bill , introduced early this year, seeks to get government institutions using the native African languages more, alongside English and Afrikaans. But as South Africa has learned with PanSALB, implementation is the hard part. To improve, South African officials might see a model in India, whose 23 recognised languages—the most in the world—have found support in the respected Sahitya Akademi , the national academy of letters.

In the meantime, indigenous languages may be better served by the creation of non-official bodies. Kannada, one of the smaller official languages in India, has been promoted and regulated by the non-profit Kannada Sahitya Parishat for nearly one hundred years. The Promote Mandarin Council in multilingual (but increasingly Anglophone) Singapore has organised the successful Speak Mandarin Campaign for several years. South African languages may too find greater support in groups founded and run by native speakers themselves, bottom-up and not top-down. The government might not have the resources or emotional investment to properly preserve and promote all of South Africa’s official languages. But at least the law gives all 11 languages equality in theory. Perhaps it’s time for indigenous language communities to make them more equal in fact. Language Policy and Oppression in South Africa | Cultural Survival Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine Language Policy and Oppression in South Africa South Africa is a multi-lingual society that has some unique linguistic problems because of its policy of apartheid. On one level, there are tensions between its two official language groups, Afrikaans and English. On another level, there are linguistic tensions between the ethnic Europeans and the black majority, mostly in regard to language instruction in schools.

This issue was the spark that ignited the tragic Soweto riots in 1976. To understand this event and the language issue as it stands today, some background of the English vs. Afrikaans conflict is necessary. Afrikaans and English The conflict and rivalry between English - and Afrikaans-speakers goes to the heart of the history of white South Africa. The original European settlers in 1652 spoke Dutch, which eventually evolved into Afrikaans, but in 1822 the British gained control and proclaimed English as the language of the schools, churches and government. This, along with the freeing of slaves and the British efforts to establish racial equity in the courts, led to the Boers' treks northward starting in 1836, and as British imperialism grew, to the Boer War at the turn of the century. These events are engraved on the Afrikaner character and ideology. When not taught in English, Afrikaners were schooled in Dutch, a language equally foreign to them by the early 19th century.

They did not win the right to be taught in Afrikaans until 1925, since which time English and Afrikaans have been officially on equal footing. The Afrikaners' language is the primary symbol of their sense of cultural distinctness. There is even an abstract monument to Afrikaans in Paarl - perhaps the only monument to a language anywhere in the world. Afrikaners, who today constitute roughly 60% of the white population, have since 1948 almost completely dominated politics. Today 19 of the 20 Cabinet members are native Afrikaans speakers. English, however, still holds greater prestige in finance and education. English is an urban, international language and Afrikaans mainly a rural, national one. English is the language of the more liberal newspapers as well as most black newspapers. Afrikaans is the language of the labor bureaus, the police, and the prisons, which explains black Africans' antipathy toward it. Coloreds, a mixed-race group, have traditionally been Dutch/Afrikaans speakers and helped shape the language, but many are now switching to English in sympathy with blacks.

Blacks and Whites About 70% of South Africans speak one of the Bantu languages. There is an almost perfect correlation between race and language: those who speak a Bantu language as a mother tongue are black African, and there are few blacks who do not speak a Bantu language. No black elite class speaks only a Western language, as in many post-colonial African countries. Within the past 33 years the South African government has forcibly relocated 2 to 3 million blacks in "tribal homelands," scattered like tiny islands within the national borders. Theoretically each tribe has its own separate homeland, all at various stages of "independence." These are attempts by the South African government to absolve themselves of responsibility for blacks while still benefiting from black migratory labor. These reserves are, for the most part, in remote and barren areas where poverty, malnutrition, and mortality are worse than in the cities. In addition, as tribal groups have traditionally been defined by language, the homelands separate blacks linguistically, thus limiting their contact with people from other groups.

The architects of the apartheid plan envisioned a separate system of education for blacks (even in the urban areas) where the vernaculars would be included gradually in university instruction. Blacks objected to this policy from the start. First, they saw the "divide-and-conquer" motive behind this plan. Second, they wanted to learn English as a language of wider communication. Education solely in the vernaculars has never reached beyond the sixth year of school. In 1955, a policy of teaching in both English and Afrikaans on a 50-50 basis in the secondary schools was adopted. However, the shortage of black teachers proficient in Afrikaans (all teacher training schools for blacks are in English) allowed this policy to be carried out in only 26% of the schools. In 1976 the black Africans' hatred of apartheid, and of Afrikaans as the "language of the oppressor," came to a head in Soweto, a black "township" outside of Johannesburg. A school board there was dismissed in early February for resisting the imposition of Afrikaans.

Protest began at that school and swelled over a period of months to the other schools, with the support of teachers, parents, and students. On 16 June, 15,000 students marched in the streets carrying banners with such slogans as "Blacks are not dustbins - Afrikaans stinks." At one point police opened fire on a group of these students starting a chain of violence in Soweto that lasted some months and left 172 blacks, many of them in their teens, killed by police bullets. The revolt touched almost every city and village in South Africa that year, reaching far beyond the language issue. Strikes closed businesses and industry, and in Soweto, the government-instituted Bantu Council was forced to resign. Since that time, the government has allowed individual school boards to choose the medium of instruction. Ninety-nine percent have chosen English. The vernacular is required as medium of instruction for only four years rather than six. However, there are apartheid-imposed obstacles to learning English.

Even in the urban areas, Africans' schools, residences, and workplaces are often separated from those of other races by law, and consequently they do not have the chance to interact freely with native English-speakers. Furthermore, the schoolteachers speak a distinctly African kind of English that can at times be almost unintelligible to native English-speakers. Finally, due to lack of funds (the government currently spends $1075 a year on each white student and $114 on each black child, the average student:teacher ratio is 60:1, forcing teachers to resort to teaching methods that allow for little individual attention. There are no textbooks, chairs, or electricity in many cases. This state of affairs affects blacks' whole education, of course, not just the teaching of English. Some recent actions by the government might be hopeful signs. The acute need for skilled labor has led the government to upgrade black education. New classrooms are being built, teachers in black schools are now being required to have a high school degree, and pay scales are being adjusted to a parity level. Black education can be compulsory through the 10th year if a school so desires.

But, as an indication of the deep distrust blacks hold against whatever the government does, only 13 out of 173 schools in Soweto have implemented this rule. They fear the government may use it to prevent students from staging strikes that have become a useful political tool. More importantly, they see these recent moves as being only adaptations within a structure that is fundamentally unjust, where blacks do not have even the right to vote. A television service for blacks was begun on January 1; it has been broadcast in 5 of the vernacular languages. English is not being allowed, and Afrikaans is apparently not politically feasible. The Afrikaners' response to the blacks' rejection of their language has been ambivalent. Some older Afrikaners dismiss it all, saying, "Why do we want the Kaffirs to speak our language anyway?" But the more sophisticated realize they are losing a chance to influence blacks through Afrikaner media. Although there is a strong motivation for blacks to learn English, this is a matter of practicality rather than loyalty. There is no danger of black languages being lost. There are newspapers and a literature in many Bantu languages.

Some think that if blacks come to power in South Africa, Nguni and Sotho are likely to become official languages along with English. The situation in South Africa gives a twist of irony to the problem of education in the vernaculars. Because the vernaculars there have been imposed in order to distance blacks from the well-established white power structure, their use has been resisted; in other African countries blacks are looking for ways to promote literacy in the vernaculars as a means of erasing the colonial legacy. Language and politics are very much intertwined in South Africa, as they are everywhere. The government's divide-and-conquer approach to black language policy is allied to the whole degrading system of laws that keep blacks in permanent poverty. Enlightened policy is needed in the area of language as well as in all other aspects of political life. Article copyright Cultural Survival, Inc. CSQ Issue: Languages of South Africa | Official Languages | Home Languages | SA Slang Explore. Experience. Enjoy. Languages of South Africa Which are the official languages of South Africa? In South Africa eleven languages of South Africa are recognised as official languages.

The 11 official languages are: English, Afrikaans, IsiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, siSwati, Sepedi or Sesotho sa Leboa, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Sesotho and Setswana. South African English is also different to the English that is used in England, the USA or Australia. On this page we will show you in which South African provinces these South African languages are mainly spoken. We will explain which are the home languages and which slang words you simply need to know, how to signal a taxi with sign language and Miriam Makeba will tell you in an amazing video clip what the click sounds mean. Enjoy! Official South African Languages • English: the language is spoken and understood in all South African provinces by most of the people as English is taught in most schools and a prerequisite for taking the high school final exams. Mother tongue of only 9.6% of the South African people. • Afrikaans: in all provinces a predominant language as it is taught in most schools, however the language is less commonly used in KwaZuluNatal and the Eastern Cape. Mother tongue of 13.5% of South Africans.

• IsiZulu: mainly in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng. isiZulu is the most widely spoken African language in South Africa and is the indigenous language most South Africans can understand, it is very similar to isiXhosa, so that many speakers can understand each other when speaking either one of these two languages. Mother tongue of 22.7% of the South African people. source: Wikipedia 2011 • isiXhosa: Eastern Cape and Western Cape. First language for more than 16% of South Africa's people. • isiNdebele and siSwati: both are spoken mainly in Mpumalanga • Sepedo or Sesotho sa Leboa as well as Tshivenda and Xitsonga are spoken predominantly in Limpopo • Sesotho: is spoken by the Sotho people of the Free State • Setswana: is spoken in the North West region bordering Botswana.

The two South African languages isiZulu and isiXhosa as well as isiNdebele and siSwati, both languages spoken in Mpumalanga, are termed Nguni languages as they are spoken by the Nguni people to which the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi and Ndebele tribes belong to. Read more about the different ethnic groups of South Africa here. As overwhelming it seems to communicate with people with different mother tongues, rest assured that you will not have to learn all these languages of South Africa when travelling through South Africa. And if you know some basic terms in the respective language you will find welcoming smiles wherever you go. South African Greetings How to say 'Hello'? These words are commonly spoken and understood in South Africa and like everywhere in the world it is a sign of respect to know some basic greetings.

We promise you will get a heartfelt welcome with an even bigger smile when you use these South African words: Hello • molo (greeting one person/isiXhosa), molweni (greeting a group of people/isiXhosa), sawubona (isiZulu) • dumela (Sepedi, SeSotho and Setswana) • hallo (Afrikaans) Good Bye • sala kakuhle (isiXhosa) • hambe kahle (isiZulu) • gabotse (Sepedi) • sala hantle (Sesotho) • sala sentle (Setswana) • totsiens (Afrikaans) How are you? • kunjani? (isiXhosa, isiZulu) • kae? (Sepedi, Setswana) • phela jwang? (o phela jwang) • hoe gaan dit?

(Afrikaans) Yes • Ewe (isiXhosa) • Yebo (isiZulu) • Ee (Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana) • Ja (Afrikaans) Thank you • Enkosi (isiXhosa) • Ngiyabonga (isiZulu) • Ke la leboga (Sepedi) • Dankie (Afrikaans) Language Use: Home languages of South Africa South Africa is a multilingual society. Most people speak at least two languages, their home language and one other language which is taught at school or is used in the office. In interaction at the workplace, English is used in 40% of all communication, whereas Afrikaans (28%) still dominates oral communication especially in Gauteng, the Free State, the Western Cape and the Northern Cape. Young people all can speak English or Afrikaans. These are the first languages which usually are taught at school. English is the medium of teaching at 80% of all schools, while Afrikaans is medium of instruction at 16% of all schools. An additional African language is now taught at primary school level to improve the education standards and outcome in South Africa.

Read more about the South African school system here. Zulu and Xhosa are the most widely spoken home languages in South Africa and these languages are spoken by almost half of the population of South Africa. Afrikaans follows with a much smaller percentage of speakers in regards to home language use, mother tongues speakers mainly live in the Western Cape, Gauteng, the Free State and the Northern Cape, where the language is spoken by almost 3/4 of the population on a daily basis. South African Language Fun Facts Now some interesting facts for you. Did you know… …that South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and former president Thabo Mbeki both belong to the Xhosa speaking people and come from the Eastern Cape, while Jacob Zuma belongs to the amaZulu who live mainly in KwaZulu Natal? …that the South African click sounds which made Miriam Makeba an international star with her famous "Click song" are a distinct characteristic of the Xhosa language where there are three different click sounds. Listen to fabulous Miriam Makeba here. …that Sign Language is the 12th unofficial language of South Africa. More than half a million South African use the South African Sign Language SASL.

More info about Association for the Deaf in KwaZulu Natal and info on Sign Language and the Carel du Toit Centre in Cape Town … that there is also the Taxi Sign Language. The taxi industry published a little handbook for commuters with hand signs to help with giving information about specific destinations. Have a look at this most interesting and funny video about the Taxi Sign Language. Although the eleven languages might be the official languages, many more languages can be heard and are used in the big South African cities. You will encounter many people who also speak other languages like French, German or Portuguese as there are many immigrants, foreigners and expats living in many parts of the country. And in shops or on the streets not only the parking guards for example will come from African countries and speak better French or Portuguese than any of the official South African languages. South African Slang South African English is a dialect, which is spoken throughout the country with unique slang words and its own tone and meanings. Many slang words originate from Afrikaans, European and African languages. For more information on the languages of South African and South African Slang you should have a look at our listing of typical South African English words here.

South African Slang words you should know Great Reading on Languages of South Africa Mesthrie, Rajend with Hromnik, Jeanne (2011) Eish, but is it English? Celebrating the South African variety. Cape Town: Zebra Press Richman, Tim (2013) Ja Well No Fine. Cape Town: Burnet Media von Kapff, Ulrich (2011) The Zulu: An A-Z of culture and traditions. Cape Town: Struik Mcuba, Bathandwa (2015) Hello South Africa. Deck of Cards in South African languages. Contact her directly through HelloSouthAfrica group on Facebook Image Credits: Languages of South Africa: Shutterstock.com/Canva and own images South Africa's National Anthem A proclamation issued by the then State President, Nelson Mandela, on 20 April 1994 in terms of the provisions of Section 248 (1) together with Section 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993 (Act 200 of 1993), stated that the Republic of South Africa would have two national anthems.

They were Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and The Call of South Africa (Die Stem van Suid-Afrika). In terms of Section 4 of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996), and following a proclamation in the Government Gazette No. 18341 (dated 10 October 1997), a shortened, combined version of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and The Call of South Africa is now the national anthem of South Africa. It is the only neo-modal national anthem in the world, by virtue of being the only one that starts in one key and finishes in another. The lyrics employ the five most populous of South Africa's eleven official languages - isiXhosa (first stanza, first two lines), isiZulu (first stanza, last two lines), seSotho (second stanza), Afrikaans (third stanza) and English (final stanza). Nkosi Sekelel' iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist school teacher.

It was originally sung as a church hymn but later became an act of political defiance against the apartheid Government. Die Stem van Suid-Afrika/The Call of South Africa was written by C.J. Langenhoven in 1918. "Die Stem" was the co-national anthem with God Save the King/Queen from 1936 to 1957, when it became the sole national anthem until 1994. The South African Government under Nelson Mandela adopted both songs as national anthems from 1994 until they were merged in 1997 to form the current anthem. Lyrics What African Language Is Spoken Where? Work and Volunteering in Africa - Finding a Job in Africa David Clapp/The Image Bank/Getty Images There are literally thousands of indigenous languages spoken in Africa and many more dialects. Every African country you visit will no doubt be home to more than a dozen (if not several hundred) languages, even the smaller countries. But because of the sheer amount of linguistic diversity, every African country has an official language (or 11 in the case of South Africa) which acts as the lingua franca for (at least) a reasonably sized region.

Since almost every African country was at one time a colony, speaking English, Portuguese, or French will also help you communicate. Many Africans will speak Creole or pidgin versions of these European languages and they may not be so easy to understand when you first hear them. Arabic is very handy in Northern Africa and Swahili will help you get by in much of East Africa. continue reading below our video Tipping Etiquette Around the World Learning a few phrases in a local language will do much to endear you to the local population and help you get around. If you're spending more than a few weeks in a country it is definitely worth buying a phrasebook . What African Language is Spoken Where? Below you'll find a list of the major languages spoken in the more common African travel destinations. As a general rule, the more rural a place is, the less likely you are to get by with just English, Portuguese or French. Angola Other languages spoken in Angola are mostly Bantu languages which include Umbundu, Nyemba and Chokwe. Benin Official Language: French Other languages spoken in Benin include English (in tourist areas), Fon and Yoruba (south), Beriba and Dendi (north).

Botswana Official Language: English The principal language spoken in Botswana is Setswana (or Tswana) which is spoken by 90 of the population. Cameroon Official Languages: English and French French is more widely spoken than English but a combination of the two is becoming more widespread -- frananglais . Egypt Official Language: Arabic Modern Standard Arabic is widely understood in Egypt and is used by the media and Government. But most Egyptians on the streets of Cairo and Luxor speak a colloquial Arabic that is unique to Egypt. English is spoken by many people in the major tourist areas and some French as well. Ethiopia Official Language: Amharic Other important languages in Ethiopia include Oromo , Somali and Tigrinya . English is taught in schools and many people will know a few words. Gabon Other important languages in Gabon include Fang, Mbere, Punu and Sira. The Gambia Other important lanugages in The Gambia include Wolof , Mandinka and Pulaar . Ghana Official Language: English Other important languages (out of 79) spoken in Ghana include Twi , Ga , Ewe, Dagari and Dagbani.

Kenya Official Languages: English and (Ki)Swahili Other important languages include Luo, Kikuyu, Luyia and Kamba. Young urbanites often speak Sheng which is a based on Swahili but uses words from many other languages. Libya Official Language: Arabic If you're traveling to Libya you should pack an Arabic phrase book since little else is spoken, especially outside the main cities. Madagascar Official Language: Malagasy and French Malagasy is spoken by everyone in Madagascar and many people also speak French especially in the business and government sectors. Malawi Official Language: English Chichewa is probably spoken more widely by most of the population than English in Malawi, but you can get by without it for the most part. Yao and Tumbuka are commonly spoken around the lakeshore. Mali Official Language: French Bambara is the most commonly spoken language in Mali, other languages include Tamashek, Songhai and Fulfulde.

Morocco Official Language: Arabic As in Egypt, Modern Standard Arabic is widely understood but Moroccans on the streets of Casablanca and Marrakech speak a colloquial Arabic called Darija that is unique to Morocco and influenced by the Berber languages also commonly spoken throughout the country. French is useful as many educated people will speak it and it may help you get from place to place. English is not commonly spoken or understood in Morocco. Mozambique Official Language: Portuguese

Question: How many official languages does South Africa have?
Answer: 11