All trademarks and web sites that appear throughout this site are the property of their respective owners. It is spoken as first language by approximately 61 percent of whites and 76 percent of Coloureds. The 11 languages spoken in South Africa are: English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Tsonga, Swati and Ndebele. Many tourists make their way up the crest of spectacular Sani Pass to enjoy a meal at Southern Africa's highest pub. The official languages of the Republic are. Re dumela hore Afrika Borwa ke naha ya bohle ba phelang ho yona, re kopane le ha re fapane. As a Bantu language, Xhosa and Zulu people are often able to understand one another. The last is a lateral click with the tongue at the side of the mouth. Xhosa language, a Bantu language spoken by seven million people in South Africa, especially in Eastern province. Other significant languages in South Africa, Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, "South Africa could make signing official language", "The 11 languages of South Africa - South Africa Gateway", "A Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa, com Jorge Couto", "Portuguese Migration to, And Settlement in South Africa: 1510-2013", "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 200 of 1993", "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 - Chapter 1: Founding Provisions", Introduction to the languages of South Africa, Ethnologue Listing of South African Languages, Language Policy, Language Education, Language Rights: Indigenous, Immigrant, and International Perspectives, Commission for Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Community Rights, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Languages_of_South_Africa&oldid=998566092, Pages using columns with the default column width, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from September 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. [citation needed]. Xhosa has ten vowels. When it is the dominant language spoken at home, is it the father’s or the mother’s language. Without detracting from the provisions of subsection (2), all official languages must enjoy parity of esteem and must be treated equitably. Xhosa is an unusual and attractive sounding language, though difficult to master. Bakholwa bona iSewula Afrika ingeyabo boke abahlala kiyo, sibambene ngokwahlukahlukana kwethu. Those who speak this language typically form part of the ethnic group called the amaXhosa and refer to their language as isiXhosa. The official languages of this country, as identified by the Constitution, are: Zulu, English, Afrikaans, Swati, Northern Sotho, Venda, Tswana, Ndebele, Xhosa, Sotho, and Tsonga. Xhosa is also heard in Johannesburg and the Western Cape. South Africa’s Constitution recognises 11 official languages: Sepedi (also known as Sesotho sa Leboa), Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu.. For centuries South Africa’s official languages were European – Dutch, English, Afrikaans. The Xhosa language is spoken by nearly 8 million people, which is around 18% of the South African population. Although South Africa has 11 official languages we would say the 12th should be Slang. South Africa is the native land of Xhosa, which is spoken chiefly in the Eastern Cape Province. With 11 official languages, South Africa is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. Primary of these was the founder of Islam at the Cape, Sheikh Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep (known as Sheikh Yusuf). Yusuf, along with 49 followers including two wives, two concubines and twelve children, were received in the Cape on 2 April 1694 by governor Simon van der Stel. Though these are still under debate, one frequently accepted dialect grouping is as follows: Xhosa (original), Bhaca, Gcaleka, Thembu, Mpondomise, Ngqika, Mpondo, Mfengu and Bomvana. In the older immigrant communities there are: Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Portuguese, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Yiddish, Italian and smaller numbers of Dutch, French and German speakers. Re dumela fa Aforika Borwa e le ya botlhe ba ba tshelang mo go yona, re le ngata e le nngwe ka go farologana. South African languages as a first language. Our highly qualified professional linguists are at the pinnacle of language expertise and cultural heritage in South Africa and thought leaders in their respective linguistic fields. Xhosa is listed amongst South Africa's 11 official languages and is spoken by approximately 18% of the country's population (plus-minus 7.9 million individuals). Interestingly, the word Xhosa is from the Khoisan language and means “The angry men”. When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, English was made the official language along with Dutch, which was replaced by Afrikaans in 1925. South Africa’s second-largest language, Xhosa is spoken by 17.6% of all South Africans, or 7 907 149 people. Source: Pan South African Language Board, constitutionally appointed. Xhosa or isiXhosa is one of the eleven official languages of the Republic of South Africa and is spoken by about 8 million people as a first or home language (‘mother tongue’). Zulu is the most prevalent, followed by Xhosa, Afrikaans and English. Many South Africans mix and match the languages together, which leads to South Africa having a very unique local language. Xhosa is one of the 11 official languages recognized by the South African Constitution, and in 2006 it was determined that just over 7 million South Africans speak Xhosa as a home language. It too is a tonal language, governed by the noun, which dominates the sentence. -Xhosa-Zulu-Afrikaans-English-Venda-Tsonga. According to South Africa Info 17.6% of the country speaks Xhosa. These non-official languages may be used in limited semi-official use where it has been determined that these languages are prevalent. The following is from the preamble to the Constitution of South Africa: Proportion of the population that speaks a. Density of first-language speakers of Nguni languages. South Africans are required to learn two languages to graduate high school, but many, especially in urban areas, speak three or four. The majority of languages which contain clicks originate with the Khoisan languages. Density of first-language speakers of West Germanic languages. The 2011 census of South African Languages accounted for 4.8 million fluent English speakers. South Africa is the Rainbow Nation, a title that captures the country’s cultural and ethnic diversity.The population of South Africa is one of the most complex and diverse in the world. All Rights Reserved. Controversy surrounds the designation of Northern Sesotho as Sepedi (its main dialect) instead of the comprehensive Sesotho sa Leboa (which had been the wording in the Interim Constitution of 1993). They were housed on the farm Zandvliet, far outside of Cape Town, in an attempt to minimise his influence on the VOC's slaves. By clicking Agree you are accepting Terms of Service. For each of the two groups, the languages within that group are for the most part intelligible to a native speaker of any other language within that group. Less than 2% of South African citizens speak a first language that is not an official language. Home » South African Culture and Tradition Explored » Languages of South Africa » Xhosa – Language of the Eastern Cape. It is a regional language, with a third of its speakers living in the Eastern Cape, where it is the language of 83.4% of the provincial population. Most South Africans can speak more than one language. 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. It also became the de facto national language of the Griqua (Xiri or Griekwa) nation, which was also primarily a Khoekhoe group. Your handy dandy guide to all 11 official languages of South Africa, including Xhosa, Zulu and Afrikaans. Approximately 16 percent of South Africa’s population, or 8.3 million people, cite Xhosa as being their home language. Other Southeastern Bantu languages are Zulu, Fewer than two percent of South Africans speak a first language other than an official one. More importantly, these languages have significant local functions in specific communities whose identity is tightly bound around the linguistic and cultural identity that these non-official SA languages signal. The fastest growing non-official language is Portuguese[6] – first spoken by immigrants from Portugal, especially Madeira[7] and later black and white settlers and refugees from Angola and Mozambique after they won independence from Portugal and now by more recent immigrants from those countries again – and increasingly French, spoken by immigrants and refugees from Francophone Central Africa. Political exiles from the VOC colony of Batavia were also brought to the Cape, and these formed a major influencing force in the formation of Afrikaans, particularly in its Malay influence, and its early Jawi literature. More recently, speakers of North, Central and West Africa languages have arrived in South Africa, mostly in the major cities, especially in Johannesburg and Pretoria, but also Cape Town and Durban. South Africa has 11 official languages! The count… The Xhosa language (Isixhosa), of which there are variations, is part of the Nguni language group. Of the 51.7 million South Africans, over 41 million are black, 4.5 million are white, 4.6 million are coloured and about 1.3 million Indian or Asian. The Xhosa language has been grouped into a number of dialects. A journey through the lush Cape Winelands of the Western Cape will soon reveal why South Africa has gained an international reputation for the production of award-winning wines. Thanks to the variety of languages spoken in South Africa, locals tend to borrow words from each language, resulting in slang words or phrases known as 'South Africanisms'. We are using cookies to make the website better. Afrikaans is also spoken widely across the centre and north of the country, as a second (or third or even fourth) language by Black South Africans (which, in South Africa, popularly means SiNtu-speaking populations) living in farming areas. Density of first-language speakers of Sotho–Tswana languages. Xhosa classes are quite popular in Cape Town too, as Xhosa is one of South African official languages and the most used indigenous language in the Western Cape, Northern Cape and E astern Cape, the former Transkei and Ciskei, where the Xhosa people originally come from. U tenda uri Afrika Tshipembe ndi ḽa vhoṱhe vhane vha dzula khaḽo, vho vhofhekanywaho vha vha huthihi naho vha sa fani. Xhosa is spoken widely by local staff and personnel. As mentioned before, there is no appropriate term for one’s mother-tongue. Xhosa is written using a Latin alphabet. Most South Africans can speak more than one language,[3] and there is very often a diglossia between the official and unofficial language forms for speakers of the latter. Gauteng is the most linguistically heterogeneous province, with roughly equal numbers of Nguni, Sotho-Tswana and Indo-European language speakers, with Khoekhoe influence. Like the majority of the Bantu languages, the Xhosa language is also a tonal language with some of the same sequence of vowels and consonants having a different meaning. The constitution mentions "sign language" in the generic sense rather than South African Sign Language specifically. African languages, spoken by at least 80% of the people, were ignored. While most South Africans can communicate in more than one language, English is the most commonly spoken and the language of official business and commerce. There are 11 official languages in South Africa, of which Xhosa is one of the most widely spoken. When visiting the Natal Midlands, be sure to drive along ... SouthAfrica.com. The dramatic Sani Pass is a renowned mountain road providing access from the Natal Drakensberg Park into magical Lesotho. Sikholelwa ukuthi iNingizimu Afrika ingeyabo bonke abahlala kuyo, sibumbene nakuba singafani. Xhosa is one of South Africa's 11 official languages and one of 28 languages spoken in the country. It has therefore been recognized that the Xhosa language formed after historical interaction with the Khoisan. The Xhosa language is one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe.It is a Nguni Bantu language known for its click consonants. When visiting the Eastern Cape be sure to ask an amaXhosa to teach you a few phrases, they are certain to be willing to share their unique language with you. The national government and provincial governments, by legislative and other measures, must regulate and monitor their use of official languages. The Xhosa are the second largest cultural group in South Africa, after the Zulu-speaking nation. Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. Significant numbers of immigrants from Europe, elsewhere in Africa, and the Indian subcontinent (largely as a result of the British Indian indenture system) means that a wide variety of other languages can also be found in parts of South Africa. Unofficial and marginalised languages include what are considered some of Southern Africa's First Nation languages: Khoekhoegowab, !Orakobab, Xirikobab, N|uuki, !Xunthali, and Khwedam; and other African languages, such as SiPhuthi, IsiHlubi, SiBhaca, SiLala, SiNhlangwini ("IsiZansi"), SiNrebele (SiSumayela), IsiMpondo/IsiMpondro, KheLobedu, SePulana, HiPai, SeKutswe, SeṰokwa, SeHananwa, SiThonga, SiLaNgomane, SheKgalagari, XiRhonga, SeKopa( Sekgaga) and others. Xhosa is listed amongst South Africa's 11 official languages and is spoken by approximately 18% of the country's population (plus-minus 7.9 million individuals). Learning Xhosa is a challenging, but rewarding experience. The first is dental clicks with the tongue pressing against the back of the teeth. It can also be the langua… [5] This racial term is popularly considered to mean "multiracial", as it represents to some degree a creole population, however most of whom are in fact Khoekhoen in heritage, and many (particularly Cape Muslims) are also descendants of slave populations imported by the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) from slaving posts in West and East Africa, and from its colonies of the Indian Ocean trade route. Hajji Yusuf was an Indonesian noble of royal descent, being the nephew of the Sultan Alauddin of Gowa, in today Makassar, Nusantara. Glo dat Suid-Afrika behoort aan almal wat daarin woon, verenig in ons verskeidenheid. English is the fourth most common first language in the country (9.6%), but is understood in most urban areas and is the dominant language in government and the media.[4]. At least thirty-five languages indigenous to South Africa are spoken in the Republic, ten of which are official languages of South Africa: Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venḓa, Xhosa, Zulu and Afrikaans. There are eleven major languages of South Africa; Afrikaans, English, Swazi, Sotho, Swan, Ndebele, Venda, Zulu, Northern Sotho, Tsonga, and Xhosa. Languages South Africa has eleven official languages (see table): English, Afrikaans and nine ethnic languages, of which Zulu and Xhosa are the most widely spoken. At least thirty-five languages indigenous to South Africa are spoken in the Republic, ten of which are official languages of South Africa: Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venḓa, Xhosa, Zulu and Afrikaans.