Geographical distribution of South African languages.

Geographical distribution the Sotho languages in South Africa's provinces.

Geographical distribution the Sotho language in South Africa's provinces.

Geographical distribution of the Nguni languages in South Africa's provinces.

Geographical distribution of the Zulu language in South Africa's provinces.

South Africa has 11 official languages, which is second in number only to the 23 national languages of India. South Africa also recognises eight non-official languages as "national languages". Of the official languages, two are Indo-European languages — English and Afrikaans — while the other nine are languages of the Bantu family (within Africa's largest phylum, Niger-Congo). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (943x667, 85 KB) Summary All Stats SA products are protected by copyright. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (943x667, 85 KB) Summary All Stats SA products are protected by copyright. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1146x828, 14 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1146x828, 14 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... The Sotho language group is a group of three closely related languages spoken in Southern Africa including Setswana, Sesotho, and Sesotho sa Leboa. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 578 pixelsFull resolution (1146 × 828 pixel, file size: 15 KB, MIME type: image/gif) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sotho language Languages of South Africa... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 578 pixelsFull resolution (1146 × 828 pixel, file size: 15 KB, MIME type: image/gif) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sotho language Languages of South Africa... The Sotho-speaking people have lived in southern Africa since around 15th century. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1146x828, 14 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1146x828, 14 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... For the cattle breed see Nguni cattle. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... India has a diverse list of spoken languages among different groups of people. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. ... Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu vs. ... For the linguistic term, see Phylum (linguistics). ... Map showing the distribution of Niger-Congo languages The Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the worlds major language families, and Africas largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. ...

Constitutional provisions

Chapter 1 (Founding Provisions), Section 6 (Languages) of the Constitution of South Africa is the basis for government language policy: The current and official Constitution of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on 8 May 1996. ... Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. ...

Northern Sotho, Sepedi, or Sesotho sa Leboa, is one of the official languages of South Africa, and is spoken by 4,208,980 people (2001 Census Data), mostly in the provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga. ... Sesotho is a language spoken in southern Africa. ... Tswana, also known as Setswana, is a Bantu language. ... Swati (also known as siSwati and Swazi) is a Bantu language spoken in Swaziland and South Africa. ... Venda, also known as Tshivenda or Chivenda, is a Bantu language. ... The Tsonga language is spoken in southern Africa by the Tsonga people, also known as the Shangaan. ... Look up Wiktionary:Swadesh lists for Afrikaans and Dutch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... There are two versions of Ndebele in South Africa, they both belong to the Nguni group of Bantu Languages. ... Xhosa is a language of South Africa. ... Zulu, also known as isiZulu, is a language of the Zulu people with about 9 million speakers, the vast majority (over 95%) of whom live in South Africa. ... is an Indo-Aryan language, part of the greater Indo-European language family. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Telugu (తెలుగు) is a Dravidian language primarily spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it is the official language. ... (اردو), historically spelled Ordu, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to Indo-European family of languages. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Religious terminology are the specialized terms used within the context of a particular religion as largely self-contained language system. ...

Official languages

The eleven official languages of South Africa are as follows (with the name used for each language, by speakers of that language, in brackets):

Afrikaans (Afrikaans), English, Ndebele (isiNdebele), Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa), Sotho (Sesotho), Swati (siSwati), Tsonga (Xitsonga), Tswana (Setswana), Venda (Tshivenda), Xhosa (isiXhosa), Zulu (isiZulu).

The most common language spoken at home by South African is Zulu (24 percent speak Zulu at home), followed by Xhosa (18 percent), and Afrikaans (13 percent). English is only the fifth-most common home language in the country, but is understood in most urban areas and is the dominant language in government and the media. Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Ndebele language, or isiNdebele, or Sindebele, is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, and spoken by the AmaNdebele (the Ndebele people). ... Northern Sotho, Sepedi, or Sesotho sa Leboa, is one of the official languages of South Africa, and is spoken by 4,208,980 people (2001 Census Data), mostly in the provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga. ... Sotho (Sesotho, Southern Sotho or Southern Sesotho[1]) is a Bantu language spoken primarily in South Africa, where it one the 11 official languages, and in Lesotho, where it is the national language. ... Swati (siSwati in the language itself; Swazi in Zulu) is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Swaziland and South Africa. ... The Tsonga or Xitsonga language is spoken in southern Africa by the Tsonga people, also known as the Shangaan. ... Tswana, also known as Setswana, is a Bantu language. ... Venda, also known as Tshivenda, or Luvenda, is a Bantu language. ... Xhosa (IPA: ) is one of the official languages of South Africa. ... Zulu (isiZulu in Zulu), is a language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority (over 95%) of whom live in South Africa. ...

The majority of South Africans speak a language from one of the two principal branches of the Bantu languages represented in South Africa: the Sotho-Tswana branch (Sotho, Northern Sotho, Tswana), or the Nguni branch (Zulu, Xhosa, Swati, Ndebele). 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. The Sotho-Tswana language group is a group of closely related Bantu languages spoken in Southern Africa, including Tswana (Setswana), Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa), Sotho (Southern Sotho or Sesotho), and Lozi (Silozi or Rozi). ... For the cattle breed see Nguni cattle. ...

As can be seen from the accompanying maps, the nine indigenous African languages of South Africa can be divided into two geographical zones, with Nguni languages being predominant in the south-eastern third of the country (Indian Ocean coast) and Sotho languages being predominant in the northern third of the country located further inland, as also in Botswana and Lesotho. Gauteng is the most linguistically heterogeneous province, with roughly equal numbers of Nguni, Sotho and Indo-European language speakers. This has resulted in the spread of an urban argot, Tsotsitaal, in large urban townships in the province. Categories: South Africa stubs | Provinces of South Africa | Gauteng Province ... Tsotsitaal, or (isi)Camtho, is a patois mainly spoken in the townships of the Gauteng province in South Africa, such as Soweto. ...

Venda and Tsonga are neither Nguni nor Sotho-Tswana languages.

Afrikaans, a language derived from Dutch, is the most widely spoken language in the western third of the country (Western and Northern Cape). It is spoken not only by a majority of whites but also by about 90 percent of Coloured (multiracial) people in the country. 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 living in farming areas. Capital Cape Town Largest city Cape Town Premier Ebrahim Rasool Area - Total Ranked 4th 129,370 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 5th 4,524,335 35/km² Elevation Highest point: Seweweekspoort Peak at 2325 meters (7628 feet) Lowest point: sea level Languages Afrikaans (55. ... Capital Kimberley Largest city Kimberley Premier Elizabeth Dipuo Peters (ANC) Area - Total Ranked 1st 361,830 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 9th 822,726 2/km² Languages Afrikaans (70%) Tswana (20%) Xhosa (6. ... In the South African and Namibian context, the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense, Kleurlinge or Bruine Afrikaners) refers to a rather heterogeneous group of people of mixed Khoisan, white European descent, Malay, Malagasy, Black (Bantu), and South Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape. ... Actress Halle Berry was born to a white mother and a black father. ...

Other significant languages spoken in South Africa

The Constitution also recognises a further eight non-official "national languages":

Fanagalo, Lobedu (Khilobedu), Northern Ndebele (Sindebele), Phuthi (Siphuthi), South African Sign Language, Khoe, Nama, San (Khoisan/Khoesan) languages.

In reality, the membership of this additional list above is very varied. SA Sign Language is an utterly distinct though incompletely emerged national standard language (SA Sign Language), but which also subsumes a cluster of semi-standardised dialects. The status of SA Sign Language makes South Africa one of the few countries to have legal recognition of sign language). Another four are of the names given can properly be termed languages (Northern Ndebele, Phuthi, Khoe, Nama). San (Khoesan) is an imprecisely named cluster of languages. Lobedu has been claimed to be a dialect of Northern Sotho, but is perhaps more accurately classed as an autonomous language. Fanagalo is a semi-stable pidgin of uncertain contemporary status. Fanagalo or Fanakalo is one of a number of African pidgin languages that developed during the colonial period to promote ease of communication. ... Lobedu (also Lovedu or Selobedu) is a Bantu language regarded as a dialect of Northern Sotho (Sepedi). ... The Northern Ndebele language, or isiNdebele, or Sindebele, is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, and spoken by the Ndebele or Matabele people of Zimbabwe. ... Phuthi, also siPhuti is a Bantu Nguni language variety with Sotho influence spoken in scattered communities in the Eastern Cape / Lesotho borderland. ... hi This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: it is patent nonsense. ... Kxoe is a Khoisan language of Namibia, Angola, Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia. ... Nàmá, previously called Hottentot, is the most populous and widespread of the Khoisan languages. ... Map showing the distribution of the Khoi-San languages. ... The legal recognition of sign languages is one of the major concerns of the international Deaf community. ...

Significant numbers of immigrants from Europe, elsewhere in Africa, and the Indian subcontinent means that a wide variety of other languages can also be found in parts of South Africa. In the older immigrant communities there is : Hindi (particularly the Gujarati variety), Urdu, Tamil, Greek (ελληνικά); Yiddish, Polish (polska), Portuguese (português), and smaller numbers of French (français) and German (Deutsch) speakers. This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Satellite image of the Indian subcontinent Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... is an Indo-Aryan language, part of the greater Indo-European language family. ... (اردو), historically spelled Ordu, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to Indo-European family of languages. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Greek ( IPA: or IPA: — Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language in that language family. ... Yiddish (Yid. ... Polish (jÄ™zyk polski, polszczyzna) is the official language of Poland. ... Portuguese ( , also língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is today Galicia (Spain) and northern Portugal as Latin spoken by romanized Celtiberians about a thousand years ago. ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ...

These non-official languages may be used in limited semi-official use where it has been determined that these languages are prevalent. 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.

Of the listed non-official languages, the fastest growing are perhaps Portuguese — now spoken by more recent immigrants from Angola and Mozambique) — and increasingly French, spoken by immigrants and refugees from francophone central Africa. Finally, more recently, many thousands of speakers of northern, central and west African languages have arrived in South Africa, mostly in the major cities, especially in Johannesburg and Pretoria, but also Cape Town and Durban. City motto: Unity in Development Province Gauteng Mayor Amos Masondo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... Motto: Praestantia Praevaleat Pretoria (May Pretoria Be Pre-eminent In Excellence) Country South Africa Province Gauteng Established 1855 Area  - City 1,644 km²  (634. ... City motto: Spes Bona (Latin: Good Hope) Location of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape Province Province Western Cape Mayor Helen Zille Area  - % water 2,499 km² N/A Population  - Total (2004)  - Density Not ranked 2,893,251 1,158/km² Established 1652 Time zone SAST (UTC+2... Durban (Zulu: eThekwini (IPA: ) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. ...

Extinct languages

• [[||Xegwi language|||Xegwi ]]
• ǀXam
• Seroa

ǀXam, or ǀXam Kakǃʼe, is an extinct Khoisan language of South Africa, part of the !Kwi language group. ... Seroa is an extinct Khoisan language of South Africa and Lesotho. ...

External links

• Introduction to the languages of South Africa
• Ethnologue Listing of South African Languages
• Project to translate Free and Open Source software into South African languages with live web-based translation
• PanAfriL10n page on South Africa
• The Language Museum