THE LANGUAGES OF SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa is a multi-lingual country. Besides the 11 officially recognised languages, scores of others are spoken here, as the country lies at the crossroads of southern Africa.
South Africa's Constitution guarantees equal status to 11 official languages to cater for the country's diverse peoples and their cultures. These are:
Afrikaans
English
isiNdebele
isiXhosa
isiZulu
Sepedi
Sesotho
Setswana
siSwati
Tshivenda
Xitsonga
English is generally understood across the country, being the most commonly used language in official and commercial public life. However, it only ranks joint fifth out of 11 as a home language.
According to the 2001 census, isiZulu is the mother tongue of 23.8% of South Africa's population, followed by isiXhosa at 17.6%, Afrikaans at 13.3%, Sepedi at 9.4%, and English and Setswana each at 8.2%.
Sesotho is the mother tongue of 7.9% of South Africans, while the remaining four official languages are spoken at home by less than 5% of the population each.
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, Sepedi and Sesotho - also have much in common.
According to historical data, many of South Africa's indigenous tribes 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.
Afrikaans - initially spoken by descendants of the Dutch settlers and similar in character to Dutch and Flemish - is no longer the exclusive language of Afrikaners. According to Statistics South Africa, the majority of South Africans who speak Afrikaans as their first language are not white.
South Africa's Asian population, 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.
A lingua franca known as tsotsi taal is widely spoken, especially in urban areas, mainly by males. It is a hybrid of Afrikaans, English and black languages, and developed in urban areas to make communication easier among the different language groups. It is a dynamic language, with new words and phrases being invented on a regular basis.
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 more than 80% of South Africans in the Eastern Cape, while almost 80% of people in KwaZulu-Natal speak isiZulu. IsiZulu is also the most frequently spoken home language in Gauteng, but at a much smaller percentage. In Cape Town and its surrounds, Afrikaans comes into its own.
Predominant languages by province (Census 2001 figures, rounded off) are:
Eastern Cape - isiXhosa (83%), Afrikaans (9%)
Free State - Sesotho (64%), Afrikaans (12%)
Gauteng - isiZulu (21%), Afrikaans (14%), Sesotho (13%), English (12%)
KwaZulu-Natal - isiZulu (81%), English (13%)
Limpopo - Sepedi (52%), Xitsonga (22%), Tshivenda (16%)
Mpumalanga - siSwati (31%), isiZulu (26%), isiNdebele (12%)
Northern Cape - Afrikaans (68%), Setswana (21%)
North West - Setswana (65%), Afrikaans (7%)
Western Cape - Afrikaans (55%), English (19%), isiXhosa (23%)
South Africa is a multi-lingual country. Besides the 11 officially recognised languages, scores of others are spoken here, as the country lies at the crossroads of southern Africa.
South Africa's Constitution guarantees equal status to 11 official languages to cater for the country's diverse peoples and their cultures. These are:
Afrikaans
English
isiNdebele
isiXhosa
isiZulu
Sepedi
Sesotho
Setswana
siSwati
Tshivenda
Xitsonga
English is generally understood across the country, being the most commonly used language in official and commercial public life. However, it only ranks joint fifth out of 11 as a home language.
According to the 2001 census, isiZulu is the mother tongue of 23.8% of South Africa's population, followed by isiXhosa at 17.6%, Afrikaans at 13.3%, Sepedi at 9.4%, and English and Setswana each at 8.2%.
Sesotho is the mother tongue of 7.9% of South Africans, while the remaining four official languages are spoken at home by less than 5% of the population each.
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, Sepedi and Sesotho - also have much in common.
According to historical data, many of South Africa's indigenous tribes 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.
Afrikaans - initially spoken by descendants of the Dutch settlers and similar in character to Dutch and Flemish - is no longer the exclusive language of Afrikaners. According to Statistics South Africa, the majority of South Africans who speak Afrikaans as their first language are not white.
South Africa's Asian population, 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.
A lingua franca known as tsotsi taal is widely spoken, especially in urban areas, mainly by males. It is a hybrid of Afrikaans, English and black languages, and developed in urban areas to make communication easier among the different language groups. It is a dynamic language, with new words and phrases being invented on a regular basis.
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 more than 80% of South Africans in the Eastern Cape, while almost 80% of people in KwaZulu-Natal speak isiZulu. IsiZulu is also the most frequently spoken home language in Gauteng, but at a much smaller percentage. In Cape Town and its surrounds, Afrikaans comes into its own.
Predominant languages by province (Census 2001 figures, rounded off) are:
Eastern Cape - isiXhosa (83%), Afrikaans (9%)
Free State - Sesotho (64%), Afrikaans (12%)
Gauteng - isiZulu (21%), Afrikaans (14%), Sesotho (13%), English (12%)
KwaZulu-Natal - isiZulu (81%), English (13%)
Limpopo - Sepedi (52%), Xitsonga (22%), Tshivenda (16%)
Mpumalanga - siSwati (31%), isiZulu (26%), isiNdebele (12%)
Northern Cape - Afrikaans (68%), Setswana (21%)
North West - Setswana (65%), Afrikaans (7%)
Western Cape - Afrikaans (55%), English (19%), isiXhosa (23%)
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