Tag: languages

  • Tsonga

    Xitsonga or Tsonga is an African language that is spoken by the Tsonga people. Tsonga people are also known as the Shangaans. According to the Tsongas, this is incorrect, as they believe that the Shangaans are those that live in Mozambique and not in South Africa. Most Xitsonga speakers live in Giyani, which is located in the Limpopo Province. Approximately 1,646,000 people in the Limpopo ...

  • Southern Sesotho

    One of the eleven official languages of South Africa, Sesotho is spoken by roughly five million people in the geographical region of South Africa. Sesotho, which can also be called Southern Sesotho to help distinguish it from Northern Sesotho, is also one of the two official languages of the independent Kingdom of Lesotho where it is spoken by approximately 85% of the population. The ...

  • Xhosa

    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). The language is marked by the large number of click consonant sounds used. Those who speak this language typically form part of the ethnic group called the amaXhosa and refer to their language as isiXhosa. Interestingly, the word ...

  • Zulu

    Zulu or isiZulu is another of South Africa's official languages. Spoken by some 10 million individuals, most of whom reside in South Africa, Zulu is the home language of 24% of South Africans and is understood by more than 50% of the country's inhabitants. Forming part of the Nguni group of the Bantu languages, Zulu and Xhosa are mutually understandable.

  • Sepedi

    Also known as Northern Sotho or “Sesotho sa Laboa”, Sepedi is spoken by more than 4.2 million people and is proudly, one of the official languages in South Africa. Generally, Sepedi is spoken in the Gauteng, Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga areas, but is also spoken in neighboring Botswana. Sepedi is a so called Bantu language, belonging to the language family of the Niger-Congo, which is ...

  • Setswana

    Although Setswana, generally known as Tswana, is the national language of Botswana, a large number of Tswana speakers are located in South Africa, with the Northern Cape being predominantly Afrikaans and Setswana. Hence Setswana is one of South Africa's eleven official languages. Setswana speakers are also found in Namibia and Zimbabwe. Tswana is a Bantu language, and is therefore closely ...

  • Swati

    Swati is known as siSwati, Swazi and Sewati. It is one of the Bantu languages of the Nguni Group, and it is spoken in Swaziland and South Africa. Swati is closely related to Xhosa, Zulu and Ndebele, but is a seperate language and one of South Africa's eleven official languages.

  • Venda

    Known as Venda or Luvenda, Tshivenda is a Bantu language and relates to the Niger-Congo languages. The majority of Venda speakers live in South Africa, where it is an official language. In South Africa, the approximately 670,000 Tshivenda speakers, are scattered across the Northern part of the Limpopo Province.

  • Afrikaans

    Afrikaans, one of South Africa's 11 official languages, is spoken by the majority of the population as either a first or second language. As South African born language, Afrikaans has a fascinating history and has become wide spread, even being spoken freely in Namibia and partly in Botswana, Zimbabwe and other countries. Although considered by some English speaking South African's as a ...

  • English

    Of the two European languages which were brought to South Africa during the early days of colonization, English is undoubtedly the most widespread. Because of the prevalence of this language, English is the main language used in government and business. Though English is not the first language of many individuals, it is usually spoken and understood by a large portion of the population. Many ...