Languages of South Africa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 Bantu languages.

Contents 1 Constitutional provisions 2 Official languages 3 Non-official national languages (and language groups) 4 Extinct languages 5 External links

[edit] Constitutional provisions

Chapter 1 (Founding Provisions), Section 6 (Languages) of the Constitution of South Africa is the basis for government language policy:

1. The official languages of the Republic are Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu. 2. Recognising the historically diminished use and status of the indigenous languages of our people, the state must take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of these languages. 3. a. The national government and provincial governments may use any particular official languages for the purposes of government, taking into account usage, practicality, expense, regional circumstances and the balance of the needs and preferences of the population as a whole or in the province concerned; but the national government and each provincial government must use at least two official languages. b. Municipalities must take into account the language usage and preferences of their residents. 4. The national government and provincial governments, by legislative and other measures, must regulate and monitor their use of official languages. Without detracting from the provisions. 5. Pan South African Language Board established by national legislation must a. promote, and create conditions for, the development and use of b. i. all official languages; ii. the Khoi, Nama and San languages; and iii. sign language; and c. promote and ensure respect for ­ i. all languages commonly used by communities in South Africa, including German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Portuguese, Tamil, Telegu and Urdu; and ii. Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit and other languages used for religious purposes in South Africa.

[edit] Official languages

• Afrikaans
• English
• Ndebele
• Northern Sotho
• Sotho
• Swazi
• Tsonga
• Tswana
• Venda
• Xhosa
• Zulu

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.

The majority of South Africans speak a language from either of the Sotho branch of Bantu languages (This includes Sesotho, Sesotho sa Leboa and Setswana) or of the Nguni branch of Bantu languages (Zulu, Xhosa, Siswati and Ndebele). A language in one of these two groups is understandable to a native speaker of any other language of that group.

As can be seen from the accompanying maps, the nine indigenous languages of South Africa can be divided into two geographical zones, with Nguni languages being predominant in coastal areas and the eastern half of the country and Sotho languages being predominant inland, in the western half (and of course, 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 a creole language, Tsotsitaal, in the province.

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

Afrikaans, a language derived from Dutch, is the most-widely spoken language in the country's two westernmost provinces. It is spoken not only by a majority of whites but also by about 90 percent of Coloured (multiracial) people in the country.

[edit] Non-official national languages (and language groups)

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

• Fanagalo
• Lobedu
• Northern Ndebele
• Phuthi
• South African Sign Language (making South Africa one of the few countries to have legal recognition of sign language)
• Khoe
• Nama
• San (Khoisan/Khoesan) languages

Significant numbers of immigrants from Europe, elsewhere in Africa, and Indian subcontinents means that a wide variety of other languages can also be found in parts of South Africa, including small numbers of speakers of German, Portuguese (spoken also by black Angolans and Mozambicans), French, Hindi, Urdu and a number of West African languages.

[edit] Extinct languages

• ‖Xegwi
• ǀXam
• Seroa

[edit] External links

• Introduction to the languages of South Africa
• Ethnologue Listing of South African Languages