South Africa has 11 official languages (and scores of unofficial ones):
- Afrikaans
- English
- isiNdebele
- isiXhosa
- isiZulu
- Sesotho sa Leboa (Pedi/Sepedi)
- Sesotho
- Setswana
- siSwati
- Tshivenda
- Xitsonga
- Indigenous creoles and pidgins
South Africa's linguistic diversity means all 11 languages
have had a profound effect on each other. South African English, for example,
is littered with words and phrases from Afrikaans, isiZulu, Nama, and other
African languages. And African-language speakers often pepper their speech with
English and Afrikaans.
Most South Africans are multilingual, able to speak more
than one language. Most South Africans speak English, which is fairly
ubiquitous in official and commercial public life. The country's other lingua
franca is isiZulu.
Constitutional Court Sign in 11 languages!
In terms of linguistic
classification, the official languages include two West-Germanic languages (English and Afrikaans) and nine Bantu
languages. Four of these are Nguni
languages (Zulu,
Xhosa, Swati and Ndebele) and have many similarities in syntax and
grammar and three are Sotho–Tswana languages (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho and Tswana).
Tsonga is a Tswa–Ronga language.
Here are some great free online language courses offered by
UNISA (University of South Africa). Salani kahle!
Notes from Wiki and South Africa.info
