Did you know that in some countries several official languages may exist? Historically, in some territories it is impossible to use one universal language. For example, in China there are about 290 languages (they are called adverbs, but there are such countries in which there are dozens of languages that are completely different from each other), and one is officially recognized as Chinese (plus the languages of other peoples of China within the autonomy). The first country in this regard in the world is Bolivia, which has 37 recognized languages under the constitution, the second is India with 23 languages. And how many official languages are in South Africa?
Today we will discuss South Africa is the third country in the world in the number of officially recognized state languages.
What languages are used in South Africa
How many official languages are in South Africa? According to constitutional law, since 1996, eleven languages have been recognized here:
- English.
- Afrikaans is a Germanic language spoken in South Africa and Namibia.
- Southern Ndebele is a Bantu ethnic language belonging to the Nguni subgroup.
- Northern soto, or sepedi, is the language of the Bantu group belonging to the Soto-tsvana subgroup.
- Soto, or Basuto, is the spoken language of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Lesotho in South Africa.
- Swazi sisvati, or swati, is a common language in the territory of Swaziland (Kingdom of South Africa). Also in Swazi, representatives of Mozambique speak.
- Tsonga, or shangaan, is the language of the Bantu group, common in the Republic of South Africa along the Indian Ocean.
- Tswana is the language of the Bantu group, which is mainly spoken by Botswans living in South Africa.
- Venda is the language of the Venda people, spoken in the north-eastern part of South Africa, mainly in the Limpopo region. This language is also spoken in southern Zimbabwe.
- Spit is the second most popular official language in South Africa, which uses about 8 million people.
- Zulu is the language of the Zulu people.
How many official languages are in South Africa
How is so many languages related to historical events in the country? As already mentioned, at The Republic of South Africa officially recognized eleven languages. This is the third indicator in the world after Bolivia and India, in which there are 37 and 23 official languages, respectively.
Initially, the official languages of South Africa were English and Afrikaans, but after the events of apartheid (that is, “separation of peoples,” the official policy of racial segregation), the languages of the tribal population, which for the most part belong to the Bantu group of people (common name for more than four hundred ethnic groups).
Most South Africans can speak more than one language. Some South African languages are combined into whole groups and classes, which is why they are similar to each other.
How many official languages in South Africa before? From ancient times, Dutch and English were spoken in this territory. But between 1910 and 1925, the Dutch language was gradually replaced by Afrikaans. When South Africa became a republic in 1961, the Dutch language began to gradually lose its relevance, and already in 1984 it was officially expelled from the constitution. Thus, in South Africa from 1984 to 1994, two official languages were used - English and Afrikaans.
The popularity of South African languages
The most popular and common language of the South African state is Zulu, it is used by about 25% of the population (about 12 million people).The second is the spit language - 16% (8 million people), and the third - Afrikaans language (over 5 million people). English is only in fifth place, but it remains one of the most important even in South Africa.
English is used for international communication in the southern part of the country. Most print media, television, and the media use English because it is unique. The Afrikaans language, in turn, has noticeably lost popularity after the fall of apartheid, but remains quite relevant among the western inhabitants of the republic. For example, the family magazine Huisgenoot is still replicated in Afrikaans.
Common languages by counties of South Africa
Languages such as Swazi, Southern Ndbele, Zulu and Spit belong to the Nguni group. Representatives of these languages can easily communicate with each other, understanding each other, because all the linguistics and morphology of these dialects are similar to each other. The related Nguni peoples, as a rule, live near the southern coast and in the east of the country.
The languages of the soto group (Sesotian, Tswanian and others) are united according to the same principle. The ranges of representatives and speakers of these languages are located in the central part of the country. The western part, in turn, is filled with representatives of the Afrikaans language (it is spoken by both white and mixed races).
To tourists
Most of the basic information necessary for a comfortable stay in southern Africa is presented in English. All general information in guidebooks, restaurant menus, road signs and warning signs is written in English.