Second-language users: 3,400,000 (2002 estimate) Languages Of South Africa. For this reason, South African censuses ask people which two languages they speak. However, until today, the linguistic situation in South Africa is still quite di cult. Second-language users: 1,400,000 (2002 estimate) This is according to an international poll conducted … All users: 27,300,000 (estimate). Sesotho sa Leboa or Sepedi? It is an Nguni language, like isiZulu, isiXhosa and siSwati. English- and Afrikaans-speaking people (mostly coloured, Indian and white South Africans) tend not to have much ability in African languages, but are fairly fluent in each other’s language. Erken die ongeregtighede van ons verlede; Siyakwazi ukungakaphatheki kwethu ngokomThetho kwesikhathi sakade; Siyaziqonda iintswela-bulungisa zexesha elidlulileyo; Siyazamukela izenzo ezingalungile zesikhathi esadlula; Siyakubona kungabi khona kwebulungiswa esikhatsini lesengcile; Re lemoga ditlhokatoka tša rena tša bogologolo; Re elellwa ho ba le leeme ha rona nakong e fetileng; Re itse ditshiamololo tsa rona tse di fetileng; Ri dzhiela nṱha u shaea ha vhulamukanyi kha tshifhinga tsho fhelaho; Hi lemuka ku pfumaleka ka vululami ka nkarhi lowu nga hundza; Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; Huldig diegene wat vir geregtigheid en vryheid in ons land gely het; Sihlonipha labo abahlukumezekako ngerhuluphelo yokobana kube khona ubulungiswa nekululeko enarhenekhethu; Sibothulel’ umnqwazi abo baye bev’ ubunzima ukuze kubekho ubulungisa nenkululeko elizweni lethu; Siphakamisa labo abahluphekela ubulungiswa nenkululeko emhlabeni wethu; Setfulela sigcoko labo labahlushwa kuze sitfole bulungiswa nenkhululeko eveni lakitsi; Re tlotla bao ba ilego ba hlokofaletšwa toka le tokologo nageng ya gaborena; Re tlotla ba hlokofaditsweng ka lebaka la toka le tokoloho naheng ya rona; Re tlotla ba ba bogileng ka ntlha ya tshiamo le kgololosego mo lefatsheng la rona; Ri ṱhonifha havho vhe vha tambulela vhulamukanyi na mbofholowo kha shango ḽashu; Hi xixima lava xanisekeke hikwalaho ko hisekela vululami na ntshunxeko etikweni ra hina; Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and, Respekteer diegene wat hul beywer het om ons land op te bou en te ontwikkel; en, Sihlonipha labo abasebenzileko ekwakhiweni nekuthuthukisweni kwephasi lekhethu; begodu, Siyabahlonela abo baye basebenzela ukwakha nokuphucula ilizwe lethu; kwaye, Sihlonipha labo abasebenzele ukwakha nokuthuthukisa izwe lethu; futhi, Sihlonipha labo labaye basebentela kwakha nekutfutfukisa live lakitsi; futsi, Re hlompha bao ba ilego ba katanela go aga le go hlabolla naga ya gaborena; mme, Re tlotla ba ileng ba sebeletsa ho aha le ho ntshetsa pele naha ya rona; mme, Re tlotla ba ba diretseng go aga le go tlhabolola naga ya rona; mme, Ri ṱhonifha havho vhe vha shuma vha tshi itela u fhaṱa na u bveledzisa shango ḽashu; na, Hi hlonipha lava tirheke ku aka no hluvukisa tiko ra hina; no. The rest of the language’s speakers are scattered around the country. [citation needed]. First-language users: 4,892,623 (9.6% of South Africans) Multilingualism is common among black South Africans. On one level, there are tensions between its two official language groups, Afrikaans and English. About a tenth (9.8%) of all isiXhosa speakers live in Gauteng. This has resulted in the spread of an urban argot, Tsotsitaal or S'Camtho/Ringas, in large urban townships in the province, which has spread nationwide. Email southafrica.gateway@gmail.com. Some 98.3% of Setswana speakers are black, 1% coloured, 0.1% Indian or Asian and 0.1% white. Second-language users: 2,400,000 (2002 estimate) Some 8.3% of all isiZulu speakers live in Mpumalanga, which borders KwaZulu-Natal to the northwest. Apartheid was a political and social system in South Africa during the era of White minority rule. More recently, speakers of North, Central and West Africa languages have arrived in South Africa, mostly in the major cities, especially in Johannesburg and Pretoria, but also Cape Town and Durban. Government: Democracy; Languages: 11 official languages: isiZulu, Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa, siSwati, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Sepedi, isiNdebele, Setswana, Tshivenda; Religion: mainly Christians and Muslims, but also Jews and other faiths. More than half (50.2%) of these Afrikaans speakers are coloured, 39.5% white, 8.8% black, 0.9% Indian or Asian, and 0.6% other. Whatever the objections, the politics of the issue are clearly trending in the supporters’ direction. Political exiles from the VOC colony of Batavia were also brought to the Cape, and these formed a major influencing force in the formation of Afrikaans, particularly in its Malay influence, and its early Jawi literature. In South Africa, multilingualism – a complex undertaking, especially in languages from very different families – is a common achievement of the poor. Today, its official name is the Republic of South Africa in English but there is an official name for each of the country’s 11 main languages. Obviously, many people are limited to one, and many others able to speak three, four or more languages. Over a half (52.9%) of Setswana speakers live in North West, a quarter (26.9%) in Gauteng, and close on a tenth (9.2%) in the Northern Cape. Afrikaans evolved out of a 17th-century Dutch dialect introduced to South Africa in 1652 when the Dutch first colonised the Cape of Good Hope. Second-language users: 11,000,000 (2002 estimate) Thirty are living languages, and four extinct Khoesan languages. The Union of South Africa adopted a system of governance based on the political system of the United Kingdom. Elsewhere in the world the ability to speak many languages is a sign of sophistication. The 11,587,374 South Africans who speak isiZulu as their home language make up 22.7% of the country’s total population. Do you speak the language? Influenced by the other languages spoken around them, all of South Africa’s languages change and grow all the time. Ten percent of all Afrikaans speakers live in the Eastern Cape, 8.8% in the Northern Cape, and 5% in the Free State. Unless otherwise indicated, all figures used below are from Census 2011 and refer to first language (language spoken at home) only. But why is this system of injury time not stopped?”. Language is fluid, especially in South Africa. Another tenth (10.5%) live in Gauteng, and the rest are scattered mainly over the northern parts of the country. Within the provinces, Setswana is spoken by nearly two-thirds (63.4%) of the population of North West, a third (33.1%) of the Northern Cape’s people, by 9.1% of Gauteng’s population and 5.2% of the Free State’s. Tshivenda is spoken by 3% of black South Africans, by just 0.1% of the other population groups, and by 0.5% of people who describe themselves as “other”. Second-language users: 15,700,000 (2002 estimate) First-language users: 8,154,258 If a person did not speak a second language, that too was recorded. Most (44.6%) Sesotho speakers live in the Free State. rendered as Tshivenda instead of the correct Tshivenḓa. Both North West and the Northern Cape lie on the border of Botswana, where 79% of the population speak Setswana. Today it is the majority language of the Northern Cape. Re dumela hore Afrika Borwa ke naha ya bohle ba phelang ho yona, re kopane le ha re fapane. Maar why benga stopi this system ye-injury time?”, “Chiefs [the football club] have won because the referee favoured them. Like all languages in the Niger-Congo family they are tonal languages, in which either a high or low tone gives a word a different meaning. The graphics on this page are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. The majority (86.1%) of Indian South Africans speak English as their home language, as do over a third (35.9%) of whites. What languages are spoken in South Africa's nine provinces? Without detracting from the provisions of subsection (2), all official languages must enjoy parity of esteem and must be treated equitably. IsiZulu is the most widely spoken language in South Africa. The most common language spoken as a first language by South Africans is Zulu (23 percent), followed by Xhosa (16 percent), and Afrikaans (14 percent). South Africa’s nine African official languages all fall into the Southern Bantu-Makua subfamily, part of the broad and branching Niger-Congo family of languages. Also known as: isiBhuru (isiNdebele), isiBhulu (isiXhosa), isiBhunu (isiZulu), siBhunu (siSwati), Seburu (Sesotho sa Leboa), Xibunu (Xitsonga) Three quarters (73.8%) of Tshivenda speakers live in Limpopo, giving the language the second-highest provincial concentration after siSwati. The 2,277,148 South Africans who speak Xitsonga as their home language make up 4.5% of the country’s total population. All users: 2,490,233 (estimate). English is widely used as a second language and common language of communication, mainly in the cities. In the Western Cape it is spoken by 20.2% of the population, and in Gauteng by 13.3%. IsiNdebele is a minority language in all the provinces. (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. The online dictionary of South African English, Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, Pharos South African Multilingual Dictionary, Language in South Africa: The role of language in national transformation, reconstruction and development, Khoisan languages and linguistics, Proceedings of the 3rd international symposium, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. First-language users: 3,798,915 (7.6% of the population) The 2011 census recorded the following distribution of first language speakers:[5]. As a first language it is mainly confined to the cities. 23.8% of South Africans spoke IsiZulu, following by IsiXhosa (17.6%), Afrikaans (13.3%), Sepedi (9.4%), English (8.2%), Setswana (8.2%), Sesotho (7.9%), Xitsonga (4.4%), other (7.2%). Within the provinces, Tshivenda is spoken by 16.7% of the population of Limpopo, and 2.3% of the population of Gauteng. Sikholelwa kwelokuba uMzantsi-Afrika ngowabo bonke abahlala kuwo, bemanyene nangona bengafani. Like isiNdebele, isiXhosa and siSwati, isiZulu is an Nguni language. 28, No. Also known as: Zulu IsiZulu is the most widely spoken language in South Africa, the first language of close to a quarter of the population. Tshembha leswaku Afrika Dzonga i ya vanhu hinkwavo lava tshamaka eka rona, hi hlanganile hi ku hambana-hambana ka hina. First-language users: 1,209,388 (2.4% of the population) First-language users: 11,587,374 (22.7% of the population) All users: 17,155,082 (estimate). This is a comprehensive and wide-ranging guide to language and society in South Africa. The most common language spoken as a first language by South Africans is Zulu (23 percent), followed by Xhosa (16 percent), and Afrikaans (14 percent). The inner curve of this bean-shaped province fits around the northwest border of Lesotho, a country where Sesotho and English are the official languages. 2007 (English) Collection (editor) (Other academic) Abstract [en] In this collection, some of South Africa's most distinguished historians and social scientists present their views on the importance of history and heritage for the transformation of the South African society. Researched, written and designed by MC Alexander. The 6,855,082 South Africans who speak Afrikaans as a first language make up 13.5% of the country’s total population. IsiXhosa is spoken by 7.5% of people in the Free State, 6.6% in Gauteng, 5.5% in North West, and 5.3% in the Northern Cape. It is spoken as first language by approximately 61 percent of whites and 76 percent of Coloureds. The constitution mentions "sign language" in the generic sense rather than South African Sign Language specifically. South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa.With over 59 million people, it is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of 1,221,037 square kilometres (471,445 square miles). English is an urban language of public life, widely used in the media, business and government. All users: 5,677,148 (estimate). The position and role of English were deeply political from the start. Professor Herman Wasserman teaches Media, Communication and Cultural Studies at the University of Newcastle, United Kingdom and is associate professor extraordinary in the Department of Journalism, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Nearly two-fifths (39.8%) of Xitsonga-speaking South Africans live in Limpopo, over a third (35%) in Gauteng, 18.3% in Mpumalanga and 5.6% in North West. Sesotho sa Leboa is spoken by 11.4% of black South Africans. This page was last edited on 6 January 2021, at 00:09. First-language users: 4,067,248 (8% of the population) The SABC has dismissed claims that it will be closing down its radio services, particularly African-language stations. Other languages spoken in South Africa not mentioned in the Constitution, include many of those already mentioned above, such as KheLobedu, SiNrebele, SiPhuthi, as well as mixed languages like Fanakalo (a pidgin language used as a lingua franca in the mining industry), and Tsotsitaal or S'Camtho, an argot that has found wider usage as an informal register. Also called Southern Ndebele, it is not to be confused with Northern Ndebele, more commonly known as Matabele, which is closer to isiZulu and an official language of Zimbabwe. Almost a fifth (19.8%) of Gautengers speak isiZulu. English is spread by the media and used as a common language of communication. The contrast between first language and second language is shown in the maps at right. It enforced racial discrimination against non-Whites, mainly focused on skin colour and facial features. Afrikaans became an official language in South Africa with the Official Languages of the Union Act of 1925, which retroactively dated the language’s official status to 1910. Most language experts, as well as speakers of the language, consider Sesotho sa Leboa to be the correct name, and Sepedi to be a dialect. Also known as: Tswana, Sechuana, Chuana Here’s an example overheard at a football match. Most isiNdebele speakers (37%) live in Mpumalanga, followed by Gauteng (34.9%), KwaZulu-Natal (10.2%), Limpopo (9.6%) and North West (4%). Most South Africans can speak more than one language,[3] and there is very often a diglossia between the official and unofficial language forms for speakers of the latter. It is the home language of 1.3% of Indian or Asian people, 0.5% of coloureds, 0.4% of whites and 4.1% of people who describe themselves as “other”. [5] This racial term is popularly considered to mean "multiracial", as it represents to some degree a creole population, however most of whom are in fact Khoekhoen in heritage, and many (particularly Cape Muslims) are also descendants of slave populations imported by the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) from slaving posts in West and East Africa, and from its colonies of the Indian Ocean trade route. Within the broader Nguni-Tsonga language subfamily which it shares with isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu and siSwati, it alone falls into the Tswa-Ronga group, while the other languages are Nguni. Also known as: Southern Sotho (Collage images sourced from South African Tourism). “The twelve modern Khoisan languages” (2013) by Matthias Bretzinger. First-language users: 1,090,233 (2.1% of South Africans) (2008). South Africa’s Constitution recognises 11 official languages: Sepedi (also known as Sesotho sa Leboa ), Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu. All images copyright by Creative Commons licence. It is a small minority language in the rest of the provinces. It aims to describe the linguistic realities in black schools in South Africa. It is the home language of 0.5% of coloured people, of 0.4% of both white and Indian/Asian people, and of 1.7% of the people who describe themselves as “other”. It is the first language of 0.9% of coloured people, 0.4% of both Indians and whites, and 2.4% of people who describe themselves as “other”. In order to achieve this end policies had to be developed by government and by the institutions involved. It is the second-largest language in both the Western Cape (after Afrikaans) and Gauteng (after isiZulu). Gauteng is the most linguistically heterogeneous province, with roughly equal numbers of Nguni, Sotho-Tswana and Indo-European language speakers, with Khoekhoe influence. South Africa has the second largest economy in Africa after Nigeria. A full 99.7% of first-language Sesotho sa Leboa speakers are black, 0.1% coloured, 0.1% white and 0.1% Indian or Asian. South Africa’s Constitution recognises 11 official languages: Sepedi (also known as Sesotho sa Leboa), Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu. The second map reveals a couple of things. Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. Let us know in our Facebook poll. Also known as: Xhosa Our languages are and have been for centuries in a constant swirl, mixed by work, migration, education, urbanisation, the places we live, friendship and marriage. LingbeT is a project of the Centre for Research in the Politics of Language (CentRePoL), University of Pretoria. It was then changed to Sepedi in the final Constitution of 1996. The second is that while English is the dominant first language only in the cities – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban – it is widely used as a second language across the country. Most Afrikaans speakers (41%) live in the Western Cape, and 21% in Gauteng. On 31 May 1910, the Cape Colony, Natal Colony, South African Republic and the Orange Free State were united in one state called the Union of South Africa. At least thirty-five languages indigenous to South Africa are spoken in the Republic, ten of which are official languages of South Africa: Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venḓa, Xhosa, Zulu and Afrikaans. However, both the Department of Basic Education and Statistics South Africa use Sepedi as the language’s name. First-language users: 2,277,148 (4.5% of the population) IsiZulu is the largest language in both KwaZulu-Natal, where 78% speak it, and Gauteng, where it makes up 20% of languages. [8] The spelling of Venda is also incorrectly[according to whom?] IsiNdebele is the least spoken of South Africa’s 11 official languages, and confined mainly to Mpumalanga and Gauteng. Some 5.2% live in North West. From here the message of Islam was disseminated to the slave community of Cape Town, and this population was foundational in the formation of Afrikaans. Second-language users: 9,100,000 (2002 estimate) They were housed on the farm Zandvliet, far outside of Cape Town, in an attempt to minimise his influence on the VOC's slaves. And so on …. All users: 11,767,248 (estimate). It is an Nguni language, like isiNdebele, isiZulu and siSwati, but also shows some influence from the Khoekhoe languages. Second-language users: 7,700,000 (2002 estimate) In the Eastern Cape isiXhosa is spoken by 80% of the population. The dominant language of the Eastern Cape, isiXhosa is also the second-largest language in South Africa after isiZulu. Over a third (36.2%) of all Sesotho-speaking South Africans live in Gauteng. In a historic development for transparency and accountability in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has determined that the Political Party Funding Act will come into operation on 1 … The book surveys the most important language groupings in the region in terms of pre-colonial and colonial history; contact between the different language varieties (leading to language loss, pidginization, creolization and new mixed varieties). A full 99.4% of first-language isiZulu speakers are black, 0.2% coloured, 0.1% white and 0.1% Indian or Asian. More than half (50.2%) of Afrikaans speakers are coloured, 40% are white, 9% black and just 1% Indian. SiSwati is mostly spoken in Mpumalanga, which along its curved eastern border almost encircles the country of Swaziland. Also known as: Tsonga, Shangaan, Shangana, Vatsonga Nearly two-thirds of (61.2%) of all Sesotho sa Leboa speakers live in Limpopo, over a quarter (27.8%) in Gauteng and 8.1% in Mpumalanga. Thirteen options were given: South Africa’s 11 official languages, plus Sign Language, and “Other”. Sesotho sa Leboa is South Africa’s third-largest African language (after isiZulu and isiXhosa), and mainly spoken in Limpopo. Eleven languages (Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu) hold official status under the 1996 constitution, and an additional 11 (Arabic, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telegu, and Urdu) are to be promoted and developed; all languages are spoken to varying degrees in different regions. The British monarch was the ceremonial head of state of South Africa and was represented by a Governor-General. First-language users: 6,855,082 (13.5% of South Africans) The President is appointed and elected by the members of the National Assembly and is normally the leader of the biggest party that has been the African National Congress since 1994, after the first non racial elections. Generally considered to be among the most multilingual countries in the world and among the most multiethnic in Africa, post-apartheid South Africa has 11 official languages recognized in its democratic constitution: English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Ndebele, Zulu, Tswana, Swati, Sotho, Southern Sotho, Venda … Afrikaans, however, originates in the Dutch varieties spoken in Khoekhoe communities of ǁHuiǃgaeb (the Khoekhoe name for the region of Cape Town), as a trade language before and during the early stages of the VOC occupation. Although Dutch (and later Afrikaans) were given parity, in reality English remained the language of power and influence mainly due to the fact that South Africa was part of the British Empire (Pax Brittanica). South Africa is a diverse nation with a rich language heritage. The indigenous African languages of South Africa which are official, and therefore dominant, can be divided into two geographical zones, with Nguni languages being predominant in the south-eastern third of the country (Indian Ocean coast) and Sotho-Tswana languages being predominant in the northern third of the country located further inland, as also in Botswana and Lesotho. IsiNdebele is spoken by 2.6% of black South Africans – fewer than the 2.9% who speak English at home. The Conundrums of Language Policy and Politics in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Many unofficial languages have been variously claimed to be dialects of official languages, which largely follows the Apartheid practice of the Bantustans, wherein minority populations where legally assimilated towards the official ethnos of the Bantustan or "Homeland". The advancement of African languages following South Africa’s transition to a constitutional democracy was important not only for societal transformation but also to enable previously disadvantaged South Africans proper access to education.