what are the official languages of south africa
Languages of South Africa There are eleven official languages of South Africa: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. Fewer than two percent of South Africans speak a first language other than an official one.[2] Most South Africans can speak more than one language.[3] Dutch and English were the first official languages of South Africa from 1910 to 1925. Afrikaans was added as a part of Dutch in 1925, although in practice, Afrikaans effectively replaced Dutch, which fell into disuse. When South Africa became a republic in 1961, the official relationship changed such that Afrikaans was considered to include Dutch,[4] and Dutch was dropped in 1984, so between 1984 and 1994, South Africa had two official languages: English and Afrikaans.[5]
Xhosa language Xhosa (English: /ˈkɔːsə/ or /ˈkoʊsə/;[6][7][8] Xhosa: isiXhosa [isikǁʰɔ́ːsa]) is a Nguni Bantu language with click consonants ("Xhosa" begins with a click) and one of the official languages of South Africa.[9] Although not widely spoken there, it is also an official language of Zimbabwe.[10] "Xhosa is spoken as a first language by 8.2 million people and by 11 million as a second language in South Africa, mostly in Eastern Cape Province. Total number of users in all countries is 19.2 million (Ethnologue)".[11] Like most other Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language;[12] the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings, depending on intonation. Xhosa has two tones: high and low.[13]
Languages of 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). English is the fourth most common first language in the country (9.6%), but is understood in most urban areas and is the dominant language in government and the media.[7]
South Africa The name "South Africa" is derived from the country's geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation, the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, reflecting its origin from the unification of four formerly separate British colonies. Since 1961, the long form name in English has been the "Republic of South Africa". In Dutch, the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika. Since 1994, the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages.