Languages Of South Africa

Afrikaans

The language Afrikaans has its roots in seventeenth century Dutch but it has been influenced by many languages including: English, Malay, German, Portuguese, French and some African languages. Up until the 19th century Afrikaans acted only as the spoken language and Dutch was used as the formal and written language. On 14 August 1875 the GRA, an organization that promoted the Afrikaans language, was formed by Rev. S.J. Du Toit. The first complete translation of the Bible into Afrikaans was made in 1933. According to Act 8 of 1925 of South Africa it became the official language (incorporated into Dutch) together with English. The language was promoted alongside Afrikaner nationalism after 1948 and played an important role in minority white rule in Apartheid South Africa. With the new constitution of South Africa (1996) it was again accepted as one of the official languages of South Africa.

It is important to note that Afrikaans is spoken by all races and ethnic groups in South Africa and much has been done in recent years to promote varieties of this language that were suppressed during the years of Apartheid.

Speakers
Around 5 811 532 people use Afrikaans as their home language in South Africa. The language is also spoken in the Republic of Namibia.

English

History
The History of the English language in South Africa can be traced back to the first British occupation in 1795. English was considered to be the civilized language and the upper classes, even those from the Dutch stock used it in their everyday life. The early academics who did not study in The Netherlands, studied in England (Oxford or Cambridge) Since the death of Cecil J. Rhodes His wealth was basically spent on anglicization of promising students - bequests were made to enable them to study in Britain. During the early occupation days, especially after the second occupation when British rule became more permanent, the language of the government, schools, legal system and business was English. In 1997 we have the colorful choice of 11 official languages but without exception most people will opt for English.

Speakers
Around 3 457 412 people use it as their home language in South Africa. English is also widely used in South Africa's neighbouring countries as second and third language.

IsiNdebele

History
The Ndebele people were originally an offshoot of the Nguni people of KwaZulu-Natal. The language amaNala and amaNzunza are related to that of the amaNdebele people of Zimbabwe. The Ndebele people are well known for their artistic talent - especially with regard to their painted houses and colourful beadwork.

In the early stages of the history of the Ndebele people they went through tumultuous times. After having settled in the Pretoria area in the 1600's, they grew in numbers. Their king Musi died and a feud broke out between his two sons Manala and Ndzundza. This led to bloodshed and the killing of many. Finally they decided to live apart, the Manala in the Pretoria area and the Ndzundza further east. In the 1820's Mzilikazi, a Zulu general, fled from Shaka with his army. They over-powered the Manala and decided to settle down with them. After some time, Mzilikazi became afraid that Shaka would send an army after him. With a clever plan he lured the Ndebele men away, got the others together and killed them. He then took the women and livestock and moved northwards until he finally settled in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. That is the origin of the Ndebele of Zimbabwe. This caused a huge decrease in the number of Ndebele speakers. During 1880 to 1890 there were several battles with the white rulers of the then Transvaal Republic which culminated in what can be called a diaspora. After they were defeated, the Ndebeles were forced to work and live on farms over a large area which destroyed their pride as a nation. It was only in 1984 when the KwaNdebele Homeland was established that this pride was restored and the people moved back there.
(This paragraph was written by P.C. Taljaard in the "Unesco World Languages Report" - 2000)

A number Ndebele communities are located in an area formerly known as KwaNdebele but are also concentrated in areas like: Pretoria, Bronkhorstspruit, Middelburg, Witbank, Delmas, Standerdton, Marble Hall, Groblersdal, Hendrina, Belfast and Bethal.

Speakers
Around 586 902 people use isiNdebele as their home language in South Africa.

IsiXhosa

History
The Xhosa, also known as the Southern or Cape Nguni, are composed of numerous groups of people concentrated mainly in the former Transkei, Ciskei and Eastern Cape regions. As the other African languages it is a tonal language, other than western languages, it is governed by the noun - which dominates the sentence.

Speakers
Around 7 196 101 people in South Africa use it as their home language.

IsiZulu

History
This prominent group of the Nguni people takes its name from the chief who founded the royal line in the 16th century. The warrior king, Shaka, raised the tribe to prominence in the early 19th century. The complicated Zulu etiquette was refined during his reign. The current monarch of the Zulu nation is King Goodwill Zweletini. The language Zulu, or isiZulu, is understood by people from the Cape to Zimbabwe. Zulu is also the written language of the Northern Nguni. It's also a tonal language.

Speakers
Around 9 200 133 people in South Africa use it as their home language.

Sepedi

History
The language Northern Sotho is mostly spoken Northern Province of South Africa. This language is often (as in the Constitution of South Africa) wrongly referred to as "Sepedi", while in actual fact the Sepedi is considered but a dialect of the the language "Northern Sotho". It is a member of the Sotho language group. Different dialect clusters are found in the Northern Sotho speaking area. Berlin Lutheran missionaries played a major role in converting Northern Sotho to a written language

Speakers
Around 3 695 816 people in South Africa use it as their home language.

Sesotho

History
Sesotho, or Southern Sotho, is spoken in Lesotho, the Free State and southern Gauteng. Also spoken in the vicinity of Pretoria and Brits. Sesotho was one of the first African languages to be reduced to writing, and it has an extensive literature. According to scholars the written form was originally based on the Tlokwa dialect. Today the written language is mostly based on the Kwena and Fokeng dialects. Although there are variations. It's a tonal language and very different to Western languages. The Sesotho language is governed by the noun, which is split into various classes. It is known as an agglutinating language (a combination of simple word elements to express a specific meaning), with many suffixes and prefixes used in sentence construction causing sound changes. Sesotho was transmuted into writing by the missionaries Casalis and Arbousset of the Paris Evangelical Mission who arrived at Thaba Bosiu in 1833.

Speakers
Around 3 104 147 people use it as their home language in South Africa. Yet it is also the official language of the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Setswana

History
The language, Tswana, is spoken widely in Southern Africa. By the people of Botswana, the Northern Cape, the central and western Free State and in the North-West Province.

Setswana was the first Sotho language written to have a written form. In 1806 Heinrich Lictenstein wrote Upon the Language of the Beetjuana. While in 1815, John Cambell wrote Bootchuana words and was followed by Burchell who wrote about Botswana in 1824. Dr Robert Moffat from the London Missionary Society arrived among the Batlhaping in Kudumane in 1818, and he built the first school for Botswana. In 1825, he realised that he must use and write Setswana in his teachings. He finished translating The Gospel according to Luke in 1830, The New Testament in 1840 and the Old Testament in 1857.

The first Motswana (speaker of Setswana) who contributed to the history of written Setswana is Sol D T. Plaatje, who, with the help of Professor Jones wrote Tones of Secwana Nouns in 1929. The New Testament and the Psalms were translated in 1963 in the 1910 authography and the whole Bible was translated into Setswana 1970.

Speakers
Around 3 301 754 people in South Africa use it as their home language.

SiSwati

History
The Swazi people originated from the Pongola river valley in KwaZulu-Natal. They were ruled there by King Dlamini I (1750 to 1770). They were driven up by the Zulus. From 1903 to 1968 Swaziland was under British control.

Speakers
Around 1 013 193 people in South Africa use it as their home language.

Tshivenda

History
Not much is known about the ancient history of the Venda people. They first settled in the Soutpansberg Mountains region. The first Venda capital, Dzata's, ruins are still there today. The Tshipani variety of Tshivenda is used as the standard.
Speakers
Around 876 478 people in South Africa use it as their home language.

Xitsonga

History
The Vatsonga people came to South Africa long after most other African people. Settled in the Limpopo River valley. Xitsonga is spoken in Southern Mozambique, the Northern Province of the Republic of South Africa and South Eastern Zimbabwe.

Speakers
Around 1 756 105 people in South Africa use it as their home language.