The government, business and media might use English as the principal language. But did you know that there are 11 official languages of South Africa? These languages are known as: English, Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Ndebele, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Venda, Tsonga, Zulu and Xhosa.
Many South Africans know more than one language while few speak another first dialect apart from the recognized official languages. Some indigenous pidgins of European, black and Caribbean descents are also present although they are not legitimately recognized.
Lingua Franca
If you are visiting South Africa, you need not be intimidated with the practice of multilingualism. You will not encounter a major communication problem during your stay because many people all over the country understand and speak English.
As a matter of fact, English is South Africa’s lingua franca. They refer to it as the default language in tech terms. English is only fifth in rank as a native tongue but it is nonetheless the predominant medium of communication everywhere. Notably, South Africans often add English words when speaking in another official language.
Language Diversity Among the 11 Official Languages of South Africa
South Africa’s language diversity exists due to its location at the crossroads of southern Africa. This is a point where varied districts meet and converge toward the country’s direction. In addition to the 11 official languages, other languages from Asia, Europe, and other African regions are also in existence.
By history, the first official languages of South Africa in 1910 up to 1925 were Dutch and English. Later on, they included Afrikaans which replaced Dutch when the country became a republic in 1961. They complete got rid of Dutch in 1984. Therefore, between 1984 and 1994, the two official languages of South Africa were English and Afrikaans.
Proud of Indigenous Languages
Despite using English as the main communication medium in business and government, South Africans take great pride in their indigenous languages. Second to English, Afrikaans plays a major role in trade and industry. The biggest number of native tongue speakers use Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans and English.
Residents in the urban places in South Africa mostly know English while not very many people in the rural areas can speak the language. The 11 official languages trace their roots from West Germanic, Bantu, Nguni, and Sotho-Tswana languages. To help classify the indigenous dialects according to origin, vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, they refer to these as language families.
For instance, isiZulu, siSwati, isiXhosa and isiNdebele all into the Nguni category. Sotho languages include Sesotho sa Leboa, Setswana and Sesotho. All languages that fall under a common classification have striking similarities.
Regional Distribution of the 11 Official Languages of South Africa
The percentage of official language speakers depends on locations. In the Eastern Cape, over 80% of the residents converse in IsiXhosa. Meanwhile in KwaZulu Natal, the most popular language is IsiZulu.
The factor that no doubt contributes to the groupings of South African languages is the sharing of common heritage among the people. In the earlier days, clans belonged to common tribes and thus spoke common languages.
However as time went by, tribal communities gradually dispersed and migrated to other places to seek better livelihood. In the process, unity eventually declined and paved the way for the birth of varied languages.