Languages in South Africa

There are 11 official languages in South Africa which shows the great cultural diversity of the people of South Africa.

The official languages in South Africa are: isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Setswana, English, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Siswati, Tshivenda, and isiNdebele.

Home Languages in South Africa

English is widely recognized as the language of commerce and science in South Africa, however it is only spoken by less than one tenth of the population in South Africa as home language.

More than one quarter of the population refer to Zulu as their home language.

Interesting South Africa language facts

• The languages most widely understood and spoken by South Africans are Afrikaans followed by English. But the languages you will encounter depend on the area you are living in.

• More people in South Africa speak Zulu as their home language than any other African language, as the Zulu are the biggest ethnic group among the black population of South Africa.

• Many white South Africans also speak European languages as Portuguese (also spoken by black population originally from Mozambique and Angolan immigrants) German, French, Italian and many more

• Children grow up speaking at least three languages in South Africa. English and Afrikaans are spoken and taught in schools as first and second languages and then there are the many home languages the children learn in the streets or as foreign languages at school.

South African languages in Cape Town

• Afrikaans still is the home language of many residents (55%) in the Northern Suburbs around Durbanville and Bellville. In and around the Cape Town metropolitan area 41% of the Capetonians speak Afrikaans at home.

• English is widely spoken as home language along the Atlantic Seabord or in the Southern Suburbs.

• Afrikaans is the dominant language also in many colored Muslim communities; whereas Xhosa (29%) is spoken in the townships and by many black people you will encounter working in the supermarkets or shops.

• In the Western Cape most schools teach Xhosa classes as well as French, Spanish and German lessons, the children often can choose from.

• Do you want to take language classes ?

There are many language schools in Cape Town which offer instruction in many local languages as well as foreign languages.

Cape Town is also well known destination for students taking holiday language classes to improve their English.