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{{short description|Languages of a geographic region}} {{Short description|none}}
{{for|the 1963 book|The Languages of Africa}} {{For|the 1963 book|The Languages of Africa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
[[File:Map of African language families.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|The traditional language families spoken in Africa:

{{legend|#D8CC6B|]}}
[[File:Map of African language families.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|A rough overview of language families spoken in Africa:
{{legend|#35256E|]}}
{{legend|#A33929|]}} {{legend|#D8CC6B|] }}
{{legend|#35256E|] (possibly a family)}}
{{legend|#A33929|] (some areas may not belong)}}
{{space|4}}{{Legend inline|#C05545|]}} {{space|4}}{{Legend inline|#C05545|]}}
{{legend|#2FA7E8|]}} {{legend|#2FA7E8|] (not a family)}}
{{legend|#7DE647|]}} {{legend|#7DE647|]}}
{{legend|#FBFF36|]}}]] {{legend|#FBFF36|]}}
]]

The '''languages of Africa''' are divided into five major ]:
The number of languages natively spoken in ] is variously estimated (depending on the delineation of ] vs. ]) at between 1,250 and 2,100,<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Heine|Nurse|2000}}</ref> and by some counts at over 3,000.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XkkrDH27jmIC&pg=PR9 |title=The Language of African Literature |publisher=Africa World Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-86543-534-0 |editor-last=Epstein |editor-first=Edmund L. |page=ix |quote=Africa is incredibly rich in language—over 3,000 indigenous languages by some counts, and many creoles, pidgins, and lingua francas. |access-date=2011-06-23 |editor2-last=Kole |editor2-first=Robert}}</ref> ] alone has over 500 languages (according to ]),<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethnologue report for Nigeria |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=nigeria |work=Ethnologue Languages of the World}}</ref> one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. The languages of Africa belong to many distinct ], among which the largest are:

*], which include the large ] and ] in ], ], ] and ].
*] are spread throughout ], ], the ] and parts of the ]. *] are spread throughout ], ], the ] and parts of the ].
*], ] and ] languages (previously grouped under the hypothetical ] macro-family), are present in East Africa and ].
*] are spoken in ].
*] are spoken in ] and parts of the ].
*] are spoken in ] and ] (], ], ]) and are used as ] in the ] and ] that was part of ] (English), ] and ] (]), ], ] (]), ] (]) and the current Spanish territories of ], ] and the ] (Spanish).
*] are spoken mostly in Namibia and Botswana.
*] (] and non-Bantu) are spoken in ], ], ] and ].
*], while not indigenous to Africa, are spoken in ] and ] (], ], ]) and are used as ] in ] and the ] (]), ] and of ] (]), ] (]), ] (]), ] (]) and the current Spanish territories of ], ] and the ] and the current French territories of ] and ].
*] (unity debated) are spoken from ] to ] and from ] to ].


There are several other small families and ]s, as well as languages that have ]. In addition, Africa has a wide variety of ]s, many of which are language isolates (see below). There are several other small families and ]s, as well as ] and languages that have ]. In addition, Africa has a wide variety of ]s, many of which are language isolates.


Around a hundred languages are widely used for interethnic communication. These include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ], which are spoken as a second (or non-first) language by millions of people. Although many African languages are used on the radio, in newspapers and in primary-school education, and some of the larger ones are considered ]s, only a few are ] at the national level. In Sub-Saharan Africa, most official languages at the national level tend to be colonial languages such as French, Portuguese, or English.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oluwole |first=Victor |date=2021-09-12 |title=A comprehensive list of all the English-speaking countries in Africa |url=https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/a-comprehensive-list-of-all-the-english-speaking-countries-in-africa/hdp1610 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=Business Insider Africa |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stein-Smith |first=Kathleen |date=2022-03-17 |title=Africa and the French language are growing together in global importance |url=http://theconversation.com/africa-and-the-french-language-are-growing-together-in-global-importance-179224 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yates |first=Y |title=How Many People Speak Portuguese, And Where Is It Spoken? |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-portuguese-and-where-is-it-spoken |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=Babbel Magazine |language=en}}</ref>
The total number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on the delineation of ] vs. ]) at between 1,250 and 2,100,<ref>{{cite book|title=African Languages: an Introduction|editor-last=Heine|editor-first=Bernd|editor2-last=Heine|editor2-first=Bernd|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2000}}</ref> and by some counts at "over 3,000".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Language of African Literature|page=ix|editor-last=Epstein|editor-first=Edmund L.|editor2-last=Kole|editor2-first=Robert|publisher=Africa World Press|year=1998|isbn=0-86543-534-0|quote=Africa is incredibly rich in language&mdash;over 3,000 indigenous languages by some counts, and many creoles, pidgins, and lingua francas.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XkkrDH27jmIC&lpg=PP1&pg=PR9|accessdate=2011-06-23}}</ref>
] alone has over 500 languages (according to ]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=nigeria |title=Ethnologue report for Nigeria |work=Ethnologue Languages of the World}}</ref> one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. However, "One of the notable differences between Africa and most other linguistic areas is its relative uniformity. With few exceptions, all of Africa’s languages have been gathered into four major phyla."<ref>Blench, Roger. 2017. African language isolates. In ''Language Isolates'', edited by Lyle Campbell, pp. 176-206. Routledge.</ref>


The ] declared 2006 the "Year of African Languages".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0001850/index.php |title=African Union Summit 2006: Khartoum, Sudan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060530020735/http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0001850/index.php |archive-date= 2006-05-30 |publisher=Southern African Regional Poverty Network}}</ref>
Around a hundred languages are widely used for inter-ethnic communication. ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] are spoken by tens of millions of people. Twelve ]s (which may group up to a hundred linguistic varieties) are spoken by 75 percent, and fifteen by 85 percent, of Africans as a first or additional language.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr04_complete.pdf |title=HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2004 |year=2004 |publisher=United Nations Development Programme}}</ref> Although many mid-sized languages are used on the radio, in newspapers and in primary-school education, and some of the larger ones are considered ]s, only a few are ] at the national level. The ] declared 2006 the "Year of African Languages".<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060530020735/http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0001850/index.php |date=30 May 2006 }} Khartoum, Sudan. SARPN.</ref>


==Language groups== ==Language groups==
] ]
Most languages spoken in Africa belong to one of three large ]: ], ] and ]. Another hundred belong to smaller families such as ] (sometimes grouped within Niger-Congo) and the various families called ], or the ] and ] language families mainly spoken outside Africa; the presence of the latter two dates to 2,600 and 1,500 years ago, respectively. In addition, the languages of Africa include several ] and ]. Most languages natively spoken in Africa belong to one of the two large ] that dominate the continent: ], or ]. Another hundred belong to smaller families such as ], ], ], and the various families previously grouped under the umbrella term ]. In addition, the languages of Africa include several ] and ].


The earliest Afroasiatic languages are associated with the ], the Nilo-Saharan languages are linked with the Khartoum Mesolithic/Neolithic, the Niger-Congo languages are correlated with the west and central African hoe-based farming traditions and the Khoisan languages are matched with the south and southeastern Wilton industries.<ref>{{cite book|title=Language, Volume 61, Issues 3-4|date=1985|publisher=Linguistic Society of America|page=695|url=https://www.google.com/books?id=sG8KAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=31 January 2017}}</ref> More broadly, the Afroasiatic family is tentatively grouped within the ] superfamily, and the Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo phyla form the Niger-Saharan macrophylum.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Blench|first1=Roger|title=Archaeology, Language, and the African Past|date=2006|publisher=Rowman Altamira|isbn=0759104662|page=108|url=https://www.google.com/books?id=esFy3Po57A8C&pg=PA108#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=31 January 2017}}</ref> The earliest Afroasiatic languages are associated with the ], the Saharan languages are linked with the Khartoum Mesolithic/Neolithic cultures. Niger-Congo languages are correlated with the west and central African ] and the Khoisan languages are matched with the south and southeastern ].<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Language |volume=61 |issue=3–4 |year=1985 |publisher=Linguistic Society of America |page=695 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sG8KAQAAMAAJ|access-date=31 January 2017 |last=Bender |first=M. Lionel |title=Review of Ehred & Posnansky (eds.), ''The archaeological and linguistic reconstruction of African history''|doi=10.2307/414395 |jstor=414395 }}</ref>


===Afroasiatic languages=== ===Afroasiatic languages===
{{Main article|Afroasiatic languages}} {{Main|Afroasiatic languages}}
] are spoken throughout ], the ], ] and parts of the ]. There are approximately 375 Afroasiatic languages spoken by over 400 million people. The main subfamilies of Afroasiatic are ], ], ], ], ] and ]. The ] is uncertain. The family's most extensive branch, the Semitic languages (including ], ] and ] among others), is the only branch of Afroasiatic that is spoken outside Africa.<ref>{{cite book|authors=Christopher Ehret; Bernd Heine, Derek Nurse (ed.)|title=African Languages: An Introduction|date=2000|publisher=Cambridge University|isbn=0521666295|page=290|url=https://www.google.com/books?id=C7XhcYoFxaQC&pg=PA290|accessdate=12 March 2018}}</ref> ] are spoken throughout ], the ], ] and parts of the ]. There are approximately 375 Afroasiatic languages spoken by over 400 million people. The main subfamilies of Afroasiatic are ], ], ], ], ] and ]. The ] is uncertain. The family's most extensive branch, the Semitic languages (including ], ] and ] among others), is the only branch of Afroasiatic that is spoken outside Africa.<ref>{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Ehret |chapter=Language and History |isbn=0-521-66629-5|page=290|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7XhcYoFxaQC&pg=PA290|access-date=12 March 2018 |editor-last1=Heine |editor-first1=Bernd |editor-last2=Nurse |editor-first2=Derek |year=2000 |title=African Languages: An Introduction |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>


Some of the most widely spoken Afroasiatic languages include ] (a Semitic language, and a recent arrival from West Asia), ] (Cushitic), ] (Berber), ] (Chadic), ] (Semitic) and ] (Cushitic). Of the world's surviving language families, Afroasiatic has the longest written history, as both the ] of Mesopotamia and ] are members. Some of the most widely spoken Afroasiatic languages include ] (a Semitic language, and a recent arrival from West Asia), ] (Cushitic), ] (Berber), ] (Chadic), ] (Semitic) and ] (Cushitic). Of the world's surviving language families, Afroasiatic has the longest written history, as both the ] of Mesopotamia and ] are members.


===Nilo-Saharan languages=== ===Nilo-Saharan languages===
{{Main article|Nilo-Saharan languages}} {{Main|Nilo-Saharan languages}}


] consist of a hundred diverse languages. The family has a speech area that stretches from the ] to northern ] and into ] and ], with the ] along the middle reaches of the ] as a geographic outlier. Genetic linkage between these languages has not been conclusively demonstrated, and among linguists, support for the proposal is sparse.<ref>Lyle Campbell & Mauricio J. Mixco, ''A Glossary of Historical Linguistics'' (2007, University of Utah Press)</ref><ref>P.H. Matthews, ''Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics'' (2007, 2nd edition, Oxford)</ref> The languages share some unusual ], but if they are related, most of the branches must have undergone major restructuring since diverging from their common ancestor. The inclusion of the ] is questionable, and doubts have been raised over the ], ] and ] branches. ] are a proposed grouping of some one hundred diverse languages. Genealogical linkage between these languages has failed to be conclusively demonstrated, and support for the proposal is sparse among linguists.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Lyle |last1=Campbell |first2=Mauricio J. |last2=Mixco |title=A Glossary of Historical Linguistics |year=2007 |publisher=University of Utah Press |isbn=9780874808926}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=P.H. |last=Matthews |title=Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics |year=2014 |publisher=OUP Oxford |edition=3rd |isbn=9780199675128}}</ref> The languages share some unusual ], but if they are related, most of the branches must have undergone major restructuring since diverging from their common ancestor.


This hypothetical family would reach an expanse that stretches from the ] to northern ] and into ] and ], with the ] along the middle reaches of the ] as a geographic outlier. The inclusion of the ] is questionable, and doubts have been raised over the ], ] and ] branches.
Some of the better known Nilo-Saharan languages are ], ], ], ] and the widespread ], which includes the ], ] and ]. The Nilo-Saharan languages are ].

Some of the better known Nilo-Saharan languages are ], ], ], ] and the widespread ], which includes the ], ] and ]. Most Nilo-Saharan languages are ], as are Niger-Congo languages.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}


===Niger–Congo languages=== ===Niger–Congo languages===
{{Main article|Niger–Congo languages}} {{Main|Niger–Congo languages}}
[[File:Africa ethnic groups 1996.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Map showing the traditional language families represented in Africa:

{{legend|#E6EAAD|] (Semitic-Hamitic)}}
The ] constitute the largest language family spoken in ] and perhaps the world in terms of the number of languages. One of its salient features is an elaborate ] system with grammatical ]. A large majority of languages of this family are ] such as ] and ], ] and ]. A major branch of Niger–Congo languages is the ] phylum, which has a wider speech area than the rest of the family (see Niger–Congo B (Bantu) in the map above).
{{legend|#8E7D8F|] (Malay-Polynesian)}}
{{legend|#8A421A|]}}
{{legend|#DC782D|]}}
]:
{{legend|#A6BE50|]}}
{{legend|#E9A96C|Central and Eastern Sudanese}}
{{legend|#51384E|Central Bantoid}}
{{legend|#C96273|Eastern Bantoid}}
{{legend|#A7BC47|Guinean}}
{{legend|#B77B85|]}}
{{legend|#4D7830|Western Bantoid}}
]:
{{legend|#827241|]}}
{{legend|#824240|]}}
{{legend|#C88C50|]}}]]
The ] constitute the largest language family spoken in ] and perhaps the world in terms of the number of languages. One of its salient features is an elaborate ] system with grammatical ]. A large majority of languages of this family are ] such as ] and ], ] and ]. A major branch of Niger–Congo languages is the ] phylum, which has a wider speech area than the rest of the family (see Niger–Congo B (Bantu) in the map above).


The ] language family, joining Niger–Congo with the ] of south-central ], was proposed in the 1950s by ]. Today, linguists often use "Niger–Congo" to refer to this entire family, including Kordofanian as a subfamily. One reason for this is that it is not clear whether Kordofanian was the first branch to diverge from rest of Niger–Congo. ] has been claimed to be equally or more divergent. Niger–Congo is generally accepted by linguists, though a few question the inclusion of Mande and ], and there is no conclusive evidence for the inclusion of ]. The ] language family, joining Niger–Congo with the ] of south-central ], was proposed in the 1950s by ]. Today, linguists often use "Niger–Congo" to refer to this entire family, including Kordofanian as a subfamily. One reason for this is that it is not clear whether Kordofanian was the first branch to diverge from rest of Niger–Congo. ] has been claimed to be equally or more divergent. Niger–Congo is generally accepted by linguists, though a few question the inclusion of Mande and ], and there is no conclusive evidence for the inclusion of ].
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====Austronesian==== ====Austronesian====
] belongs to the ] languages and is the westernmost branch of the family. It is the national and co-official language of ] and one of Malagasy dialects called ] is also spoken in ]. ] belongs to the ] and is the westernmost branch of the family. It is the national and co-official language of ], and a Malagasy dialect called ] is also spoken in ].

The ancestors of the Malagasy people migrated to Madagascar around 1,500 years ago from Southeast Asia, more specifically the island of Borneo. The origins of how they arrived to Madagascar remains a mystery, however the Austronesians are known for their seafaring culture. Despite the geographical isolation, Malagasy still has strong resemblance to ] especially the ] of southern Borneo. The ancestors of the Malagasy people migrated to Madagascar around 1,500 years ago from Southeast Asia, more specifically the island of Borneo. The origins of how they arrived to Madagascar remains a mystery, however the Austronesians are known for their seafaring culture. Despite the geographical isolation, Malagasy still has strong resemblance to ] especially the ] of southern Borneo.


With more than 20 million speakers, Malagasy is one of the most widely spoken of the Austronesian languages. With more than 20 million speakers, Malagasy is one of the most widely spoken of the Austronesian languages.


====Indo-European==== ====Indo-European====
] is ], as is most of the vocabulary of most African ]s. Afrikaans evolved from the ]<ref>K. Pithouse, C. Mitchell, R. Moletsane, Making Connections: Self-Study & Social Action, p.91</ref><ref name="Heese1971">{{cite book|title=Die herkoms van die Afrikaner, 1657–1867|publisher=A. A. Balkema|location=Cape Town|date=1971|language=Afrikaans|oclc=1821706|ol=5361614M|author=J. A. Heese|trans-title=The origin of the Afrikaner}}</ref> of ] (])<ref></ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/messages/downloadsexceeded.html|title=Download Limit Exceeded|website=citeseerx.ist.psu.edu}}</ref> spoken by the mainly ] of what is now ], where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century, including the loss of verbal conjugation (save for 5 modal verbs), as well as grammatical case and gender.<ref name="coetzee">{{Cite book|url=http://www.dbnl.org/arch/coet003stan01_01/pag/coet003stan01_01.pdf|title=Standaard Afrikaans|work=Abel Coetzee|publisher=Afrikaner Pers|year=1948|accessdate=2014-09-17}}</ref> Most Afrikaans speakers live in ]. In ] it is the ] and in ] and ] it is a minority language of roughly several ten thousand people. Overall 15 to 20 million people are estimated to speak Afrikaans. ] is ], as is most of the vocabulary of most African ]s. Afrikaans evolved from the ]<ref>{{cite book |isbn=9781433105012 |first1=Kathleen |last1=Pithouse |first2=Claudia |last2=Mitchell |first3=Relebohile |last3=Moletsane |title=Making Connections: Self-Study & Social Action |date=16 December 2023 |page=91|publisher=Peter Lang }}</ref><ref name="Heese1971">{{cite book |title=Die herkoms van die Afrikaner, 1657–1867 |publisher=A. A. Balkema |location=Cape Town |year=1971 |language=af |oclc=1821706 |ol=5361614M |first=J. A. |last=Heese |trans-title=The origin of the Afrikaner, 1657–1867}}</ref> of ] (])<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/kloe004herk01_01/kloe004herk01_01.pdf |title=Herkomst en groei van het Afrikaans |first=G.G. |last=Kloeke |year=1950 |location=Leiden |publisher=Universitaire Pers Leiden}}</ref><ref>{{cite CiteSeerX |citeseerx=10.1.1.222.5044 |title=The origin of Afrikaans pronunciation: a comparison to west Germanic languages and Dutch dialects |first1=Wilbert |last1=Heeringa |first2=Febe |last2=de Wet |date=2007}}</ref> spoken by the mainly ] of what is now ], where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century, including the loss of verbal conjugation (save for 5 modal verbs), as well as grammatical case and gender.<ref name="coetzee">{{Cite book |url=http://www.dbnl.org/arch/coet003stan01_01/pag/coet003stan01_01.pdf |title=Standaard Afrikaans |first=Abel |last=Coetzee |publisher=Afrikaner Pers|year=1948 |access-date=2014-09-17}}</ref> Most Afrikaans speakers live in ]. In ] it is the ]. Overall 15 to 20 million people are estimated to speak Afrikaans.
Since the ] era, Indo-European languages such as ], ], ], ], ] and ] have held official status in many countries, and are widely spoken, generally as ]s. (''See ] and ]''.) Additionally, languages like French, and Portuguese have become native languages in various countries.

French has become native in the urban areas of the DRC,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tibategeza |first=Eustard |date=January 2023 |title=Language-in-Education Policy and Practice in the Democratic Republic of Congo |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367235628}}</ref> and Gabon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hugues Steve Ndinga-Koumba-Binza |first=Hugues Steve Ndinga-Koumba-Binza |date=August 2011 |title=From foreign to national: a review of the status of French in Gabon |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267327159}}</ref>


Since the ] era, Indo-European languages such as ], ], ], ], ] and ] have held official status in many countries, and are widely spoken, generally as ]s. (''See ] and ]''.) ] was once used in ] there from the late 1800s until World War I, when Britain and France took over and revoked German's official status. Despite this, German is still spoken in ], mostly among the ]. Although it lost its official status in the 1990s, it has been redesignated as a national language. ] such as ] are spoken by ]n expatriates exclusively. In earlier historical times, other Indo-European languages could be found in various parts of the continent, such as ] and ] in Egypt, ] and ] in North Africa and ] in the ]. ] was once used in ] there from the late 1800s until World War I, when Britain and France took over and revoked German's official status. Despite this, German is still spoken in ], mostly among the ]. Although it lost its official status in the 1990s, it has been redesignated as a national language. ] such as ] are spoken by ]n expatriates exclusively. In earlier historical times, other Indo-European languages could be found in various parts of the continent, such as ] and ] in Egypt, ] and ] in North Africa and ] in the ].


====Small families==== ====Small families====
The three small ] families of southern Africa have not been shown to be closely related to any other major language family. In addition, there are various other families that have not been demonstrated to belong to one of these families. (The questionable branches of Nilo-Saharan were covered above, and are not repeated here.) The three small ] families of southern Africa have not been shown to be closely related to any other major language family. In addition, there are various other families that have not been demonstrated to belong to one of these families. The classifications below follow ].
*], some 70 languages, including the major languages of ] and ]. These are generally thought to be divergent Niger–Congo, but debate persists. *], some 70 languages, including the major languages of ] and ]; these are generally thought to be divergent Niger–Congo, but debate persists
*], some 70 languages, centered on the languages of the ]; may be Niger–Congo *], some 70 languages, centered on the languages of the ]; may be Niger–Congo
*], around 10 languages, the primary family of Khoisan languages of ] and ] *], some 20 languages, previously classified under Afro-Asiatic, spoken in Ethiopia
*], around 10 languages, the primary family of Khoisan languages of ] and ]
*], an isolate of Tanzania, possibly related to Khoe
*], some 11 languages, previously classified within either Sudanic or Nilo-Saharan
*], a language of Southern Africa
*], around five languages, with various dialects, spoken in Southern Africa
*], around five languages; previously classified within Afro-Asiatic, spoken in Ethiopia
*], or Taa-ǃKwi, two surviving languages *], or Taa-ǃKwi, two surviving languages
*], an isolate of Tanzania *], an isolate of Tanzania
*], a likely isolate of Mali *], a likely isolate of Mali
*], a likely isolate of Nigeria *], a likely isolate of Nigeria
*], an isolate of Tanzania
*], a possible isolate of Chad *], a possible isolate of Chad


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====Creole languages==== ====Creole languages====
Due partly to its multilingualism and its colonial past, a substantial proportion of the world's ]s are to be found in Africa. Some are based on Indo-European languages (e.g. ] from English in ] and the very similar ] in ]; ] and parts of ]; ] in ] and ] in ] and ], all from Portuguese; ] in the ] and ] in ], both from French); some are based on Arabic (e.g. ] in the southern ], or ] in parts of ] and ]); some are based on local languages (e.g. ], the main language of the ]); while in ] a creole based on French, English and local African languages known as ] has started to become popular. Due partly to its multilingualism and its colonial past, a substantial proportion of the world's ]s are to be found in Africa. Some are based on Indo-European languages (e.g. ] from English in ] and the very similar ] in ], ] and parts of ]; ] in ] and ] in ] and ], all from Portuguese; ] in the ] and ] in ], both from French); some are based on Arabic (e.g. ] in the southern ], or ] in parts of ] and ]); some are based on local languages (e.g. ], the main language of the ]); while in ] a creole based on French, English and local African languages known as ] has started to become popular.


====Unclassified languages==== ====Unclassified languages====
Line 89: Line 119:
* possibly Nilo-Saharan: ] * possibly Nilo-Saharan: ]
* possibly Niger–Congo: ], ], ] * possibly Niger–Congo: ], ], ]
* possibly Khoe: ]
* unknown: ], ] * unknown: ], ]
Of these, ] is perhaps the most likely to be an isolate. Of these, ] is perhaps the most likely to be an isolate.


Less-well investigated languages include ], ], ], ] (possibly Bantu), ] (evidently Jukunoid), ] (unclear), ] (evidently Chadic), ] (Jukunoid), ] (possibly Afroasiatic), ] (possibly spurious) and ] (evidently Cushitic). Several of these are extinct, and adequate comparative data is thus unlikely to be forthcoming. Hombert & Philippson (2009)<ref name="HombertPhilippson">Jean-Marie Hombert & Gérard Philippson. 2009. " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523092814/http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/fulltext/hombert/Hombert_2009_LDLT2.pdf |date=23 May 2013 }}." In Peter K. Austin, Oliver Bond, ], David Nathan & Peter Sells (eds). ''Proceedings of Conference on Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory 2''. London: SOAS.</ref> list a number of African languages that have been classified as ]s at one point or another. Many of these are simply unclassified, but Hombert & Philippson believe Africa has about twenty language families, including isolates. Beside the possibilities listed above, there are: Less-well investigated languages include ], ], ], ] (possibly Bantu languages), ] (evidently Jukunoid), ] (unclear), ] (evidently Chadic), ] (Jukunoid), ] (possibly Afroasiatic), ] (possibly spurious) and ] (evidently Cushitic). Several of these are extinct, and adequate comparative data is thus unlikely to be forthcoming. Hombert & Philippson (2009)<ref name="HombertPhilippson">{{cite book |first1=Jean-Marie |last1=Hombert |first2=Gérard |last2=Philippson |year=2009 |url=http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/fulltext/hombert/Hombert_2009_LDLT2.pdf |chapter=The linguistic importance of language isolates: the African case |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523092814/http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/fulltext/hombert/Hombert_2009_LDLT2.pdf |archive-date=23 May 2013 |editor-first1=Peter K. |editor-last1=Austin |editor-first2=Oliver |editor-last2=Bond |editor-first3=Monik |editor-last3=Charette |editor-link3=Monik Charette |editor-first4=David |editor-last4=Nathan |editor-first5=Peter |editor-last5=Sells |title=Proceedings of Conference on Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory 2 |location=London |publisher=SOAS}}</ref> list a number of African languages that have been classified as ]s at one point or another. Many of these are simply unclassified, but Hombert & Philippson believe Africa has about twenty language families, including isolates. Beside the possibilities listed above, there are:


*] or Aramanik (]) (]? contains non-Cushitic lexicon) *] or Aramanik (]) (]? contains non-Cushitic lexicon)
*] (]) - ] Arabic restructured on an Azêr (]) base *] (]) – ] Arabic restructured on an Azêr (]) base
*Kara (]?) (]) *Kara (]?) (])
*] (]) (Adamawa? Extinct?) *] (]) (]? Extinct?)
<!--*] (]) is clearly Mambiloid--> <!--*] (]) is clearly Mambiloid-->


Line 104: Line 133:
*] (]) *] (])
*] (]) *] (])

Below is a list of language isolates and otherwise unclassified languages in Africa, from Vossen & Dimmendaal (2020:434):<ref name="Vossen">{{cite book |editor-last1=Vossen |editor-first1=Rainer |editor-last2=Dimmendaal |editor-first2=Gerrit J. |year=2020 |title=The Oxford Handbook of African Languages |pages=392–407 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press.}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Language !! Country
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ], ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ], ]
|-
| ]; ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ], ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|-
| ] || ]
|}


====Sign languages==== ====Sign languages====
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Many African countries have national sign languages, such as ], ], ]. Other sign languages are restricted to small areas or single villages, such as ] in ]. Tanzania has seven, one for each of its schools for the Deaf, all of which are discouraged. Not much is known, since little has been published on these languages Many African countries have national sign languages, such as ], ], ]. Other sign languages are restricted to small areas or single villages, such as ] in ]. Tanzania has seven, one for each of its schools for the Deaf, all of which are discouraged. Not much is known, since little has been published on these languages


Sign language systems extant in Africa include the ] used in Namibia and ], the ] languages used in ] and ], the ] languages used across the Arab Mideast, the ] languages used in ] and other areas such as ] and ], and the ] languages used in ]. Sign language systems extant in Africa include the ] used in Namibia and ], the ] used in ] and ], the ] languages used across the Arab Mideast, the ] languages used in ] and other areas such as ] and ], and the ] used in ].


==Language in Africa== ==Language in Africa==
Throughout the long multilingual history of the African continent, African languages have been subject to phenomena like language contact, language expansion, language shift and language death. A case in point is the ], in which Bantu-speaking peoples expanded over most of ], intermingling with Khoi-San speaking peoples from much of ] and ] and other peoples from ]. Another example is the Arab expansion in the 7th century, which led to the extension of ] from its homeland in Asia, into much of North Africa and the Horn of Africa.
]
Throughout the long multilingual history of the African continent, African languages have been subject to phenomena like language contact, language expansion, language shift and language death. A case in point is the ], in which Bantu-speaking peoples expanded over most of ], displacing Khoi-San speaking peoples from much of ] and ] and other peoples from ]. Another example is the Arab expansion in the 7th century, which led to the extension of ] from its homeland in Asia, into much of North Africa and the Horn of Africa.


]s are another age-old phenomenon in the African linguistic landscape. Cultural and linguistic innovations spread along trade routes and languages of peoples dominant in trade developed into languages of wider communication (]). Of particular importance in this respect are ] (North and West Africa), ] (western West Africa), ] (West Africa), ] (West Africa), ] (Congo), ] (Southeast Africa), ] (Horn of Africa) and ] (North Africa and Horn of Africa). ]s are another age-old phenomenon in the African linguistic landscape. Cultural and linguistic innovations spread along trade routes and languages of peoples dominant in trade developed into languages of wider communication (]). Of particular importance in this respect are ] (North and West Africa), ] (western West Africa), ] (West Africa), ] (West Africa), ] (Congo), ] (Southeast Africa), ] (Horn of Africa) and ] (North Africa and Horn of Africa).


After gaining independence, many African countries, in the search for national unity, selected one language, generally the former colonial language, to be used in government and education. However, in recent years, African countries have become increasingly supportive of maintaining linguistic diversity. Language policies that are being developed nowadays are mostly aimed at multilingualism. After gaining independence, many African countries, in the search for national unity, selected one language, generally the former Indo-European colonial language, to be used in government and education. However, in recent years, African countries have become increasingly supportive of maintaining linguistic diversity. Language policies that are being developed nowadays are mostly aimed at multilingualism. This presents a methodological complication when collecting data in Africa and limited literature exists. An analysis of ] ] survey data of 36 countries suggested that survey interviewers and respondents could engage in various linguistic behaviors, such as ] during the survey.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lau |first=Charles |url=https://www.rti.org/rti-press-publication/language-survey-research |chapter=Language differences between interviewers and respondents in African surveys (Chapter 5) |title=The Essential Role of Language in Survey Research |date=2020-04-30 |publisher=RTI Press |isbn=978-1-934831-24-3 |editor-last=Sha |editor-first=Mandy |pages=101–115 |doi=10.3768/rtipress.bk.0023.2004 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Moreover, some African countries have been considering removing their official former Indo-European colonial languages, like ] and ] which removed French as an official language in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=AfricaNews |date= 26 July 2023|title=Mali drops French as official language |url=https://www.africanews.com/2023/07/26/mali-drops-french-as-official-language/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Africanews |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=AfricaNews |date=2023-12-07 |title=Burkina abandons French as an official language |url=https://www.africanews.com/2023/12/07/burkina-abandons-french-as-an-official-language/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Africanews |language=en}}</ref>


===Official languages=== ===Official languages===
{{see also|Languages of the African Union}}
[[File:Official languages in Africa.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Official languages in Africa: [[File:Official languages in Africa.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Official languages in Africa:
{| cellpadding="0" {| cellpadding="0"
|- |-
| {{legend|#FF8C00|]}} || {{legend|#8EB423|]}} | {{legend|#FF8C00|]}} || {{legend|#8EB423|]}}
|- |-
| {{legend|#19822D|]}} || {{legend|#DAC716|]}} | {{legend|#19822D|]}} || {{legend|#DAC716|]}}
Line 131: Line 217:
| {{legend|#415096|]}} || {{legend|#8A8B8D|other languages}} | {{legend|#415096|]}} || {{legend|#8A8B8D|other languages}}
|}]] |}]]
Besides the former colonial languages of English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, the following languages are official at the national level in Africa (non-exhaustive list):
;Afroasiatic ;Afroasiatic
*Berber:
*] in ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ],<ref>.</ref> ], ],<ref name="Charter">According to article 7 of {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218004011/http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/countries/docs/charterfeb04.pdf |date=18 December 2008 }}: “The official languages of the Somali Republic shall be Somali (Maay and Maxaatiri) and Arabic. The second languages of the Transitional Federal Government shall be English and Italian.”</ref> ], ] and ] (])
*] in Morocco and Algeria<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35515769|title=Algeria reinstates term limit and recognises Berber language|work=BBC News}}</ref> **] in Morocco and Algeria<ref>{{cite news |title=Algeria reinstates term limit and recognises Berber language |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35515769 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
**] in Mali<ref name=":0">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=29 September 2017 |title=JOURNAL OFFICIEL DE LA REPUBLIQUE DU MALI |url=https://sgg-mali.ml/JO/2017/mali-jo-2017-39.pdf |access-date=26 July 2023 |website=sgg-mali.ml |quote=Langues nationales : langues considérées comme propres à une nation ou à un pays. Selon la Loi n°96- 049 du 23 août 1996, les langues nationales du Mali sont : le bamanankan (bambara), le bomu (bobo), le bozo (bozo), le dTgTsT (dogon), le fulfulde (peul), le hasanya (maure), le mamara (miniyanka), le maninkakan (malinké) le soninke (sarakolé), le soKoy (songhoï), le syenara (sénoufo), le tamasayt (tamasheq), le xaasongaxanKo (khassonké).}}</ref>
*] in ]
*] in ] and ] **] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*Cushitic:
*] in ] and ] (])
**] in ]
**] in Ethiopia and Kenya
**] in ], Ethiopia, ], and ]
*Semitic:
**] in Ethiopia
**] in ], ], ], ], ], ], ],<ref>.</ref> ], ],<ref name="Charter">According to article 7 of {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218004011/http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/countries/docs/charterfeb04.pdf|date=18 December 2008}}: "The official languages of the Somali Republic shall be Somali (Maay and Maxaatiri) and Arabic. The second languages of the Transitional Federal Government shall be English and Italian".</ref> ], ] and ] (])
**] in ]<ref name=":0" />
**] in Ethiopia and ]


;Austronesian ;Austronesian
*] in ] *] in ]

;Ngbandi creole
*] in the ]


;French Creole ;French Creole
Line 147: Line 243:
;Indo-European ;Indo-European
*] in ] *] in ]
*] in ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].
*] in ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spencer |first=Erika Hope |title=Research Guides: France & French Collections at the Library of Congress: Sub-Saharan Africa |url=https://guides.loc.gov/french-collections/francophone-studies/sub-saharan-africa |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=guides.loc.gov |language=en}}</ref>
*] in ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{Citation |last=Fehn |first=Anne-Maria |title=African Linguistics in Official Portuguese- and Spanish-Speaking Africa |date=2019 |work=A History of African Linguistics |pages=189–204 |editor-last=Wolff |editor-first=H. Ekkehard |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-african-linguistics/african-linguistics-in-official-portuguese-and-spanishspeaking-africa/9ED5EF68F7DE7E253FE57BE4AAF2AF0A |access-date=2024-03-28 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-41797-6}}</ref>
*] in ]<ref>{{Cite web |title=ABOUT EQUATORIAL GUINEA {{!}} Equatorial Guinea Embassy USA |url=https://www.egembassydc.com/about-equatorial-guinea |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=EG Embassy USA |language=en}}</ref>


;Niger-Congo ;Niger-Congo
*] in ] and ] *] in ]<ref name=":0" />
*] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*] in ] and ]
*] in the ] *] in the ]
*] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*] in ], ], ], and ]
*] in ] *] in ]
*] in ] *] in ]
*] in ], ] and Zimbabwe *] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*]/] in ] and South Africa *] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*], ] in Zimbabwe
*] in ], ] and ]
*] in ] and South Africa
*], ] in ]
*] in South Africa *] in South Africa
*] in Mali<ref name=":0" />
*] in South Africa<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304001836/http://www.southafrica.info/about/people/language.htm |date=4 March 2011 }}. ''southafrica.info''.</ref> *] in South Africa<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304001836/http://www.southafrica.info/about/people/language.htm |date=4 March 2011 }}. ''southafrica.info''.</ref>
*] in ], ], ] and ] *] in ], ], ] and ]
*] in ] and South Africa *] in ] and ]
*] in South Africa *] in South Africa
*] in South Africa *] in South Africa
*] in South Africa *] in South Africa
*] in South Africa *] in South Africa

;Nilo-Saharan
*] in ]<ref name=":0" />


{| class="wikitable" {| class="wikitable"
|-
!Language !Language
!Family !Family
!Official Status per Country !Official status per country
|- |-
|Afrikaans |Afrikaans
Line 184: Line 299:
|Berber |Berber
|Afroasiatic |Afroasiatic
|Algeria, Morocco |Algeria, Morocco, Libya
|- |-
|Chewa |Chewa
Line 193: Line 308:
|Niger-Congo |Niger-Congo
|Comoros |Comoros
|-
|Kikongo
|Niger-Congo
|Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo
|- |-
|Kinyarwanda |Kinyarwanda
Line 209: Line 328:
|Niger-Congo |Niger-Congo
|South Africa |South Africa
|-
|Oromo
|Afroasiatic
|Ethiopia<ref>{{cite web |title=ETHIOPIA TO ADD 4 MORE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES TO FOSTER UNITY |url=http://venturesafrica.com/ethiopia-to-add-4-more-official-languages-to-foster-unity/ |website=Ventures Africa |date=4 March 2020 |publisher=Ventures |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ethiopia is adding four more official languages to Amharic as political instability mounts |url=https://www.nazret.com/2020/03/07/ethiopia-is-adding-four-more-official-languages-to-amharic-as-political-instability-mounts/ |website=Nazret |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817225007/https://www.nazret.com/2020/03/07/ethiopia-is-adding-four-more-official-languages-to-amharic-as-political-instability-mounts/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shaban |first1=Abdurahman |title=One to five: Ethiopia gets four new federal working languages |url=https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// |agency=Africa News |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=15 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215231030/https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// }}</ref>
|-
|Sango
|French Creole
|Central African Republic
|- |-
|Sepedi |Sepedi
Line 218: Line 345:
|Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe |Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe
|- |-
|Setswana/Tswana |Setswana
|Niger-Congo |Niger-Congo
|Botswana, South Africa |Botswana, South Africa
Line 234: Line 361:
|Zimbabwe |Zimbabwe
|- |-
|Somali
|Somalia
|Afroasiatic |Afroasiatic
|Somalia, Djibouti |Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya
|- |-
|Swahili |Swahili
Line 248: Line 375:
|Tigrinya |Tigrinya
|Afroasiatic |Afroasiatic
|Ethiopia, Eritrea
|Eritrea, Tigray (Ethiopia)
|- |-
|Tsonga |Tsonga
|Niger-Congo |Niger-Congo
|South Africa |Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa
|- |-
|Venda |Venda
|Niger-Congo |Niger-Congo
|South Africa |South Africa, Zimbabwe
|- |-
|Xhosa |Xhosa
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|Niger-Congo |Niger-Congo
|South Africa |South Africa
|}

=== List of Which Languages are Spoken in Which African Countries ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Country
!Languages
!
!
|-
|]
|] (spoken by 72%), ] (used by government, media, etc.), ] (Berber) (spoken by 27.4%)
|
|
|-
|]
|] (2.9%), ], ] (8.24%), ] (71%), ] (23%)
|
|
|-
|]
|], Fon (24%), French, ], ], and ]
|
|
|-
|]
|English (2.8%), Tswana/Setswana (77.3%),
|
|
|-
|]
|Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Sepedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
|
|
|} |}


===Cross-border languages=== ===Cross-border languages===
The colonial borders established by European powers following the ] in 1884–1885 divided a great many ethnic groups and African language speaking communities. This can cause divergence of a language on either side of a border (especially when the official languages are different), for example, in orthographic standards. Some notable cross-border languages include ] (which stretches across much of North Africa and some parts of West Africa), ] (stretches across most of the Horn of Africa), Swahili (spoken in the African Great Lakes region), ] (in the Sahel and West Africa) and ] (in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan). The colonial borders established by European powers following the ] in 1884–1885 divided a great many ethnic groups and African language speaking communities. This can cause divergence of a language on either side of a border (especially when the official languages are different), for example, in orthographic standards. Some notable cross-border languages include ] (which stretches across much of North Africa and some parts of West Africa), ] (that stretches across northern Angola, western and coastal Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western and coastal Republic of the Congo), ] (stretches across most of the Horn of Africa), Swahili (spoken in the African Great Lakes region), ] (in the Sahel and West Africa) and ] (in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan).


Some prominent Africans such as former ] president and former ], ], have referred to cross-border languages as a factor that can promote African unity.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524135600/http://www.acalan.org/ |date=24 May 2006 }} ACALAN (French & English).</ref> Some prominent Africans such as former ]an president and former ], ], have referred to cross-border languages as a factor that can promote African unity.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524135600/http://www.acalan.org/ |date=24 May 2006 }} ACALAN (French & English).</ref>


===Language change and planning=== ===Language change and planning===
Language is not static in Africa any more than on other continents. In addition to the (likely modest) impact of borders, there are also cases of ] (such as in ] and probably many others), ] (such as ] and possibly ]) and emergence of new dialects (such as ]). In some countries, there are official efforts to develop ] versions. Language is not static in Africa any more than on other continents.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} In addition to the (likely modest) impact of borders, there are also cases of ] (such as in ] and probably many others), ] (such as ] and possibly ]) and emergence of new dialects (such as ]). In some countries, there are official efforts to develop ] versions.


There are also many less widely spoken languages that may be considered ]s. There are also many less widely spoken languages that may be considered ]s.
Line 313: Line 406:
===Demographics=== ===Demographics===
{{Further|Demographics of Africa}} {{Further|Demographics of Africa}}
Of the 1 billion Africans (in 2009), about 17 percent speak an ]{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}. About 10 percent speak ]{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}, the lingua franca of Southeast Africa; about 5 percent speak a ] dialect{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}; and about 5 percent speak ], which serves as a lingua franca in much of the Sahel. Other important West African languages are ], ] and ]. Major Horn of Africa languages are ], ] and ]. Important South African languages are ], ] and ].<ref>'']'', "Tongues under threat", 22 January 2011, p. 58.</ref> Of the 1 billion Africans (in 2009), about 17 percent speak an ].{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} About 10 percent speak ],{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} the lingua franca of Southeast Africa; about 5 percent speak a ] dialect;{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} and about 5 percent speak ], which serves as a lingua franca in much of the Sahel. Other large West African languages are ], ], ] and ]. Major Horn of Africa languages are ], ] and ]. ] is important in Central Africa. Important South African languages are ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=] |title=Tongues under threat |date=22 January 2011 |page=58}}</ref>


French, English, and Portuguese are important languages in Africa due to colonialism. About 320 million,<ref> odsef.fss.ulaval.ca (in French)</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Verdeau | first=Paul | title=En 2023, 327 millions de personnes parlent français dans le monde, dont près de la moitié en Afrique | website=RTBF | date=20 March 2023 | url=https://www.rtbf.be/article/en-2023-429-millions-de-personnes-parlent-francais-dans-le-monde-dont-pres-de-la-moitie-en-afrique-11169856 | language=fr | access-date=27 November 2023}}</ref> 240 million and 35 million Africans, respectively, speak them as either native or secondary languages. Portuguese has become the national language of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, and Portuguese is the official language of Mozambique.
English, French and Portuguese are important languages in Africa. About 130 million, 115 million and 35 million Africans, respectively, speak them as either native or secondary languages. Portuguese has become the national language of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, and Portuguese is the official language of Mozambique. The economies of Angola and Mozambique are quickly becoming economic powerhouses in Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.angola.org/index.php?page=culture|title=The Embassy of the Republic of Angola - Culture|publisher=}}</ref> Through (among other factors) sheer demographic weight, Africans are increasingly taking ownership {{citation needed|date=December 2015}} of these three world languages as they are having an ever-greater influence on the research, economic growth and development in the African countries where English, French and Portuguese are spoken.


==Linguistic features== ==Linguistic features==
Line 332: Line 425:
Sounds that are relatively uncommon in African languages include ]s, ]s and ] Sounds that are relatively uncommon in African languages include ]s, ]s and ]


]s are found throughout the world but are predominantly used in Africa. Both the Nilo-Saharan and the Khoi-San phyla are fully tonal. The large majority of the Niger–Congo languages are also tonal. Tonal languages are also found in the Omotic, Chadic and South & East Cushitic branches of Afroasiatic. The most common type of tonal system opposes two tone levels, High (H) and Low (L). ]s do occur, and can often be analysed as two or more tones in succession on a single syllable. ''Tone melodies'' play an important role, meaning that it is often possible to state significant generalizations by separating tone sequences ("melodies") from the segments that bear them. ] processes like tone spread, tone shift, downstep and downdrift are common in African languages. ]s are found throughout the world but are especially common in Africa - in fact, there are far more tonal than non-tonal languages in Africa. Both the Nilo-Saharan and the Khoi-San phyla are fully tonal. The large majority of the Niger–Congo languages are also tonal. Tonal languages are also found in the Omotic, Chadic and South & East Cushitic branches of Afroasiatic. The most common type of tonal system opposes two tone levels, High (H) and Low (L). ]s do occur, and can often be analysed as two or more tones in succession on a single syllable. ''Tone melodies'' play an important role, meaning that it is often possible to state significant generalizations by separating tone sequences ("melodies") from the segments that bear them. ] processes like tone spread, tone shift, downstep and downdrift are common in African languages.
<!--Many ethnic groups living in the rain forests of Africa transmit messages from one village to another by use of so called ''talking drums''. <!--Many ethnic groups living in the rain forests of Africa transmit messages from one village to another by use of so called ''talking drums''.
African languages differ in the number of tone levels they have. Most African tonal languages have a two tone system.--> African languages differ in the number of tone levels they have. Most African tonal languages have a two tone system.-->


===Syntactic=== ===Syntactic===
Widespread syntactical structures include the common use of adjectival verbs and the expression of comparison by means of a verb 'to surpass'. The Niger–Congo languages have large numbers of genders (]es) which cause agreement in verbs and other words. ], ] and other categories may be distinguished only by tone. Widespread syntactical structures include the common use of adjectival verbs and the expression of comparison by means of a verb 'to surpass'. The Niger–Congo languages have large numbers of genders (]es) which cause agreement in verbs and other words. ], ] and other categories may be distinguished only by tone. Auxiliary verbs are also widespread among African languages; the fusing of subject markers and TAM/polarity auxiliaries into what are known as tense pronouns are more common in auxiliary verb constructions in African languages than in most other parts of the world.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Anderson|first=Gregory D. S.|year=2011|title=Auxiliary verb constructions in the languages of Africa|journal=Studies in African Linguistics|volume=40 (1 & 2)|pages=1–409|doi=10.32473/sal.v40i1.107282|doi-access=free}}</ref>


===Semantic=== ===Semantic===
Quite often, only one term is used for both animal and meat; the word ''nama'' or ''nyama'' for animal/meat is particularly widespread in otherwise widely divergent African languages. Quite often, only one term is used for both animal and meat; the word ''nama'' or ''nyama'' for animal/meat is particularly widespread in otherwise widely divergent African languages.{{fact|date=February 2024}}


==Demographics== ==Demographics==
Line 349: Line 442:
!width=15%|Language !width=15%|Language
!width=15%|Family !width=15%|Family
!width=15% data-sort-type="number"|Native speakers (L1) ! style="width:15%;" data-sort-type="number"|Native speakers (L1)
!width=30%|Official status per country !width=30%|Official status per country
|- |-
| ] || ] ||1,393,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/abr|title=Abron|website=Ethnologue|language=en|access-date=2019-07-16}}</ref> | ] || ] ||1,393,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/abr|title=Abron|website=Ethnologue|access-date=2019-07-16}}</ref>
|| {{flag|Ghana}} || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || Spoken in {{flag|Djibouti}}, {{flag|Eritrea}}, {{flag|Ethiopia}} | ] || ] || 2,500,000 || Spoken in ], ], ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 7,200,000<ref name="statssa-2011-language-1">{{cite book |title=Census 2011: Census in brief |url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf |publisher=Statistics South Africa |location=Pretoria |year=2012 |isbn=9780621413885 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513171240/http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> || National language in {{flag|Namibia}}, co-official in {{flag|South Africa}} | ] || ] || 7,200,000<ref name="statssa-2011-language-1">{{cite book |title=Census 2011: Census in brief |url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf |publisher=Statistics South Africa |location=Pretoria |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-621-41388-5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513171240/http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> || National language in ], co-official in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 11,000,000<ref name="ReferenceA">] "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007</ref> || None. Government sponsored language of {{flag|Ghana}} | ] || ] || 11,000,000<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Nationalencyklopedin |title=Världens 100 största språk 2007 |trans-title=The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007 |lang=sv}}</ref> || None. Government sponsored language of ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 21,800,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/amh|title=Amharic|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Ethiopia}} | ] || ] || 32,400,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/amh|title=Amharic|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 150,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ara|title=Arabic|publisher=}}</ref> but with separate mutually unintelligible varieties|| {{flag|Algeria}}, {{flag|Chad}}, {{flag|Comoros}}, {{flag|Djibouti}}, {{flag|Egypt}}, {{flag|Eritrea}}, {{flag|Libya}}, {{flag|Mauritania}}, {{flag|Morocco}}, {{flag|Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}}, {{flag|Somalia}}, {{flag|Sudan}}, {{flag|Tanzania}} (]), {{flag|Tunisia}} | ] || ] || 150,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ara|title=Arabic|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> but with separate mutually unintelligible varieties|| ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] (]), ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 16,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/subgroups/berber|title=Berber|publisher=}}</ref> (estimated) (including separate mutually unintelligible varieties) || {{flag|Morocco}}, {{flag|Algeria}} | ] || ] || 16,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/subgroups/berber|title=Berber|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> (estimated) (including separate mutually unintelligible varieties) || ], ]
|- |-
| ] || ] ||65,300<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/bho|title=Bhojpuri|website=Ethnologue|language=en|access-date=2019-07-16}}</ref> | ] || ] ||65,300<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/bho|title=Bhojpuri|website=Ethnologue|access-date=2019-07-16}}</ref>
|| Spoken in {{flag|Mauritius}} || Spoken in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || National language in {{flag|Cape Verde}} | ] || ] ||871,000|| National language in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 9,700,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/nya|title=Chichewa|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Malawi}}, {{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] || 9,700,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/nya|title=Chichewa|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ], ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Comoros}} | ] || ] ||1,100,000 || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] ||1,020,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ada|title=Dangme|website=Ethnologue|language=en|access-date=2019-07-16}}</ref> | ] || ] ||1,020,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ada|title=Dangme|website=Ethnologue|access-date=2019-07-16}}</ref>
|| {{flag|Ghana}} || ]
|- |-
|]
| ] || ] || 6,500,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/eng|title=English|publisher=}}</ref> (estimated) || See ]
|]
|4,238,400<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/din/|title=Dinka|website=Ethnologue|access-date=2024-10-25}}</ref>
|]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 6,500,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/eng|title=English|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> (estimated) || See ]
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Benin}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 2,300,000 || ]
| ] || ] || 120,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/fra|title=French|website=Ethnologue.com|access-date=2017-07-11}}</ref><ref name="EdmistonDumenil2015">{{cite book|author1=William Edmiston|author2=Annie Dumenil|title=La France contemporaine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b1TjBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT90|date=2015-01-01|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-305-80441-8|page=90}}</ref> (estimated) || see ] and ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 1,200,000<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=French|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/fra|access-date=2021-01-15|website=Ethnologue.com}}</ref> (estimated) || See ] and ]
| ] || ] || 25,000,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || national language of {{flag|Senegal}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Ghana}} | ] || ] || 25,000,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || National language of ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || national language of {{flag|Namibia}}, special status in {{flag|South Africa}} | ] || ] || 745,000 || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || National language of ], special status in ]
| ] || ] || 6,600,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/kik|title=Gikuyu|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Kenya}}, {{flag|Tanzania}}, {{flag|Uganda}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 8,100,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kik|title=Gikuyu|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || Spoken in ]
| ] || ] || 34,000,000<ref>''Ethnologue'' (2009) cites 18,5 million L1 and 15 million L2 speakers in Nigeria in 1991; 5.5 million L1 speakers and half that many L2 speakers in Niger in 2006, 0.8 million in Benin in 2006, and just over 1 million in other countries.</ref> || recognized in {{flag|Nigeria}}, {{flag|Ghana}}, {{flag|Niger}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 48,637,300<ref>{{cite web |last1=Eberhard |first1=David M. |last2=Simons |first2=Gary F. |last3=Fennig |first3=Charles D. |title=Ethnologue hau |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/hau |website=Ethnologue |publisher=SIL International |access-date=30 June 2021}}</ref> || Recognized in ], ], ]
| ] || ] || || Spoken in {{flag|Mauritius}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 27,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ibo|title=Igbo|publisher=Ethnologue}}</ref> || native in {{flag|Nigeria}} | ] || ] || || Spoken in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || recognized in {{flag|Somalia}} | ] || ] || 27,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ibo|title=Igbo|publisher=Ethnologue}}</ref> || Native in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || Recognized in ] and ]
| ] || ] || 300,000<ref>Brenzinger, Matthias (2011) "The twelve modern Khoisan languages." In Witzlack-Makarevich & Ernszt (eds.), ''Khoisan languages and linguistics: proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium, Riezlern / Kleinwalsertal'' (Research in Khoisan Studies 29). Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.</ref> || national language of {{flag|Namibia}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Angola}} | ] || ] || 6,600,000 || Spoken in ] and ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 200,000<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Brenzinger |first=Matthias |year=2011 |title=The twelve modern Khoisan languages |editor-last1=Witzlack-Makarevich |editor-first1=Alena |editor-last2=Ernszt |editor-first2=Martina |encyclopedia=Khoisan languages and linguistics: proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium, Riezlern / Kleinwalsertal |series=QKF Research in Khoisan Studies |volume=29 |location=Cologne |publisher=Rüdiger Köppe Verlag |isbn= 978-3-89645-873-5 |page=2 |url=https://www.blickinsbuch.de/viewer/cm/access.php?Zmxhc2g9MSZ2MzE1Nj00MTE5NzM3ODc4JnY3Mzc2PTk3ODM4OTY0NTg3MzUmdGFyZ2V0X2lkPTMmdjkzNjk9S2VUTERlNHFLag==&mxbook=eae7cfa63f85eb9adaf33f41448452f3}}</ref> || National language of ]
| ] || ] || 9,800,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || {{flag|Rwanda}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 8,800,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || {{flag|Burundi}} | ] || ] || 1,700,000 || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 9,800,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || ]
| ] || ] ] || || {{flag|Democratic Republic of Congo}}, {{flag|Republic of Congo}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 5,600,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/kon|title=Kongo|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Angola}}, recognised national language of {{flag|Republic of Congo}} and {{flag|Democratic Republic of Congo}} | ] || ] || 8,800,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 5,500,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || National language of {{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}, {{flag|Republic of Congo}} | ] || ] ] || 5,400,000 || ], ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 4,100,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/lug/|title=Luganda}}</ref> || Native language of {{flag|Uganda}} | ] || ] || 5,600,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kon|title=Kongo|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ], recognised national language of ] and ]
|-
| ] || ] || 5,500,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || National language of ], ]
|-
| ] || ] || 4,100,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/lug/|title=Luganda|date=19 November 2019}}</ref> || Native language of ]
|- |-
| ] || ] (probable) || 4,200,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/luo|title=Dholuo|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Kenya}}, {{flag|Tanzania}} | ] || ] || 6,800,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/luh|title=Luhya|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || Spoken in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 18,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/mlg|title=Malagasy|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Madagascar}} | ] || ] (probable) || 5,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/luo|title=Dholuo|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ], ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 1,100,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/mfe|title=Morisyen|publisher=}}</ref> || Native language of {{flag|Mauritius}} | ] || ] || 18,000,000<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mlg|title=Malagasy|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 7,600,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || Recognised regional language in {{flag|Burkina Faso}} | ] || ] || 1,100,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mfe|title=Morisyen|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || Native language of ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] || 7,600,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || Recognised regional language in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] || 100,000 || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 1,100,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Ndebele|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/nbl/|publisher=Ethnologue|accessdate=20 September 2016}}</ref> || Statutory national language in {{flag|South Africa}} | ] || ] || 2,400,000 || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Senegal}} | ] || ] || 1,100,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Ndebele|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/nbl/|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=20 September 2016}}</ref> || Statutory national language in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || ||{{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] || 33,000|| ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 4,600,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/nso|title=Sotho, Northern|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|South Africa}} | ] || ] || 2,600,000||]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 26,000,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> ||{{flag|Ethiopia}} | ] || ] || 4,600,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/nso|title=Sotho, Northern|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ]
|- |-
|]
| ] || ] || 13,700,000 (estimated) || {{flag|Angola}}, {{flag|Cape Verde}}, {{flag|Guinea-Bissau}}, {{flag|Equatorial Guinea}}, {{flag|Mozambique}}, {{flag|São Tomé and Príncipe}}
|]
|1,700,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nuer |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/nus/ |website=Ethnologue}}</ref>
|]
|- |-
| ] || ] ||37,071,900 (2020) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/ET/languages|title=Oromo first-language speakers at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020)|accessdate=27 November 2023}}</ref> ||]
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Zimbabwe}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 17,000,000<ref>{{cite web |last1=Eberhard |first1=David M. |last2=Simons |first2=Gary F. |last3=Fennig |first3=Charles D. |title=Ethnologue report for Portuguese |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/por |website=Ethnologue |publisher=SIL International |access-date=16 April 2021}}</ref> || ], ], ], ], ], ]
| ] || ] || || {{flag|South Africa}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 5,600,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/sot|title=Sotho, Southern|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Lesotho}}, {{flag|South Africa}}, {{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] ||2,869,000|| ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Seychelles}} | ] || ] || 4,700,000 || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 7,200,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.ethnologue.com/16/show_family.asp?subid=1934-16|title=Ethnologue report for Shona (S.10)|publisher=|access-date=19 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219211917/http://archive.ethnologue.com/16/show_family.asp?subid=1934-16|archive-date=19 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> || {{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] || 5,600,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/sot|title=Sotho, Southern|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ], ], ]
|- |-
| ] || ] ||73,000 || ]
| ] || ] || 16,600,000<ref name="eth">{{cite web | title = Somali | publisher = ]| date = 2013 | url = http://www.ethnologue.com/language/som | accessdate = May 4, 2013}}</ref> || {{flag|Somalia}}, {{flag|Djibouti}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 7,200,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.ethnologue.com/16/show_family.asp?subid=1934-16|title=Ethnologue report for Shona (S.10)|access-date=19 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219211917/http://archive.ethnologue.com/16/show_family.asp?subid=1934-16|archive-date=19 February 2015}}</ref> || ]
| ] || ] || 1,100,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Spanish|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/spa|publisher=Ethnologue|accessdate=10 January 2018}}</ref> || {{flag|Equatorial Guinea}}, {{flag|Spain}} (], ], ]), still marginally spoken in {{flag|Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}}, recognized in {{flag|Morocco}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 21,937,940<ref name="eth">{{cite web | title = Somali | publisher = ]|year = 2024 | url = https://www.ethnologue.com/language/som/ | access-date = 5 February 2024}}</ref> || ], ], ], ]
| ] || ] || || {{flag|South Africa}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 15,000,000<ref>{{cite book |title=African folklore: an encyclopedia |last=Peek |first=Philip M. |authorlink= |author2=Kwesi Yankah |year=2004 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=0-415-93933-X |page=699}}</ref> || Official in {{flag|Tanzania}}, {{flag|Kenya}}, {{flag|Uganda}}, {{flag|Rwanda}}, {{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} | ] || ] || 1,100,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Spanish|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/spa|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=10 January 2018}}</ref> || ], ] (], ], ]), still marginally spoken in ], recognized in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || Official in {{flag|South Africa}}, {{flag|Swaziland}} | ] || ] || 1,100,000|| ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 50,000,000<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=African folklore: an encyclopedia |editor-last1=Peek |editor-first1=Philip M. |editor-last2=Yankah |editor-first2=Kwesi |editor-link2=Kwesi Yankah |year=2004 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=0-415-93933-X |page=699 |title=Swahili |doi=10.4324/9780203493144}}</ref> || Official in ], ], ], ], ]
| ] || ] || || Spoken in {{flag|Mauritius}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 7,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/tir|title=Tigrigna|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Eritrea}}, regional language in {{flag|Ethiopia}} | ] || ] ||2,300,000 || Official in ], ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] || || Spoken in ]
|- |-
|]
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Zimbabwe}}
|]
|
|Spoken in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 7,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tir|title=Tigrigna|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ], regional language in ]
| ] || ] || || {{flag|Zimbabwe}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || || Regional language in {{flag|Ghana}} | ] || ] || 1,500,000 || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 6,300,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/lua|title=Luba-Kasai|publisher=}}</ref> (1991) || National language of {{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} | ] || ] || 3,700,000 || ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 5,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tso|title=Tsonga|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || {{flag|South Africa}}, {{flag|Zimbabwe}} (as 'as Shangani'), {{flag|Mozambique}} | ] || ] || 630,000 || Regional language in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || || {{flag|South Africa}}, {{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] || 6,300,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lua|title=Luba-Kasai|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> (1991) || National language of ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 5,800,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/tsn|title=Tswana|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Botswana}}, {{flag|South Africa}}, spoken in {{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] || 5,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tso|title=Tsonga|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ], ] (as 'as Shangani'), ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 6,000,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/umb|title=Umbundu|publisher=}}</ref> || {{flag|Angola}} | ] || ] || 1,300,000 || ], ]
|- |-
| ] || ] ||1,300,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ven|title=Venda|website=Ethnologue|language=en|access-date=2019-12-15}}</ref> | ] || ] || 5,800,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/tsn|title=Tswana|date=19 November 2019}}</ref> || ], ], spoken in ]
|{{flag|South Africa}}, {{flag|Zimbabwe}}
|- |-
| ] || ] ||5,454,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/wol|title=Wolof|website=Ethnologue|language=en|access-date=2019-12-15}}</ref> | ] || ] || 6,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/umb|title=Umbundu|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> || ]
| Lingua franca in {{flag|Senegal}}
|- |-
| ] || ] || 7,600,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || {{flag|South Africa}}, {{flag|Zimbabwe}} | ] || ] ||1,300,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ven|title=Venda|website=Ethnologue|access-date=2019-12-15}}</ref>
|], ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 28,000,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || {{flag|Nigeria}}, {{flag|Benin}}, {{flag|Togo}} | ] || ] ||5,454,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/wol|title=Wolof|website=Ethnologue|access-date=2019-12-15}}</ref>
| Lingua franca in ]
|- |-
| ] || ] || 10,400,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || {{flag|South Africa}} | ] || ] || 7,600,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || ], ]
|-
| ] || ] || 28,000,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || ], ], ]
|-
| ] || ] || 10,400,000<ref name="ReferenceA"/> || ]
|} |}

===By region=== ===By region===


Below is a list of the major languages of Africa by region, family and total number of ] speakers in millions. Below is a list of the major languages of Africa by region, family and total number of ] speakers in millions.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-valign:top" {| class="wikitable" style="text-valign:top"
|-valign="top" |- valign="top"
|
;Central Africa
*], ]
**]<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref>
**]:12<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rw.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref>
**]:5+<ref name="ReferenceC"/><ref name="cia.gov1">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ao.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cf.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref>
**]<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
**]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/by.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref>
|
;Horn of Africa
*]
**]
***]: 20+
***]: 5
**]
***]: 10–15
***]: 30–35
*]: 1<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=29 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214221803/http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf |archivedate=14 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/er.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref>
**]
**]
**]
**]
*]: 1<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somraf.org/research%20Matrerials/joint%20british%20danish%20dutch%20fact%20finding%20mission%20in%20Nairobi%20-%202001.pdf |title=Maquiagem Seu Espaço Vip – Encontre Tudo Sobre Maquiagem |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021044246/http://www.somraf.org/research%20Matrerials/joint%20british%20danish%20dutch%20fact%20finding%20mission%20in%20Nairobi%20-%202001.pdf |archivedate=21 October 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref>
**]
| |
;North Africa ;North Africa
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***] ***]
*] *]
**]: 5+<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.secid.org/usefsociety/pdf/nubian.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=14 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406044519/http://www.secid.org/usefsociety/pdf/nubian.pdf |archivedate=6 April 2012 }}</ref> **]: 5+<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.secid.org/usefsociety/pdf/nubian.pdf |title=Memories of Utopia- Infoshop, World Bank |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406044519/http://www.secid.org/usefsociety/pdf/nubian.pdf |archive-date=6 April 2012 |last=Mannan |first=Nuraddin |quote=There is no exact census for the Nubian population but some researchers estimate their number in Sudan for about 5 millions and about three millions in Egypt. |date=2006-05-31}}</ref>
**]: 5+<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/CORRECTION-Census-shows-South,30867|title=CORRECTION: Census shows South Sudan population at 8.2 million: report - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan|website=www.sudantribune.com|language=en|access-date=21 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unsudanig.org/docs/darfur_fact_sheet_v22_5.pdf|title=unsudanig.org|publisher=}}</ref><ref>http://www.darfurcentre.ch/images/00_DRDC_documents/DRDC_Reports_Briefing_Papers/DRDC_Report_on_the_5th_Population_Census_in_Sudan.pdf</ref> **]: 5+<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/CORRECTION-Census-shows-South,30867|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224151231/http://www.sudantribune.com/CORRECTION-Census-shows-South,30867|archive-date=24 December 2010|title=CORRECTION: Census shows South Sudan population at 8.2 million: report – Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan|website=www.sudantribune.com|access-date=21 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unsudanig.org/docs/darfur_fact_sheet_v22_5.pdf|title=unsudanig.org|access-date=10 April 2018|archive-date=12 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112100144/http://www.unsudanig.org/docs/darfur_fact_sheet_v22_5.pdf}}</ref><ref> darfurcentre.ch {{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
**]<ref name="John A. Shoup 2011 p. 333">John A. Shoup, Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East (2011), p. 333, {{ISBN|159884363X}}: "The Zaghawa is one of the major divisions of the Beri peoples who live in western Sudan and eastern Chad, and their language, also called Zaghawa, belongs to the Saharan branch of the Nilo-Saharan language group."</ref> **]<ref name="John A. Shoup 2011 p. 333">{{cite book |first=John A. |last=Shoup |title=Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East |year=2011 |page=333 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-59884-363-7 |quote=The Zaghawa is one of the major divisions of the Beri peoples who live in western Sudan and eastern Chad, and their language, also called Zaghawa, belongs to the Saharan branch of the Nilo-Saharan language group.}}</ref>
**] **]
*] *]
**] **]
***]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/su.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> ***]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sudan/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
| |
;Southeast Africa ;Central Africa
*], ]
**]<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
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**]:5+<ref name="ReferenceC"/><ref name="cia.gov1">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/angola/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-republic-of-the/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
**]<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
**]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/burundi/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
|
;Eastern Africa
*], ]: *], ]:
**]: 5–10 **]: 5–10
**]: 9<ref name="cia.gov2">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> **]: 8+<ref name="cia.gov2">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kenya/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
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**]: 6<ref name="cia.gov2"/> **]: 6+<ref name="cia.gov2"/>
*] *]
**]: 20+<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mlg|title=Malagasy|publisher=}}</ref> **]: 20+<ref name="auto"/>
*], ] *], ]
**]:2<ref name="cia.gov4">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ct.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> **]:2<ref name="cia.gov4">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/central-african-republic/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
**]:1-2<ref name="cia.gov4"/> **]:1–2<ref name="cia.gov4"/>
**]<ref name="cia.gov5">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/od.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> **]<ref name="cia.gov5">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-sudan/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
*] *]
**]:10<ref name="cia.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="cia.gov6">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cd.html |title=The World Factbook |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424020620/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cd.html |archivedate=24 April 2013 }}</ref> **]:10<ref name="cia.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nigeria/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="cia.gov6">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/chad/ |title=The World Factbook |date=22 September 2021 }}</ref>
**]:5 <ref name="cia.gov2"/><ref name="cia.gov3"/> **]:5+<ref name="cia.gov2"/><ref name="cia.gov3"/>
**]:3-4 <ref name="cia.gov6"/><ref name="cia.gov4"/> **]:3–4<ref name="cia.gov6"/><ref name="cia.gov4"/>
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**] <ref name="cia.gov5"/> **]<ref name="cia.gov5"/>
**]<ref name="cia.gov5"/> **]<ref name="cia.gov5"/>
**]<ref name="cia.gov5"/> **]<ref name="cia.gov5"/>
**]:1-2<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.knbs.or.ke/censusethnic.php |title=Archived copy |accessdate=28 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121153548/http://www.knbs.or.ke/censusethnic.php |archivedate=21 November 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelanguagejournal.com/2012/04/maasai-of-kenya-and-tanzania.html|title=The Language Journal: The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania|publisher=}}</ref> **]:1–2<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.knbs.or.ke/censusethnic.php |title=Welcome to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics |access-date=28 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121153548/http://www.knbs.or.ke/censusethnic.php |archive-date=21 November 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thelanguagejournal.com/2012/04/maasai-of-kenya-and-tanzania.html |title=The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania |first=Dine |last=Racoma |website=The Language Journal |date=2012-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428023726/http://www.thelanguagejournal.com/2012/04/maasai-of-kenya-and-tanzania.html |archive-date=2012-04-28}}</ref>
*]
**]
***]: 20+
***]: 5
**]
***]: 10–15
***]: 30–35
*]: 1<ref>{{cite report |url=http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf |title=Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007 Population and Housing Census: Population Size by Age and Sex |access-date=29 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214221803/http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf |archive-date=14 February 2012 |publisher=Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia |date=December 2008 |location=Addis Ababa}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/eritrea/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
**]
**]
**]
**]
*]: 1<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somraf.org/research%20Matrerials/joint%20british%20danish%20dutch%20fact%20finding%20mission%20in%20Nairobi%20-%202001.pdf |title=Report on minority groups in Somalia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021044246/http://www.somraf.org/research%20Matrerials/joint%20british%20danish%20dutch%20fact%20finding%20mission%20in%20Nairobi%20-%202001.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
**]
| |
;Southern Africa ;Southern Africa
*], ] *], ]
**]: 10<ref name=G>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> **]: 10<ref name=G>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-africa/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
**]: 8<ref name=G/> **]: 8<ref name=G/>
**]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Akindipe |first1=Tola |last2=Kakaula |first2=Geofrey |last3=Joné |first3=Alcino |title=Learn Chokwe Language |url=http://chokwe.mofeko.com/ |website=Learn Chokwe (Mofeko)}}</ref>
**]: 7 **]: 7
**]: 5 **]: 5
**]: 12 **]: 12
**]: 4<ref name="G"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bc.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> **]: 4<ref name="G"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
**]: 4<ref name="cia.gov1"/> **]: 4<ref name="cia.gov1"/>
**]: 4<ref name=G/> **]: 4<ref name=G/>
**]: 8<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mi.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> **]: 8<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malawi/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/zambia/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
**]: 8<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mz.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> **]: 8<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mozambique/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
*] *]
**] **]
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***]: 40<ref name="cia.gov"/> ***]: 40<ref name="cia.gov"/>
**]: **]:
***] (Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire): 20–25 ***] (Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire): 11
**] **]
***]: 5 ***]: 5
**] **]
***] (West Africa): 40<ref name="cia.gov"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="cia.gov7">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sg.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref><ref name="cia.gov8">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ga.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> ***] (West Africa): 40<ref name="cia.gov"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="cia.gov7">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/senegal/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="cia.gov8">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gambia-the/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cameroon/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
***]: 8<ref name="cia.gov7"/><ref name="cia.gov8"/> ***]: 8<ref name="cia.gov7"/><ref name="cia.gov8"/>
*] *]
**] **]
***]: 50 <ref name="cia.gov"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> ***]: 50<ref name="cia.gov"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/>
*] *]
**] **]
***]: 10<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="cia.gov6"/> ***]: 10<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="cia.gov6"/>
***]:5<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ml.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=}}</ref> ***]:5<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mali/|title=The World Factbook|date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
***]:5 <ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/> ***]:5<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/>
|} |}


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===General=== ===General===
* ]
* ] * ]
* '']'' * '']''
* ]


===Works=== ===Works===
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===Classifiers=== ===Classifiers===
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
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* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] — via ] * ]


==Notes== ==Notes==
{{reflist}}{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{Reflist}}


==References== ==References==
* Childs, G. Tucker (2003). ''An Introduction to African Languages.'' Amsterdam: John Benjamin. *{{cite book |last=Childs |first=George Tucker |year=2003 |title=An Introduction to African Languages |location=Amsterdam |publisher=John Benjamin |oclc=52766015 |isbn=9781588114211}}
* Chimhundu, Herbert (2002). ''Language Policies in Africa.'' (Final report of the Intergovernmental Conference on Language Policies in Africa.) Revised version. UNESCO. *{{cite conference |last=Chimhundu |first=Herbert |year=2002 |title=Language Policies in Africa |conference=Intergovernmental Conference on Language Policies in Africa |edition=Revised |publisher=UNESCO |location=Harare |url=https://ich.unesco.org/doc/src/00245-EN.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516203511/https://ich.unesco.org/doc/src/00245-EN.pdf |archive-date=2017-05-16}}
* ] (1883). ''Modern Languages of Africa''. *{{cite book |author-link=Robert Needham Cust |last=Cust |first=Robert Needham |year=1883 |title=Modern Languages of Africa}}
* Ellis, Stephen (ed.) (1996). ''Africa Now: People - Policies - Institutions.'' The Hague: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS). *{{cite book |editor-last=Ellis |editor-first=Stephen |year=1996 |title=Africa Now: People, Policies, and Institutions |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS) |isbn=9780435089870}}
* Elugbe, Ben (1998) "Cross-border and major languages of Africa." In K. Legère (editor), ''Cross-border Languages: Reports and Studies, Regional Workshop on Cross-Border Languages, National Institute for Educational Development (NIED), Okahandja, 23–27 September 1996.'' Windhoek: Gamsberg Macmillan. *{{cite book |last=Elugbe |first=Ben | year=1998 |chapter=Cross-border and major languages of Africa |editor-first=K. |editor-last=Legère |title=Cross-border Languages: Reports and Studies, Regional Workshop on Cross-Border Languages, National Institute for Educational Development (NIED), Okahandja, 23–27 September 1996 |location=Windhoek |publisher=Gamsberg Macmillan}}
* Ethnologue.com's : A listing of African languages and language families. * Ethnologue.com's : A listing of African languages and language families.
* Greenberg, Joseph H. (1983). 'Some areal characteristics of African languages.' In Ivan R. Dihoff (editor), ''Current Approaches to African Linguistics'', Vol. 1 (''Publications in African Languages and Linguistics'', Vol. 1), Dordrecht: Foris, 3-21. *{{cite encyclopedia |last=Greenberg |first=Joseph H. |year=1983 |title=Some areal characteristics of African languages |editor-first=Ivan R. |editor-last=Dihoff |encyclopedia=Current Approaches to African Linguistics |series=Publications in African Languages and Linguistics |volume=1 |location=Dordrecht |publisher=Foris |pages=3–21}}
* Greenberg, Joseph H. (1966). '']'' (2nd edition with additions and corrections). Bloomington: Indiana University. *{{cite book |last=Greenberg |first=Joseph H. |year=1966 |title=] |edition=2nd |location=Bloomington |publisher=Indiana University}}
* Heine, Bernd and Derek Nurse (editors) (2000). ''African Languages: An Introduction.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *{{cite book |editor-last1=Heine |editor-first1=Bernd |editor-last2=Nurse |editor-first2=Derek |year=2000 |title=African Languages: An Introduction |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
* Webb, Vic and Kembo-Sure (editors) (1998). ''African Voices: An Introduction to the Languages and Linguistics of Africa.'' Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa. *{{cite book |editor-last1=Webb |editor-first1=Vic |editor2=Kembo-Sure |year=1998 |title=African Voices: An Introduction to the Languages and Linguistics of Africa |location=Cape Town |publisher=Oxford University Press Southern Africa}}
* Westphal, E.O.J. (1963). The Linguistic Prehistory of Southern Africa: Bush, Kwadi, Hottentot, and Bantu Linguistic Relationships. Africa, 33(3), 237-265. doi:10.2307/1157418 *{{cite journal| last=Westphal |first=E.O.J. |year=1963 |title=The Linguistic Prehistory of Southern Africa: Bush, Kwadi, Hottentot, and Bantu Linguistic Relationships |journal=Africa |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=237–265 |doi=10.2307/1157418|jstor=1157418 |s2cid=143635864 }}
* : A listing of the most spoken languages on the African continent.


==External links== ==External links==
* * at Mofeko
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150803022422/http://www.kasahorow.org/ |date=3 August 2015 }}
* *
* *
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{{Nilo-Saharan families}} {{Nilo-Saharan families}}
}} }}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2011}}


{{Authority control}} {{Authority control}}

Latest revision as of 12:08, 19 December 2024

For the 1963 book, see The Languages of Africa.

A rough overview of language families spoken in Africa:   Afroasiatic   Nilo-Saharan (possibly a family)   Niger–Congo (some areas may not belong)       Bantu   Khoisan (not a family)   Indo-European   Austronesian

The number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on the delineation of language vs. dialect) at between 1,250 and 2,100, and by some counts at over 3,000. Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to SIL Ethnologue), one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. The languages of Africa belong to many distinct language families, among which the largest are:

There are several other small families and language isolates, as well as creoles and languages that have yet to be classified. In addition, Africa has a wide variety of sign languages, many of which are language isolates.

Around a hundred languages are widely used for interethnic communication. These include Arabic, Swahili, Amharic, Oromo, Igbo, Somali, Hausa, Manding, Fulani and Yoruba, which are spoken as a second (or non-first) language by millions of people. Although many African languages are used on the radio, in newspapers and in primary-school education, and some of the larger ones are considered national languages, only a few are official at the national level. In Sub-Saharan Africa, most official languages at the national level tend to be colonial languages such as French, Portuguese, or English.

The African Union declared 2006 the "Year of African Languages".

Language groups

Clickable map showing the traditional language families, subfamilies and major languages spoken in Africa

Most languages natively spoken in Africa belong to one of the two large language families that dominate the continent: Afroasiatic, or Niger–Congo. Another hundred belong to smaller families such as Ubangian, Nilotic, Saharan, and the various families previously grouped under the umbrella term Khoisan. In addition, the languages of Africa include several unclassified languages and sign languages.

The earliest Afroasiatic languages are associated with the Capsian culture, the Saharan languages are linked with the Khartoum Mesolithic/Neolithic cultures. Niger-Congo languages are correlated with the west and central African hoe-based farming traditions and the Khoisan languages are matched with the south and southeastern Wilton culture.

Afroasiatic languages

Main article: Afroasiatic languages

Afroasiatic languages are spoken throughout North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia and parts of the Sahel. There are approximately 375 Afroasiatic languages spoken by over 400 million people. The main subfamilies of Afroasiatic are Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Omotic, Egyptian and Semitic. The Afroasiatic Urheimat is uncertain. The family's most extensive branch, the Semitic languages (including Arabic, Amharic and Hebrew among others), is the only branch of Afroasiatic that is spoken outside Africa.

Some of the most widely spoken Afroasiatic languages include Arabic (a Semitic language, and a recent arrival from West Asia), Somali (Cushitic), Berber (Berber), Hausa (Chadic), Amharic (Semitic) and Oromo (Cushitic). Of the world's surviving language families, Afroasiatic has the longest written history, as both the Akkadian language of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egyptian are members.

Nilo-Saharan languages

Main article: Nilo-Saharan languages

Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed grouping of some one hundred diverse languages. Genealogical linkage between these languages has failed to be conclusively demonstrated, and support for the proposal is sparse among linguists. The languages share some unusual morphology, but if they are related, most of the branches must have undergone major restructuring since diverging from their common ancestor.

This hypothetical family would reach an expanse that stretches from the Nile Valley to northern Tanzania and into Nigeria and DR Congo, with the Songhay languages along the middle reaches of the Niger River as a geographic outlier. The inclusion of the Songhay languages is questionable, and doubts have been raised over the Koman, Gumuz and Kadu branches.

Some of the better known Nilo-Saharan languages are Kanuri, Fur, Songhay, Nobiin and the widespread Nilotic family, which includes the Luo, Dinka and Maasai. Most Nilo-Saharan languages are tonal, as are Niger-Congo languages.

Niger–Congo languages

Main article: Niger–Congo languages
Map showing the traditional language families represented in Africa:   Afroasiatic (Semitic-Hamitic)   Austronesian (Malay-Polynesian)   Indo-European   Khoisan Niger-Congo:   Bantu   Central and Eastern Sudanese   Central Bantoid   Eastern Bantoid   Guinean   Mande   Western Bantoid Nilo-Saharan:   Kanuri   Nilotic   Songhai

The Niger–Congo languages constitute the largest language family spoken in West Africa and perhaps the world in terms of the number of languages. One of its salient features is an elaborate noun class system with grammatical concord. A large majority of languages of this family are tonal such as Yoruba and Igbo, Akan and Ewe language. A major branch of Niger–Congo languages is the Bantu phylum, which has a wider speech area than the rest of the family (see Niger–Congo B (Bantu) in the map above).

The Niger–Kordofanian language family, joining Niger–Congo with the Kordofanian languages of south-central Sudan, was proposed in the 1950s by Joseph Greenberg. Today, linguists often use "Niger–Congo" to refer to this entire family, including Kordofanian as a subfamily. One reason for this is that it is not clear whether Kordofanian was the first branch to diverge from rest of Niger–Congo. Mande has been claimed to be equally or more divergent. Niger–Congo is generally accepted by linguists, though a few question the inclusion of Mande and Dogon, and there is no conclusive evidence for the inclusion of Ubangian.

Other language families

Several languages spoken in Africa belong to language families concentrated or originating outside the African continent.

Austronesian

Malagasy belongs to the Austronesian languages and is the westernmost branch of the family. It is the national and co-official language of Madagascar, and a Malagasy dialect called Bushi is also spoken in Mayotte.

The ancestors of the Malagasy people migrated to Madagascar around 1,500 years ago from Southeast Asia, more specifically the island of Borneo. The origins of how they arrived to Madagascar remains a mystery, however the Austronesians are known for their seafaring culture. Despite the geographical isolation, Malagasy still has strong resemblance to Barito languages especially the Ma'anyan language of southern Borneo.

With more than 20 million speakers, Malagasy is one of the most widely spoken of the Austronesian languages.

Indo-European

Afrikaans is Indo-European, as is most of the vocabulary of most African creole languages. Afrikaans evolved from the Dutch vernacular of South Holland (Hollandic dialect) spoken by the mainly Dutch settlers of what is now South Africa, where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century, including the loss of verbal conjugation (save for 5 modal verbs), as well as grammatical case and gender. Most Afrikaans speakers live in South Africa. In Namibia it is the lingua franca. Overall 15 to 20 million people are estimated to speak Afrikaans.

Since the colonial era, Indo-European languages such as Afrikaans, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish have held official status in many countries, and are widely spoken, generally as lingua francas. (See African French and African Portuguese.) Additionally, languages like French, and Portuguese have become native languages in various countries.

French has become native in the urban areas of the DRC, and Gabon.

German was once used in Germany's colonies there from the late 1800s until World War I, when Britain and France took over and revoked German's official status. Despite this, German is still spoken in Namibia, mostly among the white population. Although it lost its official status in the 1990s, it has been redesignated as a national language. Indian languages such as Gujarati are spoken by South Asian expatriates exclusively. In earlier historical times, other Indo-European languages could be found in various parts of the continent, such as Old Persian and Greek in Egypt, Latin and Vandalic in North Africa and Modern Persian in the Horn of Africa.

Small families

The three small Khoisan families of southern Africa have not been shown to be closely related to any other major language family. In addition, there are various other families that have not been demonstrated to belong to one of these families. The classifications below follow Glottolog.

  • Mande, some 70 languages, including the major languages of Mali and Guinea; these are generally thought to be divergent Niger–Congo, but debate persists
  • Ubangian, some 70 languages, centered on the languages of the Central African Republic; may be Niger–Congo
  • Te-Ne-Omotic, some 20 languages, previously classified under Afro-Asiatic, spoken in Ethiopia
  • Khoe-Kwadi, around 10 languages, the primary family of Khoisan languages of Namibia and Botswana
  • Surmic, some 11 languages, previously classified within either Sudanic or Nilo-Saharan
  • Kx'a, around five languages, with various dialects, spoken in Southern Africa
  • South Omotic, around five languages; previously classified within Afro-Asiatic, spoken in Ethiopia
  • Tuu, or Taa-ǃKwi, two surviving languages
  • Hadza, an isolate of Tanzania
  • Bangime, a likely isolate of Mali
  • Jalaa, a likely isolate of Nigeria
  • Sandawe, an isolate of Tanzania
  • Laal, a possible isolate of Chad

Khoisan is a term of convenience covering some 30 languages spoken by around 300,000–400,000 people. There are five Khoisan families that have not been shown to be related to each other: Khoe, Tuu and Kx'a, which are found mainly in Namibia and Botswana, as well as Sandawe and Hadza of Tanzania, which are language isolates. A striking feature of Khoisan languages, and the reason they are often grouped together, is their use of click consonants. Some neighbouring Bantu languages (notably Xhosa and Zulu) have clicks as well, but these were adopted from Khoisan languages. The Khoisan languages are also tonal.

Creole languages

Due partly to its multilingualism and its colonial past, a substantial proportion of the world's creole languages are to be found in Africa. Some are based on Indo-European languages (e.g. Krio from English in Sierra Leone and the very similar Pidgin in Nigeria, Ghana and parts of Cameroon; Cape Verdean Creole in Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau Creole in Guinea-Bissau and Senegal, all from Portuguese; Seychellois Creole in the Seychelles and Mauritian Creole in Mauritius, both from French); some are based on Arabic (e.g. Juba Arabic in the southern Sudan, or Nubi in parts of Uganda and Kenya); some are based on local languages (e.g. Sango, the main language of the Central African Republic); while in Cameroon a creole based on French, English and local African languages known as Camfranglais has started to become popular.

Unclassified languages

Further information: Category:Unclassified languages of Africa

A fair number of unclassified languages are reported in Africa. Many remain unclassified simply for lack of data; among the better-investigated ones that continue to resist easy classification are:

Of these, Jalaa is perhaps the most likely to be an isolate.

Less-well investigated languages include Irimba, Luo, Mawa, Rer Bare (possibly Bantu languages), Bete (evidently Jukunoid), Bung (unclear), Kujarge (evidently Chadic), Lufu (Jukunoid), Meroitic (possibly Afroasiatic), Oropom (possibly spurious) and Weyto (evidently Cushitic). Several of these are extinct, and adequate comparative data is thus unlikely to be forthcoming. Hombert & Philippson (2009) list a number of African languages that have been classified as language isolates at one point or another. Many of these are simply unclassified, but Hombert & Philippson believe Africa has about twenty language families, including isolates. Beside the possibilities listed above, there are:

Roger Blench notes a couple additional possibilities:

Below is a list of language isolates and otherwise unclassified languages in Africa, from Vossen & Dimmendaal (2020:434):

Language Country
Bangi Me Mali
Bayot Senegal
Dompo Ghana
Ega Ivory Coast
Gomba Ethiopia
Gumuz Ethiopia, Sudan
Hadza Tanzania
Irimba Gabon
Jalaa Nigeria
Kujarge Chad
Laal Chad
Lufu Nigeria
Luo Cameroon
Mawa Nigeria
Meyobe Benin, Togo
Mimi of Decorse; Mimi of Nachtigal Chad
Mpra Ghana
Oblo Cameroon
Ongota Ethiopia
Oropom Kenya, Uganda
Rer Bare Ethiopia
Shabo Ethiopia
Weyto Ethiopia
Wutana Nigeria
Yeni Cameroon

Sign languages

See also: List of sign languages § Africa

Many African countries have national sign languages, such as Algerian Sign Language, Tunisian Sign Language, Ethiopian Sign Language. Other sign languages are restricted to small areas or single villages, such as Adamorobe Sign Language in Ghana. Tanzania has seven, one for each of its schools for the Deaf, all of which are discouraged. Not much is known, since little has been published on these languages

Sign language systems extant in Africa include the Paget Gorman Sign System used in Namibia and Angola, the Sudanese Sign languages used in Sudan and South Sudan, the Arab Sign languages used across the Arab Mideast, the Francosign languages used in Francophone Africa and other areas such as Ghana and Tunisia, and the Tanzanian Sign languages used in Tanzania.

Language in Africa

Throughout the long multilingual history of the African continent, African languages have been subject to phenomena like language contact, language expansion, language shift and language death. A case in point is the Bantu expansion, in which Bantu-speaking peoples expanded over most of Sub-Equatorial Africa, intermingling with Khoi-San speaking peoples from much of Southeast Africa and Southern Africa and other peoples from Central Africa. Another example is the Arab expansion in the 7th century, which led to the extension of Arabic from its homeland in Asia, into much of North Africa and the Horn of Africa.

Trade languages are another age-old phenomenon in the African linguistic landscape. Cultural and linguistic innovations spread along trade routes and languages of peoples dominant in trade developed into languages of wider communication (lingua franca). Of particular importance in this respect are Berber (North and West Africa), Jula (western West Africa), Fulfulde (West Africa), Hausa (West Africa), Lingala (Congo), Swahili (Southeast Africa), Somali (Horn of Africa) and Arabic (North Africa and Horn of Africa).

After gaining independence, many African countries, in the search for national unity, selected one language, generally the former Indo-European colonial language, to be used in government and education. However, in recent years, African countries have become increasingly supportive of maintaining linguistic diversity. Language policies that are being developed nowadays are mostly aimed at multilingualism. This presents a methodological complication when collecting data in Africa and limited literature exists. An analysis of Afrobarometer public opinion survey data of 36 countries suggested that survey interviewers and respondents could engage in various linguistic behaviors, such as code-switching during the survey. Moreover, some African countries have been considering removing their official former Indo-European colonial languages, like Mali and Burkina Faso which removed French as an official language in 2024.

Official languages

See also: Languages of the African Union
Official languages in Africa:
  Afrikaans   Portuguese
  Arabic   Spanish
  English   Swahili
  French   other languages
Afroasiatic
Austronesian
Ngbandi creole
French Creole
Indo-European
Niger-Congo
Nilo-Saharan
Language Family Official status per country
Afrikaans Indo-European South Africa
Amharic Afroasiatic Ethiopia
Arabic Afroasiatic Algeria, Comoros, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan,
Berber Afroasiatic Algeria, Morocco, Libya
Chewa Niger-Congo Malawi, Zimbabwe
Comorian Niger-Congo Comoros
Kikongo Niger-Congo Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo
Kinyarwanda Niger-Congo Rwanda
Kirundi Niger-Congo Burundi
Malagasy Austronesian Madagascar
Ndebele Niger-Congo South Africa
Oromo Afroasiatic Ethiopia
Sango French Creole Central African Republic
Sepedi Niger-Congo South Africa
Sesotho Niger-Congo Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Setswana Niger-Congo Botswana, South Africa
Seychelles Creole French Creole Seychelles
Shona Niger-Congo Zimbabwe
Sindebele Niger-Congo Zimbabwe
Somali Afroasiatic Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya
Swahili Niger-Congo Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda
Swati Niger-Congo Eswatini, South Africa
Tigrinya Afroasiatic Ethiopia, Eritrea
Tsonga Niger-Congo Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa
Venda Niger-Congo South Africa, Zimbabwe
Xhosa Niger-Congo South Africa
Zulu Niger-Congo South Africa

Cross-border languages

The colonial borders established by European powers following the Berlin Conference in 1884–1885 divided a great many ethnic groups and African language speaking communities. This can cause divergence of a language on either side of a border (especially when the official languages are different), for example, in orthographic standards. Some notable cross-border languages include Berber (which stretches across much of North Africa and some parts of West Africa), Kikongo (that stretches across northern Angola, western and coastal Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western and coastal Republic of the Congo), Somali (stretches across most of the Horn of Africa), Swahili (spoken in the African Great Lakes region), Fula (in the Sahel and West Africa) and Luo (in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan).

Some prominent Africans such as former Malian president and former Chairman of the African Commission, Alpha Oumar Konaré, have referred to cross-border languages as a factor that can promote African unity.

Language change and planning

Language is not static in Africa any more than on other continents. In addition to the (likely modest) impact of borders, there are also cases of dialect levelling (such as in Igbo and probably many others), koinés (such as N'Ko and possibly Runyakitara) and emergence of new dialects (such as Sheng). In some countries, there are official efforts to develop standardized language versions.

There are also many less widely spoken languages that may be considered endangered languages.

Demographics

Further information: Demographics of Africa

Of the 1 billion Africans (in 2009), about 17 percent speak an Arabic dialect. About 10 percent speak Swahili, the lingua franca of Southeast Africa; about 5 percent speak a Berber dialect; and about 5 percent speak Hausa, which serves as a lingua franca in much of the Sahel. Other large West African languages are Yoruba, Igbo, Akan and Fula. Major Horn of Africa languages are Somali, Amharic and Oromo. Lingala is important in Central Africa. Important South African languages are Sotho, Tswana, Pedi, Venda, Tsonga, Swazi, Southern Ndebele, Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans.

French, English, and Portuguese are important languages in Africa due to colonialism. About 320 million, 240 million and 35 million Africans, respectively, speak them as either native or secondary languages. Portuguese has become the national language of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, and Portuguese is the official language of Mozambique.

Linguistic features

Some linguistic features are particularly common among languages spoken in Africa, whereas others are less common. Such shared traits probably are not due to a common origin of all African languages. Instead, some may be due to language contact (resulting in borrowing) and specific idioms and phrases may be due to a similar cultural background.

Phonological

Some widespread phonetic features include:

  • certain types of consonants, such as implosives (/ɓa/), ejectives (/kʼa/), the labiodental flap and in southern Africa, clicks (/ǂa/, /ᵑǃa/). True implosives are rare outside Africa, and clicks and the flap almost unheard of.
  • doubly articulated labial-velar stops like /k͡pa/ and /ɡ͡ba/ are found in places south of the Sahara.
  • prenasalized consonants, like /mpa/ and /ŋɡa/, are widespread in Africa but not common outside it.
  • sequences of stops and fricatives at the beginnings of words, such as /fsa/, /pta/ and /dt͡sk͡xʼa/.
  • nasal stops which only occur with nasal vowels, such as vs. (but both and ), especially in West Africa.
  • vowels contrasting an advanced or retracted tongue, commonly called "tense" and "lax".
  • simple tone systems which are used for grammatical purposes.

Sounds that are relatively uncommon in African languages include uvular consonants, diphthongs and front rounded vowels

Tonal languages are found throughout the world but are especially common in Africa - in fact, there are far more tonal than non-tonal languages in Africa. Both the Nilo-Saharan and the Khoi-San phyla are fully tonal. The large majority of the Niger–Congo languages are also tonal. Tonal languages are also found in the Omotic, Chadic and South & East Cushitic branches of Afroasiatic. The most common type of tonal system opposes two tone levels, High (H) and Low (L). Contour tones do occur, and can often be analysed as two or more tones in succession on a single syllable. Tone melodies play an important role, meaning that it is often possible to state significant generalizations by separating tone sequences ("melodies") from the segments that bear them. Tonal sandhi processes like tone spread, tone shift, downstep and downdrift are common in African languages.

Syntactic

Widespread syntactical structures include the common use of adjectival verbs and the expression of comparison by means of a verb 'to surpass'. The Niger–Congo languages have large numbers of genders (noun classes) which cause agreement in verbs and other words. Case, tense and other categories may be distinguished only by tone. Auxiliary verbs are also widespread among African languages; the fusing of subject markers and TAM/polarity auxiliaries into what are known as tense pronouns are more common in auxiliary verb constructions in African languages than in most other parts of the world.

Semantic

Quite often, only one term is used for both animal and meat; the word nama or nyama for animal/meat is particularly widespread in otherwise widely divergent African languages.

Demographics

The following is a table displaying the number of speakers of given languages within Africa:

Language Family Native speakers (L1) Official status per country
Abron Niger–Congo 1,393,000 Ghana
Afar Afroasiatic 2,500,000 Spoken in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia
Afrikaans Indo-European 7,200,000 National language in Namibia, co-official in South Africa
Akan Niger–Congo 11,000,000 None. Government sponsored language of Ghana
Amharic Afroasiatic 32,400,000 Ethiopia
Arabic Afroasiatic 150,000,000 but with separate mutually unintelligible varieties Algeria, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania (Zanzibar), Tunisia
Berber Afroasiatic 16,000,000 (estimated) (including separate mutually unintelligible varieties) Morocco, Algeria
Bhojpuri Indo-European 65,300 Spoken in Mauritius
Cape Verdean Creole Portuguese Creole 871,000 National language in Cape Verde
Chewa Niger–Congo 9,700,000 Malawi, Zimbabwe
Comorian Niger–Congo 1,100,000 Comoros
Dangme Niger–Congo 1,020,000 Ghana
Dinka Nilo-Saharan 4,238,400 South Sudan
English Indo-European 6,500,000 (estimated) See List of countries and territories where English is an official language
Fon Niger–Congo 2,300,000 Benin
French Indo-European 1,200,000 (estimated) See List of territorial entities where French is an official language and African French
Fulani Niger–Congo 25,000,000 National language of Senegal
Ga Niger–Congo 745,000 Ghana
German Indo-European National language of Namibia, special status in South Africa
Gikuyu Niger–Congo 8,100,000 Spoken in Kenya
Hausa Afroasiatic 48,637,300 Recognized in Nigeria, Ghana, Niger
Hindi Indo-European Spoken in Mauritius
Igbo Niger–Congo 27,000,000 Native in Nigeria
Italian Indo-European Recognized in Eritrea and Somalia
Kalenjin Nilo-Saharan 6,600,000 Spoken in Kenya and Uganda
Khoekhoe Khoe 200,000 National language of Namibia
Kimbundu Niger–Congo 1,700,000 Angola
Kinyarwanda Niger–Congo 9,800,000 Rwanda
Kirundi Niger–Congo 8,800,000 Burundi
Kituba Kongo-based creole 5,400,000 Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo
Kongo Niger–Congo 5,600,000 Angola, recognised national language of Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo
Lingala Niger–Congo 5,500,000 National language of Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo
Luganda Niger–Congo 4,100,000 Native language of Uganda
Luhya Niger–Congo 6,800,000 Spoken in Kenya
Luo Nilo-Saharan (probable) 5,000,000 Kenya, Tanzania
Malagasy Austronesian 18,000,000 Madagascar
Mauritian Creole French Creole 1,100,000 Native language of Mauritius
Mossi Niger–Congo 7,600,000 Recognised regional language in Burkina Faso
Nambya Niger–Congo 100,000 Zimbabwe
Ndau Niger–Congo 2,400,000 Zimbabwe
Ndebele Niger–Congo 1,100,000 Statutory national language in South Africa
Noon Niger–Congo 33,000 Senegal
Northern Ndebele Niger–Congo 2,600,000 Zimbabwe
Northern Sotho Niger–Congo 4,600,000 South Africa
Nuer Nilo-Saharan 1,700,000 South Sudan
Oromo Afroasiatic 37,071,900 (2020) Ethiopia
Portuguese Indo-European 17,000,000 Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe
Sena Niger–Congo 2,869,000 Zimbabwe
Sepedi Niger–Congo 4,700,000 South Africa
Sesotho Niger–Congo 5,600,000 Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Seychellois Creole French Creole 73,000 Seychelles
Shona Niger–Congo 7,200,000 Zimbabwe
Somali Afroasiatic 21,937,940 Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya
Spanish Indo-European 1,100,000 Equatorial Guinea, Spain (Ceuta, Melilla, Canary Islands), still marginally spoken in Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, recognized in Morocco
Southern Ndebele Niger–Congo 1,100,000 South Africa
Swahili Niger–Congo 50,000,000 Official in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Swazi Niger–Congo 2,300,000 Official in South Africa, Swaziland
Tamil Dravidian Spoken in Mauritius
Telugu Dravidian Spoken in Mauritius
Tigrinya Afroasiatic 7,000,000 Eritrea, regional language in Ethiopia
Tonga Niger–Congo 1,500,000 Zimbabwe
Tsonga Niger–Congo 3,700,000 Zimbabwe
Twi Niger–Congo 630,000 Regional language in Ghana
Tshiluba Niger–Congo 6,300,000 (1991) National language of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tsonga Niger–Congo 5,000,000 South Africa, Zimbabwe (as 'as Shangani'), Mozambique
Tshivenda Niger–Congo 1,300,000 South Africa, Zimbabwe
Tswana Niger–Congo 5,800,000 Botswana, South Africa, spoken in Zimbabwe
Umbundu Niger–Congo 6,000,000 Angola
Venda Niger–Congo 1,300,000 South Africa, Zimbabwe
Wolof Niger–Congo 5,454,000 Lingua franca in Senegal
Xhosa Niger–Congo 7,600,000 South Africa, Zimbabwe
Yoruba Niger–Congo 28,000,000 Nigeria, Benin, Togo
Zulu Niger–Congo 10,400,000 South Africa

By region

Below is a list of the major languages of Africa by region, family and total number of primary language speakers in millions.

North Africa
Central Africa
Eastern Africa
Southern Africa
West Africa

See also

General

Works

Classifiers

Colonial and migratory influences

Notes

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  3. "Ethnologue report for Nigeria". Ethnologue Languages of the World.
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  26. CIA – The World Factbook.
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