South Africa Languages

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In other languages: English | Afrikaans

Africa

South Africa

Languages

Task List

Description

South Africa has 11 official languages:

1. Ndebele
2. Northern Sotho
3. Sotho
4. SiSwati
5. Tsonga
6. Tswana
7. Venda
8. Xhosa
9. Zulu
10. Afrikaans
11. South African English

Unofficial languages include SiPhuthi, SiHlubi, SiBhaca, SiLala, SiNhlangwini ("IsiZansi"), SiNrebele (SiSumayela), IsiMpondro, Khoekhoegowab, !Orakobab, Xirikobab, N|uuki, !Xunthali, Khwedam, KheLobedu, SePulana, HiPai, SeKutswe, SeṰokwa, SiThonga, SiLaNgomane, SheKgalagari, XiRonga and others.

Word List(s)

• Afrikaans Genealogical Word List

• Tsonga

• Swati (siSwati)

• Tswana (Setswana)

• Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa / Sepedi)

• Ndebele

• Sotho

• Tswana

• SiSwati

• Tsonga

• Venda

• Xhosa

• Zulu

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Ndebele Alphabet

Letter Pronunciation A a in father E e in bed I ee in see O o in bone U oo in soon c click as in a clucking sound q click as in the sound of the pop heard when uncorking a bottle x click made by placing touching the gums with the tongue and the back of the tongue touching the soft palate Venda Alphabet The letters C, J, and Q are used when writing foreign words and names. letter(s) value(s) in IPA notes a [a] b [b] bv [b̪v] bw [bɣw] or [bj] Varies by dialect d [d] dz [d͡z] dzh [d͡ʒ] Like the English "j" dzw [d͡zw] ḓ [d̪] e [ɛ], [e] f [f] fh [ɸ] g [ɡ] h [ɦ], [h] Pronounced h] before e. hw [ɣw] i [i] k [kˀ] kh [kʰ] khw [kʰw] l [ɭ] ḽ [l̪] m [m], [m̩] M is syllabic, [m̩], when the next syllable begins with m. n [n], [n̩] N is syllabic, when the next syllable begins with n. ng [ŋɡ] ny [ɲ] nz [nd͡z] ṋ [n̪] ṅ [ŋ] ṅw [ŋw] o [ɔ], [o] p [pˀ] ph [pʰ] pf [p̪f] pfh [p̪fʰ] r [ɾ] s [s] sh [ʃ] sw [ʂ] t [tˀ] th [tʰ] ts [t͡s] tsh [t͡ʃʰ] tsw [t͡sw] ty [c] ṱ [t̪] ṱh [t̪h] u [u] v [v] vh [β] w [w] x [x] Like the ch in Scottish 'loch.' y [j] z [z] zh [ʒ] zw [ʐ] Northern Sotho Alphabet Letter Pronunciation a similar to "i" in kite e similar to "ee" in feet ê similar to "a" in care or "e" in bed i similar to "i" in pick o similar to "o" in tool ô similar to "oo" in door š similar to "sh" u similar to "u" in put Sotho (Sesotho) Alphabet Letter Pronunciation a "a" as in far b "b" as in able d "d" as in doll e "e" as in we or "ai" as in heir f "f" as in after g guttural like in loch h "h" as in hand i "i" as in it j "ch" as in chunk k "ck" as in back l "l" as in lay m "m" as in him n "n" as in hand o "o" as in fort o "au" as in cause p "p" as in lip r "r" as in red s "ss" as in dress t "t" as in tin u "u" as in bull bj "b" in bed + "y" in you fj "f" in far + "y" in you hl "Ll in Welsh Llewellyn kg "c" in cat + guttural as in loch ng "ng" in linger ny "ny" in Kenya nq nasal click pj "p" in cup + "y" in you sj "sh" in shoot tj "ch" in chunk tl "tl" in little ts "ts" in sits kh "ki" in kindle ph "p" in pull pjh "p" in cup + "y" in you + a qh an aspirated click th "t" in till tjh "ch" in chunk tlh "t" in cat + "Ll" in Welsh Llewellyn tsh "ch" in change y "y" in you w "w" in water Tswana (Setswana) Alphabet Letter Pronunciation a as in 'car' e as in 'let' g an 'h' sound deep in your throat, like the end of "loch" i as in 'meet' kg k + an 'h' sound deep in your throat kh k + some air o as in 'go' ph p + some air th t + some air (NOT like English "th") ny think of isolating the 'ny' in 'canyon' tl think of isolating the 'tl' in 'Atlanta' tlh 'tl' + some air ts hink of isolating the 'ts' in 'itself' tsh 'ts' + some air nts n + 'ts' sound u as in 'school' Xhosa Alphabet Letter Pronunciation a ah e egg i ink o or u goo ng linger ny Kenya ts sits tsh chair Zulu Alphabet Letter Pronunciation A as in father B as in bay C as in chay D as in day E as in elephant F as in fine G as in gold I 'ee' as in meat J as in job K as in kitchen L as in life M as in man N as in nice O as in olive P as in pool Q as in kiss R as in rice S as in smile T as in time U 'oo' as in mood V f as in free W as in wind X as in wax Y as in year Z as in Zulu Afrikaans Alphabet Letter IPA English Approximation Example Word a ʌ, a, ɑː plus, jump, awesome kap aa ɑː awesome daad aai aːɪ why laai ai aɪ thai baie au ou goat auditorium b b, p (final position) bat, mapp bevat ch x loch chemie c s (before e, i, and y), k sun, kick Celsius d d, t (final position) dark, hat daar dj c no English approximation djihad e ɛ, iˑǝ, ə, æ bed, erie, about, cat bed ê ɛː (final position), æ hair, cat hê ee iˑe eerie een eeu iːu east + took leeu ei əi play seil ey əi play ceylon eu øː few euforie f f fox familie g x, g, ç loch, golf, hue geld gh g, k (final position) golf, kick gholf h h high hoe i i, ə see, about idee ie i see dankie j j yes ja k k kick kat l l let lughawe m m mall maak n n, ŋ (before c, k, q, and x) nice, sing van ng ŋ sing vang ns the n is silent, and the previous vowel is nasalized no English approximation Afrikaans o ɔ, oˑǝ bog, wisdom obligasie ô ɔ cause môre oe u loot voet oei uiː phooey koei oi oj row + yes boikot oo uˑo loot soom ooi ɔiː oil strooi ou ɔʊ tow mou p p map paar r ɾ rolled r rooi s s sun sein sj ʃ shin sjoe t t top taal tj tʃ (initial position), kj top + shin, kick + yes tjek u ɵ urn uit uu y breed duur û œː no English approximation brûe ui œy play lui uy œy urn + east ly v f fox voël w v, w (after consonant) visit, winter water y əi play ys z z zulu zirkonium Language Aids and Dictionaries Ndebele Ndebele-English Online Talking Dictionary The Ndebele Dictionary and Encyclopedia English North Ndebele Dictionary Online Learn Ndebele Useful Phrases in Northern Ndebele isiNdebele for Beginners Learn Ndebele Learn Ndebele 0.0.1 iitranslation: English-Ndebele Ndebele for Beginners Northern Sotho Northen Sotho Language African Languages Northern Sotho Useful Phrases in Northern Sotho Northern Sotho: Oxford Living Dictionaries English-Northern Sotho Dictionary Online English Northern Sotho Dictionary Learn to Speak an African Language Sotho, Sesotho, Basotho or Southern Sotho Sotho Language Southern Sotho Useful Sesotho Phrases About the Southern Sesotho Language Learn to Speak African Languages iiTranslation: Sesotho Guide to Phrase Translation from English to Sesotho English-Southern Sesotho Dictionary Online English-Sesotho Dictionaries, common words and phrases SiSwati, Swazi or Swati Swazi Language Useful Phrases in Swati Learn SiSwati 21 Essential SisWati Phrases Swazi Phrasebook South African Languages- a Quick Guide Learn SiSwati Top Resources for Learning SiSwati iiTranslation: SiSwati Tswana or Setswana Tswana Language Useful Phrases in Tswana Setswana Language Lessons Tswana Phrasebook Setswan- Oxford Living Dictionaries English Tswana Dictionary Online Free Setswana Lessons Online Venda or Tshivenda Venda Language Venda Language Useful Phrases in Venda African Languages- Venda Tshivenda is Learned iiTranslation- Tshivenda English-Venda Dictionary Online Talkvenda Xhosa or isiXhosa Xhosa Language Xhosa History of Xhosa Language isiXhosa- Oxford Living Dictionary English-Xhosa Dictionary Online Xhosa Word List for Beginners Learn Xhosa Learn Xhosa Free Online Learn Xhosa Zulu or Isizulu Zulu Language Zulu Dictionary Learn Zulu Free Zulu Lessons Online Learn Zulu Learning the Zulu Language Afrikaans Afrikaans Tutorial Learn Afrikaans Additional Resources Ndebele or IsiNdebele Pelling, J. N. A practical Ndebele dictionary. Ardbennie, Harare: Longman Zimbabwe, 2001. Available at: WorldCat. Oxford first bilingual dictionary : IsiNdebele + English. Cape Town, South Africa: Oxford University Press Southern Africa, 2009. Available at: WorldCat. Northern Sotho Kriel, T. J. The new English-Northern Sotho dictionary : English-Northern Sotho, Northern Sotho-English. South Africa: Educum, King William's Town, 1991. Available at: WorldCat. Louwrens, L. J. Dictionary of Northern Sotho grammatical terms. Global, Cape Town, London: Nasou, 2004. Available at: WorldCat. Kriel, T. J, D. J. Prinsloo, and B. P. Sathekge. Popular Northern Sotho dictionary : Northern Sotho-English, English-Northern Sotho. Cape Town: Pharos, 2007. Available at: WorldCat. Grobler, G. M. English, Northern Sotho, Afrikaans. Parklands, South Africa: Ad Donker Publisher, 1991. Available at: WorldCat. Learner's English-North Sotho dictionary. Alberton: Librarius, 1985. Available at: WorldCat. Orr, Gregory John, and Carol Myers-Scotton. Learning Chicheŵa : a Peace Corps language course. East Lansing, Mich., U.S.A.: The Center, 1980. Available at: WorldCat. Sotho Hartshorne, K. B. Dictionary of basic English--Southern Sotho. Johannesburg: Educum Publishers, 1985. Available at: WorldCat. Beachst, P. -D, and D. F. Gowlett. Southern Sotho dictionary. Goodwood: Audiovista Productions, 1980. Available at: WorldCat. SiSwati Rycroft, D. K. Concise siSwati dictionary : siSwati-English/English-siSwati. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik, 1995. Available at: WorldCat. Oxford first bilingual dictionary : Siswati + English. Cape Town, South Africa: Oxford University Press Southern Africa, 2009. Available at: WorldCat. Whelton, M. J. SiSwati-English dictionary. Swaziland, Centurion, South Africa: RedOystor Media (Pty) Ltd, 2016. Available at: WorldCat. Tswana Parker, Philip M. Webster's Tswana - English thesaurus dictionary. San Diego, CA: ICON Group International, Inc, 2008. Available at: WorldCat. Le Roux, J. C. The concise trilingual pocket dictionary : English, Tswana, Afrikaans = Die kort drietalige sakwoordeboek : Afrikaans, Tswana, English. Jeppestown: Ad Donker, 1996. Available at: WorldCat. Learner's English-Tswana dictionary. Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa: Librarius, 1986. Available at: WorldCat. Venda van Warmelo, Nicolaas J. Venda dictionary : Tshivenda-English. Pretoria: Van Schaik, 1989. Available at: WorldCat. Van Warmelo, N. J. Venda dictionary. Pretoria: Van Schaik, 1989. Available at: WorldCat. Wentzel, P. J, and T. W. Muloiwa. Venda : Afrikaans-English. Improved trilingual dictionary. n.p.: University of South Afrika, 1982. Available at: WorldCat. Xhosa Nabe, H. L, P. W. Dreyer, and G. L. Kakana. Xhosa dictionary : English, Xhosa, Afrikaans : xhosa, English, Afrikaans. Johannesburg: Educum, 1991. Available at: WorldCat. Nabe, H. Xhosa dictionary. n.p.: n.p., 1991. Available at: WorldCat. Fischer, A. English-Xhosa dictionary. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 2012. Available at: WorldCat. Zulu Dent, G. R, and C. L. Sibusiso Nyembezi. Scholar's Zulu dictionary : English-Zulu, Zulu-English. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter and Shooter, 2009. Available at: WorldCat. Dent, G. R, and C. L. Sibusiso Nyembezi. Compact Zulu dictionary : English-Zulu, Zulu-English. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter, 1995. Available at: WorldCat. Mawadza, Aquilina, and Hloniphani Ndebele. Zulu dictionary & phrasebook : Zulu-English, English-Zulu. New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc, 2017. Available at: WorldCat. Afrikaans Nabe, H. L, P. W. Dreyer, and G. L. Kakana. Xhosa dictionary : English, Xhosa, Afrikaans : xhosa, English, Afrikaans. Johannesburg: Educum, 1991. Available at: WorldCat. South African Catholic Bishops' Conference. Church dictionary. n.p.: K.A.S, 1970. Available at: WorldCat. Oxford first bilingual dictionary : Afrikaans + English. Cape Town, South Africa: Oxford University Press Southern Africa, 2007. Available at: WorldCat. References