Eswatini
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...
is home to two official languages. The native language is
Siswati
Swazi or siSwati is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 4.7 million including first and second langua ...
. Recent immigrant languages include
Chichewa
Chewa ( ; also known as Nyanja ) is a Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Zambia and Mozambique. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for languages, so the language is often called or Chinyanja. In Malawi, the name wa ...
, Tsonga, Zulu.
National and official languages
Siswati
Swazi or siSwati is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 4.7 million including first and second langua ...
, a
Southern Bantu
The Southern Bantu or siNtu languages are a large group of Bantu languages, largely validated in Janson (1991/92).Tore Janson (1991-92) "Southern Bantu and Makua", ''Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika'' (''SUGIA'') Vol. 12/13: 63-106, Rüdiger Köp ...
language, is the native language of Eswatini, and is spoken by approximately 95 percent of Swazis. Siswati and English are the country's two official languages, and proceedings of the
Parliament of Eswatini
The Parliament of Eswatini () consists of two chambers:
*The Senate (Upper Chamber) (Indlu yeTimphunga)
*The House of Assembly (Lower Chamber)
The Houses of Parliament are located in Lobamba.
It was established in 1967 when the Legislative Co ...
take place in both languages.
Swazi
language education
Language education refers to the processes and practices of teaching a second language, second or foreign language. Its study reflects interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary approaches, usually including some applied linguistics. There are f ...
is present in all national schools, and literacy in Swati — defined as the ability to read and write the language — is very high in Eswatini. Siswati is also used in mass media.
Minority and immigrant languages
A minority of
Swazi people
The Swati or Swazi ( Swati: ''Emaswati'', singular ''Liswati'') are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, inhabiting Eswatini, a sovereign kingdom in Southern Africa, and South Africa's Mpumalanga province. EmaSwati are part of the ...
, estimated to number 76,000 , speak
Zulu, one of
the eleven official languages of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
Tsonga
Tsonga may refer to:
* Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa
* Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa.
* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) ...
, a
Tswa–Ronga language and also an official language of South Africa, is spoken by 19,000 Swazis ().
Chewa
Chewa may refer to:
*the Chewa people
*the Chewa language
Chewa ( ; also known as Nyanja ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Zambia and Mozambique. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for lang ...
, an official language of
Malawi
Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...
, and
Sotho Sotho may refer to:
*Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana
*Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an offi ...
(Sesotho or Southern Sotho), spoken mainly in
Lesotho
Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...
and the South African province of
Free State, are immigrant languages with 5,700 and 4,700 speakers respectively.
Shimaore is also an immigrant language and is spoken by 600 inhabitants.
See also
*
Languages of Lesotho
*
Languages of Mozambique
Mozambique is a multilingual country. A number of Bantu languages are indigenous to Mozambique. Mozambican Portuguese, Portuguese, inherited from the colonial period (''see: Portuguese Mozambique''), is the official language, and Mozambique is a ...
*
Languages of South Africa
At least thirty-five languages are spoken in South Africa, twelve of which are official languages of South Africa: Southern Ndebele language, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Pedi, Sotho language, Sotho, South African Sign Language, Swazi language, ...
Notes
References
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{{Africa topic, Languages of