Languages of South Africa

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South Africa is a linguistically diverse country and has twelve official languages: Ndebele, Sepedi, Sotho, South African Sign Language, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, and English, which is the primary language used in parliamentary and state discourse, though all official languages are equal in legal status. All of the indigenous African languages with official status—that is, all official languages except Afrikaans and English—are Bantu languages. The eleven official spoken languages were first recognised in the 1996 constitution of South Africa. South African Sign Language was recognised as the twelfth official language of South Africa by the National Assembly on 3 May 2023. Unofficial languages are protected under the Constitution of South Africa, though few are mentioned by any name. Unofficial and marginalised languages include indigenous African non-Bantu languages, such as Khoekhoegowab, !Orakobab, Xirikobab, Nǀuuki, ǃXunthali, and Khwedam, as well as Bantu...

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