Get to Know the Xhosa language and Xhosa culture
The Xhosa language is part of the Nguni branch of the Bantu language family - a branch that also includes Zulu, Southern Ndebele, and Northern Ndebele.
It is an official language in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The majority of Xhosa speakers live in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa, though there also significant populations in Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, and Limpopo.
Why learn the Xhosa language?
There is also a community of 200,000 Xhosa speakers in Zimbabwe, as well as 18,000 in the Quthing District of Lesotho.
It’s estimated that 8.2 million people speak the Xhosa language as a mother tongue, whilst a further 11 million speak it as a second language. It is estimated that around a tenth of basic vocabulary in Xhosa contains a click.
Cover Image
esiKhaleni, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Photo by Joshua Gaunt on Unsplash
Map
By Htonl - Statistics South Africa's Census 2011is the source of the basic population data. The map results from his own processing of the data. For ward boundaries see File:South Africa electoral wards 2011 blank.svg., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28087428
Resources for learning the Xhosa language
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Websites and Courses
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YouTube Channels
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Videos
100 Everyday & Easiest Xhosa Words
Learn Xhosa : Top 50 Phrases & Words
Learn Xhosa : Top Phrases for Travel to South Africa
IsiXhosa phrases to use at the restaurant
Xhosa Click Song Translated into English - UNoNkqayi
Conversational IsiXhosa Lecture Part I
Conversational IsiXhosa Lecture Part II
Conversational IsiXhosa Lecture Part III
Learn to Speak Xhosa (Playlist)
isiXhosa - Full Foundation Phase (Playlist)
isiXhosa - Intermediate Phase (Playlist)
isiXhosa - Immersion Lessons (Playlist)
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Books
by Beverley Kirsch, Sylvia Skorge, and Sindiwe Magona
The English-Afrikaans-Xhosa-Zulu Aid
by Isabel Uys
by Tessa Dowling
Complete Xhosa : A Teach Yourself Guide
by Beverley Kirsch and Silvia Skorge
Inkosana Encinci (The Little Prince in Xhosa)
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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Podcasts
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Articles
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Contact
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