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.

Looking out over Cape Town, South Africa from a mountain
A stunning coastline with cliffs and waves in South Africa

Speakers :

19.2 million

Where :

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho

Dialects :

Mpondo, Xesibe, Bomvana, Ngcika, Gcaleka, Thembu, Mpondomise, Ndlambe, Hlubi

Map of South Africa showing where the Xhosa language is spoken
 

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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