- Posted by: Roxanne Schillings
- August 20, 2007, 3:20 pm
There are four major language families native to Africa:
* The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million peoplewidespread
throughout East Africa, North Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia.
* The Nilo-Saharan language family consists of more than a hundred languages spoken by 30 million people. Nilo-Saharan languages are mainly spoken in Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
* The Niger-Congo language family covers much of Sub-Saharan Africa and is probably the largest language family in the world in terms of different languages. A substantial number of them are the Bantu languages spoken in much of sub-Saharan Africa.
* The Khoisan languages number about 50 and are spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 120 000 people. Many of the Khoisan languages are endangered.
The Khoi and San peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa.
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About the Author
Roxanne Schillings Hi everybody, I like to introduce myself. My name is Roxanne I am 22 years old. My hobby’s are travel and horseback riding. I have traveled all over Europe. I have been to places you may never have heard of and now I arrived in South-Africa, Cape Town for a once in a life time experience!
Donna
12:49 am, March 15, 2008
We are planning a visit to Africa within 2 to 3 years - in respect of that visit I would like to learn a language or languages, at least partially, to better enjoy our visit - any suggestions?
Landia Davies
10:00 am, March 15, 2008
Well, it really depends where you will be heading… In many African countries English and French are widely spoken. The Khoisan languages are not that common, so either a Bantu or Afro-Asiatic language. Best is probably to start with the language basics in your destination guidebook and work from there. Enjoy your journey.