African languages: Swahili is the most spoken on the continent with over 100 million speakers

[Informer]

How Many Languages of Africa Are There?

Not only is Africa the second most populous continent in the world with over one billion people, but it is also home to the highest linguistic diversity in the world, with over 1,500 different languages.

The principle languages on the continent include Arabic, French and English. Arabic was ranked the 5th most spoken language in the world by research group Ethnologue, with over 240 million speakers worldwide. In Africa, there are more than 100 million speakers, with Egypt accounting for more than 54 million. It is also the most widespread official language on the continent, incluing in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

English reached the 3rd spot as the most spoken language in the world, with over 330 million speakers. It is known as the ‘lingua franca’ of the world, widely used for international business, and is the language of the scientific and medical fields, which use English as a basis for much of the terminology. In Africa, majority of native English speakers are from South Africa, and the language is most spoken in Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

African languages form part of four language groups, namely Afro-Asiatic covering Northern Africa, Central Sahara and the Horn of Africa, Nilo-Saharian covering Central and Eastern Africa, Niger-Congo covering Central, Southern and Eastern Africa and Khoisan, covering the western part of Southern Africa.

Below are top 10 African languages to know when doing business on the continent or enjoying tourist destinations and experiencing diverse cultures on the continent:

SWAHILI/KISWAHILI:

Swahili is the most spoken language in Africa, with over 100 million speakers. It is a Bantu language believed to have originated from other languages, mainly Arabic, due to historical interactions between Arabs from the Middle East and East Africans. Swahili is Tanzania’s official language, as well as the medium of instruction in all schools. It is also Kenya’s official language as well as Uganda. Other Swahili speaking nations include Rwanda, Burundi, southern Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan northern Mozambique and the Comoros Islands. To greet in Swahili, one says, “Jambo”, or “Habari” when greeting an elder.

AMHARIC:

Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia and is the second most spoken language in the country after Oromo, with over 21 million speakers. It is the second most spoken Semitic language in the world after Arabic, and is also the language of over 2 million Ethiopians living outside of the country. The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family originating from the Middle East. Amharic, along with Arabic, Hebrew and Tigrinya, are the most spoken Semitic languages in the world by way of native speakers. It is written in the Ge’ez or Ethiopic script, with over 30 different characters. To say hello in Amharic, one says, “Salam”.

YORUBA:

Yoruba is one of West Africa’s most spoken languages, accounting for over 30 million speakers in Nigeria, Benin and Togo, and it is one of Nigeria’s official languages. It is also widely spoken by West African expats in the US and UK. It is the mother tongue of the Yoruba people in Nigeria, and has over fifteen dialects including Awori, Ijesha, Ilaje and Ila. It is a tonal language with three tones: high, mid and low, and forms part of the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages. To say hello in Yoruba, one says “Bawo”.

OROMO:

Oromo is spoken by over 30 million people in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Egypt. The Oromo people account for more than 40% of the Ethiopian population, and are the largest ethnic group in the country. The writing of the language was forbidden between 1974 and 1991 under the Mengistu regime, even though limited usage of the Ge’ez script was allowed. After 1991, the language adopted the Latin alphabet. It falls under the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. To say hello in Oromo, one says “Akkam”.

HAUSA:

Hausa is one of Nigeria’s official languages, and one of the most spoken Chadic languages on the continent, with over 40 million native and second language speakers. It originated as the language of the Hausa people in northern Nigeria and southern Niger, and soon spread as the lingua franca of western Africa due to trade. It is spoken mainly in northern Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Germany, Ghana, Sudan, Togo and much of North Africa. It uses the Boko and Latin alphabet as its writing system, and is also the basic language for most Muslim populations in western Africa. To say hello in Hausa, one says “Sannu”.

IGBO:

One of Nigeria’s official languages, Igbo is spoken by over 20 million people, with a significant amount of speakers in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The language has more than 20 dialects, with Central Igbo being the most prevalent. The language was made prominent by author Chinua Achebe, who wrote the popular book “Things Fall Apart” and wrote most of his books in Igbo, mirroring and popularizing Igbo culture. It falls under the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages. To say hello in Igbo, one says “Nnoo”.

ISIZULU/ZULU:

IsiZulu, or Zulu, is one of South Africa’s official language, and has over 10 million speakers. It is a member of the Bantu/Nguni family of languages, and is spoken mainly in eastern South Africa. It is the second most widely spoken Bantu language, after Shona, and is written using the Latin alphabet. It is characterized by unique click sounds within the dialect as a result of influence from the Khoisan language. To say hello in Zulu, one says “Sawubona”.

SHONA:

Shona is the most spoken language in Zimbabwe, with over 10 million speakers in a population of over 14 million. It is Bantu language from the Bantu/Nguni family of languages, and has speakers in Botswana and Mozambique. It is the principle language of Zimbabwe, along with Ndebele and English. To say hello in Shona, one says “Mhoro”.

PORTUGUESE:

Portuguese is the official language of six African states, including Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Sao Tome e Principe and Equatorial Guinea. These states are also referred to as Lusophone Africa. Portuguese has become a post-colonial language in Africa and one of the working languages of the African Union and the Southern African Development Community. It coexists on the continent with indigenous languages, mainly the Niger-Congo family languages in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau and Portuguese-based creoles in Guinea. There are approximately 14 million people who use Portuguese as their mother tongue on the continent, and over 30 million secondary speakers. To say hello in Portuguese, one says “Olá”.

FRENCH:

Twenty-six African states form part of Francophone Africa, forming part of the top French-speaking countires on the continent. There are over 120 million French speakers who use the language as their mother tongue or secondary language. The highest percentage of people who speak French are from Gabon, Mauritius, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Sao Tome e Principe, Tunisia, Guinea, Seychelles, Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea. The second largest French speaking country is Algeria, with over 50 percent of the population being French speakers. Much of the central and western Africa states form part of Francophone Africa, including Morocco, Mauritania, Rwanda, Comoros and Djibouti. To say hello in French, one says “Bonjour”.

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Other widely spoken languages of Africa include Berber, which is a popular dialect in North Africa, specifically in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Mali and Egypt, with approximately 20 million speakers; Somali, which is a Cushitic language spoken in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya by approximately 20 million speakers; Fulani, which is widely spoken in western and Central Africa by approximately 18 million speakers; Rundi from Burundi which is spoken by over 10 million people; Kinyarwanda in Rwanda which is spoken by over 10 million speakers and Tigrinya, which has over 6 million speakers in Central Eritrea and Sudan. Chichewa is popular in Malawi with over 6 million speakers, and Spanish is also spoken in Equatorial Guinea by over 600,000 people.

 

[shonkoso]

Huyo mwenyewe katumia English,siyo vibaya kujua lugha nyingi,kutokana na mazingira watanzani wengi wanajua kiswahili,kwa hiyo inabidi waweke mkazo kwenye lugha zaingine za kimataifa

 

[Michael Amon]

Waswahili wanasema "Jasiri haachi asili na akiachaye asili ujue hana akili." Jivunie lugha yako ya asili na uache kushabikia lugha za wenzako na ndio maana hata waswahili wanasema "Usiache mbachao kwa msala upitao." Chako ni bora zaidi kuliko cha kuazima.

 

[Nyagei]

Tena siku hizi kuna baadhi ya filamu ndani yake wanatumia lugha ya kiswahili

 

[bwii]

Kwa nn kiswahili kimepenya zaid kwa majirani zetu kuliko lugha zao kuathiri kiswahil.? Mfano mashariki ya DRC wanaongea sana kiswahil zaid ya watu wetu wa mikoa ya magharibi kuongea lingala ama french

 

[Dr.adams faida]

Mbaya zaidi kinatambulika kiswahili kimetokea kenya,
Ndio maana wakenya wanachuliwa wengi sana kwenda kufundisha kiswahili kwenye nchi za wenzetu hii ni kwa sababu sisi watanganyika tumekiharibu kwa kutumia maneno ya mitaani na kiswa-nglish.
Leo wakenya mpaka wanatuzidi kuongea kiswahili fasaha.

 

[Abuhunna]

Sio kweli, lugha inayoongoza kusemwa na wengi barani afrika ni kiarabu, japokuwa wengi watalishangaa hilo

 

[niah]

Umesahau kutupa idadi ya wazungumzaji wa kiarabu katika Afrika. I cant beleave countries like Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and the rest can fail to make more than 100 millions of people to lead the group.

If that was the case, Swahili would have been one of Seven Languages spoken in the UN or recognised by UN as major languages in the world.

 

[Sky Eclat]

Tumechelewa, world wide inajulikana Kiswahili ni official language ya Kenya.

 

[actor]

Sio kweli, lugha inayoongoza kusemwa na wengi barani afrika ni kiarabu, japokuwa wengi watalishangaa hilo

Ni kweli mimi nashangaa wanaposema ni kiswahili na pia wala si ya pili.....hebu tuanzie hapa:

Hoja hii ilipelekwa OAU wakati huo...fuatilieni ilishindikana vipi ndipo mtapata jibu.
Mimi nakipenda sana Kiswahili na kwa sasa lugha hii inakua kwa kasi.

 

[Daby]

mkuu huo utafiti wa wapi? the most spoken language in africa ni arabic .17 % of the population speak arabic while only 10% speak swahili. angalia vizuri

 

[Lyamber]

Kiswahili gani kinazungumzwq huko ethiopia?

 

[SHAMAC]

Asante, bora wewe usiye boya kushobokea lugha isiyokusaidia popote zaidi ya kuimba taarab. Wanakuja wakenya, wazambia na wamalawi wanapata kazi za maana nchini kwa umahiri wa lugha ya kiingereza na ww unaona sawa. Tukienda ughaibuni aibu inatukumba na bado unaona sawa tu.

Utaumbuka vipi sasa kwa kuongea lugha ya Taifa lako ughaibuni,,,?? Ongea kilicho chako kwa watu,, huo ndio uzalendo... unazani watakuona mjanja kuikweza lugha yao yako unaiground,,,, watakuona boya tyu kama nlivokuita mwanzo

 

[Michewen]

mkuu huo utafiti wa wapi? the most spoken language in africa ni arabic .17 % of the population speak arabic while only 10% speak swahili. angalia vizuri

Wanaozungumza kiswahili wenyewe wachovu wanatenga Bajeti kiduchu kwenye Elimu. Ukilinganisha na lugha nyinginezo za asili barani. Toa hoja epuka mitusi haijengi.

 

[Daby]

Wanaozungumza kiswahili wenyewe wachovu wanatenga Bajeti kiduchu kwenye Elimu. Ukilinganisha na lugha nyinginezo za asili barani. Toa hoja epuka mitusi haijengi.

Mkuu sijatukana mimi na sijawahi kutukana jf.

Nachpinga ni takwimu. Lugha inatozungumzwa saana bara ni africa ni kiarabu na sio kiswahili. Mtoa mada katudanganya
Informer

 

[LightYagami]

Kiswahili gani kinazungumzwq huko ethiopia?

Sana sana southern parts za Ethiopia zinazopakana na Kenya.

 

[jerrytz]

Hollywood wameshatumia sana
Jambo, Hakuna Matata na Karibu.

Tena siku hizi kuna baadhi ya filamu ndani yake wanatumia lugha ya kiswahili

 

[Mchanya]

Mleta mada sina hakika kama ulichofanya kama ni copy and paste au umeandika mwenyewe kutoka moyoni mwako? maana baadhi ya taarifa zako si sahihi kabisa na ni za kupotosha, mfano hii; To greet in Swahili, one says, “Jambo”, or “Habari” when greeting an elder."

Sisi kama 'waswahili' hatusalimiani kwa kusema "Jambo" , hebu jaribu kupita mtaani au kwa jamaa zako wawili watatu, halafu wasalimu kwa kuwaambia "Jambo!", uone watakavyokushangaa. "Jambo" ni mzizi wa salam yenyewe ambazo ni "Hujambo?", "Hamjambo?", "Hajambo?" au "Hawajambo?", huwezi kuwasalimia watu kwa kuwaambia "Jambo". Tena unapowasalimu watu kwa kuwaambia "Jambo?" hasa kama wafanyavyo wazungu au wageni wengine wasiojua Kiswahili, ni kuwathibitishia wenyeji kwamba wewe huji Kiswahili.

Pia si sahihi kusema kwamba ETI salamu ya "Habari" inatumika kwa mzee??!!! Hii ndio leo naisikia!!

 

[Zamiluni Zamiluni]

Tumechelewa, world wide inajulikana Kiswahili ni official language ya Kenya.

Ahsante Kenya ushatuwahi.. na kilimanjaro ni mlima wenu tena... masikini TZ !!

 

[albuluushiy]

Sio kweli, lugha inayoongoza kusemwa na wengi barani afrika ni kiarabu, japokuwa wengi watalishangaa hilo

ni kiarabu tu hakina mwengine