Classroom lesson 路 Languages馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa

South Africa's eleven languages

Eleven official languages - and most children speak two or three

What is it?

South Africa has eleven official languages - more than almost any other country in the world. Most South African children grow up speaking two or three of them, sometimes switching languages in the middle of a sentence depending on who they are talking to.

Tell me more

The eleven languages are Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Tsonga, Swati, Ndebele and Pedi. Each one has its own sound and its own way of saying hello. In Zulu, hello is 'sawubona'. In Xhosa, it's 'molo'. In Afrikaans, it's 'hallo'. Children often know how to greet a grandparent, a teacher and a friend each in a different language.

Xhosa is one of the world's most musical-sounding languages because it uses 'click' sounds - little sharp clicks made with the tongue. Linguists write these clicks with letters like X, Q and C. The word 'Xhosa' itself starts with a click, made by pulling the tongue down from the roof of the mouth.

A South African classroom may have books in three or four different languages all at the same time. Many schools teach younger children in their home language and then add English as they grow up. By the time a child finishes primary school, they may have studied stories, songs and maths in more than one language.

Speaking more than one language is normal for most people on Earth. About two-thirds of children in the world grow up using two or more languages every day. When you learn a new language, you don't just learn new words - you learn new ways of seeing things, and you make it easier to learn the next one.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01How many languages are spoken between our whole class? Make a list of all the ones we know - even a few words counts.
  2. 02Try saying 'sawubona' (saw-BOH-na), 'molo' (MOH-lo) and 'hallo' out loud. Which feels easiest? Which feels hardest?
  3. 03What might be helpful about being able to switch between languages depending on who you are talking to?
Try this

Classroom activity

Make a class 'wall of hellos'. Each pupil contributes one greeting they know from any language - home, holidays, or just learned. Label each one with the language and a simple pronunciation guide. Try using a different greeting with each other every morning for a week.

More about South Africa

Other things that make South Africa special

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