Languages of Africa

A rough overview of language families spoken in Africa:
  Nilo-Saharan (possibly a family)
  Niger–Congo (some areas may not belong)
      Bantu
  Khoisan (not a family)

The number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on the delineation of language vs. dialect) at between 1,250 and 2,100,[1] and by some counts at over 3,000.[2] Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to SIL Ethnologue),[3] one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. The languages of Africa belong to many distinct language families, among which the largest are:

There are several other small families and language isolates, as well as creoles and languages that have yet to be classified. In addition, Africa has a wide variety of sign languages, many of which are language isolates.

Around a hundred languages are widely used for interethnic communication. These include Arabic, Swahili, Amharic, Oromo, Igbo, Somali, Hausa, Manding, Fulani and Yoruba, which are spoken as a second (or non-first) language by millions of people. Although many African languages are used on the radio, in newspapers and in primary-school education, and some of the larger ones are considered national languages, only a few are official at the national level. In Sub-Saharan Africa, most official languages at the national level tend to be colonial languages such as French, Portuguese, or English.[4][5][6]

The African Union declared 2006 the "Year of African Languages".[7]

  1. ^ Heine & Nurse (2000)
  2. ^ Epstein, Edmund L.; Kole, Robert, eds. (1998). The Language of African Literature. Africa World Press. p. ix. ISBN 0-86543-534-0. Retrieved 23 June 2011. Africa is incredibly rich in language—over 3,000 indigenous languages by some counts, and many creoles, pidgins, and lingua francas.
  3. ^ "Ethnologue report for Nigeria". Ethnologue Languages of the World.
  4. ^ Oluwole, Victor (12 September 2021). "A comprehensive list of all the English-speaking countries in Africa". Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  5. ^ Stein-Smith, Kathleen (17 March 2022). "Africa and the French language are growing together in global importance". The Conversation. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  6. ^ Yates, Y. "How Many People Speak Portuguese, And Where Is It Spoken?". Babbel Magazine. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  7. ^ "African Union Summit 2006: Khartoum, Sudan". Southern African Regional Poverty Network. Archived from the original on 30 May 2006.