Languages of Mozambique

Languages of Mozambique
AIDS awareness sign in the Machaze District in Ndau and Portuguese
OfficialPortuguese
RecognisedMakhuwa, Sena, Tsonga, Lomwe, Shona
IndigenousBarwe, Chewa, Chichopi, Chitonga, Chuwabu, Dema, Gitonga, Kimwani, Koti, Kunda, Maindo, Makonde, Makwe, Manyika, Nathembo, Ndau, Ngoni, Nsenga, Nyungwe, Phimbi, Ronga, Sena, Swahili, Swati, Tawara, Tewe, Tswa, Yao
VernacularMozambican Portuguese
ImmigrantEnglish, Punjabi, Hindi
ForeignEnglish
SignedMozambican Sign Language
Keyboard layout
Portuguese QWERTY
Local newspaper in Portuguese.

Mozambique is a multilingual country. A number of Bantu languages are indigenous to Mozambique. Portuguese, inherited from the colonial period (see: Portuguese Mozambique), is the official language, and Mozambique is a full member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.[1] Ethnologue lists 43 languages spoken in the country.

According to INE, the National Institute of Statistics of Mozambique, Portuguese is the most widely spoken language in Mozambique: according to the 2007 national population and housing census, 50.4% of the national population aged 5 and older (80.8% of people living in urban areas and 36.3% in rural areas) are fluent in the language. The 2017 national population and housing census found out that Portuguese is spoken by 47.4% of all Mozambicans aged 5 and older, with native speakers making up 16.6%[2] of the population (38.3% in the cities and 5.1% in rural areas, respectively)

Portuguese is spoken as a native language by around 50% of the population in Maputo.[3]

Mozambique has 22 Bantu origin languages which are: Swahili, Makhuwa, Sena, Ndau, Tswa-Ronga (Tsonga), Lomwe, Ekoti, Nahara, Makonde, Chopi, Chuwabu, Ronga, Kimwani, Nhungwe, Chimanika, Shona, Chiyao, Chichewa, Bitonga, Ngoni, Tswa and Chitewe.[4] The language of the deaf community is Mozambican Sign Language.[4]

Small communities of Arabs, Chinese, and Indians (primarily the Gujarati language) speak their own languages (Indians from Portuguese India speak any of the Portuguese Creoles of their origin) aside from Portuguese as their second language.[4]

Article 9 of Mozambique's constitution provides for the recognition of national languages and that such languages be considered of "cultural and educational heritage" and that the state "shall promote their development and increasing use as languages that convey our identity". Portuguese is deemed the country's official language by article 10.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference brit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Censo 2017 Brochura dos Resultados Definitivos do IV RGPH - Nacional [2017 Census IV RGPH Definitive Results Brochure - National] (in Portuguese), Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Mozambique)
  3. ^ Torun, Reite (February 2020). "Language and spatiality in urban Mozambique: Ex-colonial language spread "from below"". Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference e was invoked but never defined (see the help page).