| Languages of Zimbabwe | |
|---|---|
| Official | Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, Sign Language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa |
| Main | Shona (~40%), Ndebele (~35%), English (L1 <15%, L2 ~89%) |
| Signed | Zimbabwean sign languages, American Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | QWERTY (US) |
Contents
What language was spoken in Great Zimbabwe?
Standard Shona
Standard Shona is based on the dialect spoken by the Karanga people of Masvingo Province, the region around Great Zimbabwe, and Zezuru people of central and northern Zimbabwe. However, all Shona dialects are officially considered to be of equal significance and are taught in local schools.
Is Zulu spoken in Zimbabwe?
The next most widely spoken language in Zimbabwe is Shona, with 70% of the population considering it to be their mother tongue.As such, Ndebele is strongly related to South Africa’s Zulu language, and is a dialect of sorts.
How many Zimbabweans speak English?
Just under 5 percent of Zimbabweans are native English speakers and 89 percent of the population can speak English fluently or at a high level, second only to the Seychelles (93 percent) amongst African nations.
Do they speak Afrikaans in Zimbabwe?
Today, Afrikaans is spoken by a small minority of Zimbabweans, less than one percent of the population and the number of whom has declined significantly since 1980. Today’s, Afrikaans speakers in Zimbabwe are typically recent Afrikaner immigrants from South Africa or their descendants.
How many languages are spoken in Zimbabwe?
16 official languages
Many languages are spoken, or historically have been spoken, in Zimbabwe. Since the adoption of its 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa.
Who speaks the Shona language?
Zimbabwe
Shona is a language from the Bantu family and is spoken in Zimbabwe. It is the mother tongue of 75% of the people of Zimbabwe.
Where is Tonga spoken in Zimbabwe?
Zambia
Tonga (Chitonga), also known as Zambezi, is a Bantu language primarily spoken by the Tonga people who live mainly in the Southern and Western provinces of Zambia, and in northern Zimbabwe, with a few in Mozambique.
Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe)
| Tonga | |
|---|---|
| Zambezi | |
| iSitonga | |
| Native to | Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Ethnicity | Tonga, Kafwe Twa? |
How do you say hello in Zimbabwe?
A collection of useful phrases in Shona, a Bantu language spoken mainly in Zimbabwe.
Useful Shona phrases.
| English | chiShona (Shona) |
|---|---|
| Hello (General greeting) | Mhoro (sg) Mhoroi (pl) |
| How are you? | Wakadini zvako? (sg) Makadini zvenyu? (pl) |
Where is Sotho spoken in Zimbabwe?
Northern Sotho is one of three Sesotho subgroups of Basotho. The two others are Western Sotho (better known as Setswana, which is largely spoken in Botswana), North West Province, a small number of people in Matebeland Province of Zimbabwe and Southern Sotho (spoken in Lesotho, Free State, and Vaal).
Is Swahili spoken in Zimbabwe?
Swahili is a language spoken mostly in East and Central African countries while Shona is spoken in Zimbabwe.
How many languages are spoken in Ethiopia?
There are between 45 and 86 languages spoken in Ethiopia. Amharic is the government’s official language and a widely used lingua franca, but as of 2007, only 29% of the population reported speaking Amharic as their main language.
Do they speak Afrikaans in South Africa?
Afrikaans and English are the only Indo-European languages among the many official languages of South Africa. Although Afrikaans is very similar to Dutch, it is clearly a separate language, differing from Standard Dutch in its sound system and its loss of case and gender distinctions.
Are there Xhosas in Zimbabwe?
listen)) are a Nguni ethnic group in Southern Africa whose homeland is primarily within the modern-day Eastern Cape. There is a small but significant Xhosa-speaking (Mfengu) community in Zimbabwe, and their language, isiXhosa, is recognised as a national language.
Is Zulu a written language?
Zulu, like most indigenous Southern African languages, was not a written language until the arrival of missionaries from Europe, who documented the language using the Latin script. The first grammar book of the Zulu language was published in Norway in 1850 by the Norwegian missionary Hans Schreuder.
Is Shona a Nguni language?
The Shangaan were a mixture of Nguni (a language group which includes Swazi, Zulu and Xhosa), and Tsonga speakers (Ronga, Ndzawu, Shona, Chopi tribes), which Soshangane conquered and subjugated.
How many official languages does South Africa have?
Eleven languages
Eleven languages (Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu) hold official status under the 1996 constitution, and an additional 11 (Arabic, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telegu, and Urdu) are to be promoted and developed; all
Why does Zimbabwe have so many languages?
By 1923, then-Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing British colony. Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980. This history has influenced everything from the culture to the government to the languages spoken in Zimbabwe today.
Is NDAU a Shona?
Ndau is part of a continuum with other neighboring varieties of the Shona group (e.g. Manyika, Karanga) and has often been included as a Shona dialect. The 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe accorded Ndau status as an official language.
How many Shona dialects are there?
three
There are three main dialects of Shona. There is a considerable degree of variation within each dialect involving pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Most dialects are partially intelligible and share most of their vocabulary.
How many Shona are there in Zimbabwe?
The Shona people (/ˈʃoʊnə/) are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily Zimbabwe (where they form the majority of the population). They have five major clans.
Shona people.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 17.6 million (2019) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Zimbabwe | 13 million (2019) |
| Mozambique | 2.3 million |
