Languages of Africa

There are 1,250 to 2,100 and by some counts over 3,000 languages spoken natively in Africa, in several major language families:

Afroasiatic is spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahel

Nilo-Saharan is centered on Sudan and Chad (disputed validity)

Niger–Congo (Bantu and non-Bantu) covers West, Central, Southeast and Southern Africa

Khoe is concentrated in the deserts of Namibia and Botswana

Austronesian is spoken in Madagascar.

Indo-European is spoken on the southern tip of the continent.

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

About a hundred of the languages of Africa are widely used for inter-ethnic communication. Arabic, Somali, Berber, Amharic, Oromo, Swahili, Hausa, Manding, Igbo, Fulani and Yoruba are spoken by tens of millions of people. If clusters of up to a hundred similar languages are counted together, twelve are spoken by 75 percent, and fifteen by 85 percent, of Africans as a first or additional language.

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Languages_of_Africa

Latest News for: African languages

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Pay television provider, StarTimes and Lega Serie A have reached a three year deal for the exclusive all media rights to Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Graphic 16 Nov 2018

... and African indigenous languages from 2018/2019 season to 2020/2021 season....

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Missing zoo meerkat case solved with 3 charged in Australia

Times Union 16 Nov 2018

SYDNEY (AP) — It wasn't grand theft. It was tiny ... But the other possible reason for its disappearance — theft — was also explored ... She'll appear in person in January ... As for the meerkitten, despite fears from zoo staff his mob would reject him, he's been welcomed back into the fold and given a name from the East African language of Kiswahili ... ....

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Viacom Inc. (VIA) CEO Robert Bakish on Q4 2018 Results - Earnings Call Transcript

Seeking Alpha 16 Nov 2018

Through this, Viacom has quickly become one of the top producers of original Spanish language content in the world ... And we see additional opportunities to package offerings for more platforms, focused on the genres and demos where we excel, including reality Spanish-language and African-American audiences....

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Bishop T.D. Jakes co-chairs new traveling exhibit

Nashville Pride 15 Nov 2018

Henry Louis Gates, a professor of African and African American research at Harvard University, arranged a DNA test confirming that Jakes’ ancestors were from Nigeria ... “Because they made presentations to me (my house is decorated with a lot of African art) and they were telling me this is what your language sounds like.”....

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Context informs schools history report

Mail Guardian South Africa 15 Nov 2018

We need materials rooted in African languages, new approaches to periodisation, new conceptual frameworks that break us free from colonially established canons and disciplines ... For instance, if lead history teachers in South Africa were expected to teach in a black African language, many would most probably fail as “experts”....

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Miers, Dabkowski and Siegel debate the music of 'Hamilton'

The Buffalo News 15 Nov 2018

This is raw, gritty passion for language, usually improvised in the proverbial ring ... In this case, to shock middle-class white America into a true understanding of this country’s multicultural roots and the importance of African, Caribbean and non-white cultures in defining the very soul, language and power of this country....

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Thief Who Plucked Baby Meerkat From Perth Zoo And Stopped For McDonalds During Getaway Fined $4,000

IFL Science 15 Nov 2018

A third individual, an unnamed 31-year-old woman, has been charged with possessing stolen property. Meanwhile, the meerkat pup has been thriving back at the zoo ... To honor his unusual early life experiences, zoo staff have named the meerkat Salama, which means “safe” in the East African language of Kiswahili ... - ... “He fell in love with it.” ... ....

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Reciting meditation mantra may help treat PTSD in veterans, study suggests

The Independent 15 Nov 2018

In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" ... 11/18 A 3D reconstruction of an African grey parrot post euthanasia ... In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn"....

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Daily Special

The Marshall News Messenger 15 Nov 2018

Missing zoo meerkat case solved with 3 charged in Australia. SYDNEY (AP) — It wasn't grand theft. It was tiny ... She'll appear in person in January ... As for the meerkitten, despite fears from zoo staff his mob would reject him, he's been welcomed back into the fold and given a name from the East African language of Kiswahili. Salama, which means "safe."....

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Three charged with stealing baby meerkat in Australia

WPXI 15 Nov 2018

SYDNEY (AP) - It wasn't grand theft. It was tiny ... But the other possible reason for its disappearance - theft - was also explored ... TRENDING NOW ... As for the meerkitten, despite fears from zoo staff his mob would reject him, he's been welcomed back into the fold and given a name from the East African language of Kiswahili ... . . ....

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A new study further undermines the myth of the “savage” Neanderthal

Vox 15 Nov 2018

For decades, Neanderthals were stereotyped as savage brutes. That’s changing ... hunched over, brutish, dim-witted, and primitive ... Which is to say ... We did not ... It’s very plausible that they had a spoken language (though it’d be near impossible to prove that they did) ... Most people not of African ancestry have a little Neanderthal DNA inside of them ... ....

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Her mother’s murder made her a poet: Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey’s career is tinged ...

Sacramento Bee 14 Nov 2018

Natasha Trethewey should be celebrating; her new book, "Monument ... It's part of who I am ... There's a poem about a cross burning outside their home, and one about the racist language that Trethewey encountered as a child. All of this is essential to Trethewey's work, as is the African-American history she repeatedly references....

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Her mother's murder made her a poet: Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey's career is tinged ...

Ravalli Republic 14 Nov 2018

There's a poem about a cross burning outside their home, and one about the racist language that Trethewey encountered as a child. All of this is essential to Trethewey's work, as is the African-American history she repeatedly references ... was writing about African-American history....