Languages of South Africa

South Africa has 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Xhosa, Zulu, Swati, Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, and Venda. In this regard it is second only to India in number. As a result, there are many official names for the country. The country also recognizes eight non-official languages: Fanagalo, Lobedu, Northern Ndebele, Phuthi, South African Sign Language, Khoe, Nama and San. These non-official languages may be used in certain official uses in limited areas where it has been determined that these languages are prevalent. Nevertheless, their populations are not as such that they require nationwide recognition. Many of the unofficial languages of the San and Khoikhoi people contain regional dialects stretching northward into Namibia and Botswana and elsewhere. These people, who are a physically distinct population from other Africans, have their own cultural identity based on their hunter-gatherer societies. They have been marginalized to a great extent, and many of their languages are in danger of becoming extinct. Many white South Africans also speak other European languages, such as Portuguese, German, and Greek, while many Asians and Indians in South Africa speak languages such as Gujarati and Telugu. While each language is technically equal to every other, English has emerged recently as the chief-among-peers as it is the most widely spoken language across racial barriers, even though it is not the most widely spoken language by population. Afrikaans has been downgraded in order to accommodate other official languages.