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How Many Languages are Spoken in Africa?

J.Gunsch
J.Gunsch

Determining the number of languages spoken in Africa can be complex, mostly because it can be difficult to determine whether two languages are distinct or simply dialects of the same language. Still, many agree that the number lies around 2,000. Some of the more common include Hausa, Swahili, and Yoruba. Others, including Dahalo, Laal, and Shabo, are uncommon and only spoken by a few hundred people. While many of the African languages are unrelated to one another, the majority fall into one of four language families: Afro-Asiatic, Khoisan, Niger-Congo, and Nilo-Saharan.

The Afro-Asiatic language family generally covers the languages spoken in North, East, and Southwest Africa. Nearly 400 languages spoken by over 250 million people are represented by this family. Some examples include Aramaic, Amharic, Arabic, Hausa, Hebrew, and Tigrinya. Also included in this group are the now extinct lanuages of Akkadian and Ancient Egyptian.

The flag of the Republic of South Africa.
The flag of the Republic of South Africa.

The Khoisan, or Khoesaan, languages are generally spoken in the southwestern part of Africa, namely Angola, Botswana, and Namibia. What is probably most unique about the 50 or so Khoisan languages is that they are tonal and use clicking sounds. The largest Khoisan language is Nama, which is spoken in Namibia. Others in this family include Haillom (Namibia) and Sandawe (Tanzania). These languages as a whole are generally thought to be dying out.

Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken in Egypt.
Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken in Egypt.

The Niger-Congo language family is comprised of the greatest number of languages spoken in Africa. This family has almost 400 languages and is spoken by more than 500 million people. In the 1950s, Joseph Greenberg, a linguist and African anthropologist known for his work in language classification and typology, proposed that the Niger-Kordofanian language family join the Niger-Congo language family. Linguists commonly use the Niger-Congo to refer to the entire family, including Kordofanian as a sub-family. Some of the most common languages that fall within this family include Igbo (Nigeria), Swahili (Tanzania), Yoruba (Nigeria), and Zulu (South Africa).

Swahili, spoken in Tanzania and elsewhere, is one of the four official languages of the African Union.
Swahili, spoken in Tanzania and elsewhere, is one of the four official languages of the African Union.

Approximately 100 languages fall into the Nilo-Saharan language family, and well over 10 million Africans speak a language within this family. Nilo-Saharan languages are mainly confined to the center of Africa and are spoken in more than 15 nations, including Burkina Faso, Egypt, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Some of the major Nilo-Saharan languages include Dinka (Sudan), Kanuri (Nigeria), and Luo or Dholuo (Kenya).

The most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria, uses Yoruba as its most common language.
The most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria, uses Yoruba as its most common language.

These languages are considered to be official ones of the African Union (AU). Still, many of them are dying out to more widely used languages, such as Arabic and Swahili. Recently, however, African countries are becoming more conscious about the value of their linguistic inheritance.

Discussion Comments

anon351756

How many languages are specific to Africa?

anon157453

you have a lot of research to do. its complex enough to know what language belongs to what country.

anon136928

try more than 2000 languages.

anon127619

Sudan has more than 170.

anon81447

there are many languages in Africa. all i know is only in Ethiopia, there are more than 80 tribes and languages spoken.

anon45152

How many languages are really spoken in africa?

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    • The flag of the Republic of South Africa.
      By: Loic LE BRUSQ
      The flag of the Republic of South Africa.
    • Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken in Egypt.
      By: Dudarev Mikhail
      Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken in Egypt.
    • Swahili, spoken in Tanzania and elsewhere, is one of the four official languages of the African Union.
      By: Photocreo Bednarek
      Swahili, spoken in Tanzania and elsewhere, is one of the four official languages of the African Union.
    • The most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria, uses Yoruba as its most common language.
      By: juan35mm
      The most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria, uses Yoruba as its most common language.