South Africa is a multilingual country with a rich linguistic diversity. It officially recognizes 11 languages in its constitution:
- Afrikaans
- English
- isiNdebele
- isiXhosa
- isiZulu
- Sepedi (Northern Sotho)
- Sesotho (Southern Sotho)
- siSwati (Swazi)
- Setswana (Tswana)
- Tshivenda (Venda)
- Xitsonga (Tsonga)
These 11 languages are all granted equal official status, though their prevalence varies by region. For example, isiZulu is the most widely spoken native language, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, while isiXhosa is dominant in the Eastern Cape. Afrikaans and English are widely spoken across the country, with English serving as the lingua franca for business, government, and media communication
. In addition to these official languages, South Africa has many other languages spoken by smaller communities, and South African Sign Language was recognized as the twelfth official language in 2023
. In summary, South Africans speak multiple languages, with English commonly used as a common language across different groups, but the country officially embraces 11 indigenous and colonial languages reflecting its cultural diversity
