Africa - A Polyglot Continent

Staff Writer

 

Table of Contents

At face value, one can argue that the African continent appears to be the middle of Europe; hence every major European country has a hold on her from the perspective of lingua franca. It is a given that an African is a polyglot coming from the African continent. Every African can boast of speaking more than one or two European languages; and if you count Arabic, that makes it three. The reason for this assumption is that there are many native African languages that they must cope with in their different countries.

European Languages - Uniting different African Tongues

It is pertinent to point out here that the European languages have helped bring many Africans together, at least to the point of having a vehicle of common means of communicating among themselves. The European languages have helped in that regard, but it has also deprived them of the opportunity to develop their different languages to compete with the rest of the languages of the world.

The European languages are languages of convenience, but it has also been termed hegemonic and the socializations have either eaten deep into the soul of the continent or have become an excuse to shirk away responsibility. Therefore, these languages have been adopted as national languages, languages of trade or commerce, languages used for governance, diplomacy, and education, and more.

In like manner, the Arabic language which followed the spread of Islam to Africa has equally been adopted by some African nations as their national language.

The author’s designation of the African map above paints the continent as a polyglot and reveals the spread of the adoption of Arabic and some European languages as national languages and the forms each country has come to use.

The distribution of European and Arabic languages in Africa

Reviewing the African map above, 12 African countries use the Arabic language as a national language or language of commerce. 27 adopted French, 5 adopted Portuguese, 26 adopted the English language, 2 Italian, 1 Spanish, and 1 German. In some instances, a country adopts two or even three of the languages as their national languages, such as Arabic, English, and French languages. In some other instances, you get a country adopting English and French as their national languages.

The continent is like a Tower of Babel with many different indigenous languages, dialects, and accents. It was an utter confusion of languages and then came the European languages and the confusion was compounded. However, during the confusion came the lingua franca: French, English, Portuguese, and Italian, to mention the dominant ones spoken on the continent.

This writing argues that Africa is a polyglot continent and glancing through different African countries' language statuses, the list below seems to support this claim.  

ALGERIA – The official Languages are Arabic and Berber languages with four dialects. French is considered another language spoken by the population. Thus, the French language was because of its colonial past, and the Arabic language followed from the invasion of Ugba ibn Nafi, which precipitated the process of conquest and conversion spanning from 670 - 711.

ANGOLA – The official Language is Portuguese. Bantu (Umbundu) and other African languages are also spoken by the population.

BENIN – The official Language is French. Fon and Yoruba are languages common in the south. The same Yoruba language is spoken by a tribe South-West of Nigeria. There are other tribal languages spoken in the north.

BOTSWANA – The official Language is Setswana which is the national language with some different dialects. However, the population adopted the English language as its business language, and is spoken in urban areas.

BURKINA FASO – The official Language is French. Then many native African languages (Sudanic family) are spoken by the majority of the population.

BURUNDI – The official Languages are Kirundi and French. The population also speaks the Swahili language.

CAMEROON – The official Languages are French and English languages, which depended on the part of the country that was colonized by either the French or British. There are up to other 24 major African language groups within the population.

CAPE VERDE – The official Language is Portuguese. Then the population has another language known as Crioulo, which is a blend of Portuguese and West African words.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – The official Languages are French, which is the adopted language, and Sangho, which is the accepted national language. Other languages spoken by the population include Gbaya, Banda, and other several tribal languages.  

CHAD – The official languages are French & Arabic. There is another language known as Sara and over 120 different languages and dialects.

COMOROS – The official Languages are Arabic & French. The population also speaks Shikomoro, which is a mixture of Swahili and Arabic.

CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF, (DRC) – The official languages are French and Lingala. Lingala is adopted for trade. Other languages spoken include Kingwana, Kikongo, & Tshiluba.

CONGO, REPUBLIC OF – The official Language is French. Lingala and Monokutuba were adopted as trade languages. Kikongo language is common among the population. There are several other local languages and dialects.

COTE D’IVOIRE – The official Language is French. The population mostly speaks Dioula there are up to 60 native dialects.

DJIBOUTI – The official Languages are French & Arabic. The people also speak Somali & Afar languages. By observation, the Afar language is also spoken in Eritrea.

EGYPT – The official language is Arabic. However, English and French languages are common in educated classes.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA – The official languages are Spanish and French. The people also speak pidgin English (a local blend and rendition of the English language), Fang, Bubi, and Ibo. The same Ibo (Igbo) language with different dialects is spoken in Southeast Nigeria.

ERITREA – The official languages are Tigrinya, Arabic, and English. Tigré is considered the second major language in Eritrea. Other languages spoken include Afar, Bedawi, Kunama, and other Cushitic languages. Apart from Djibouti speaks also Afar language.

ESWATINI, KINGDOM OF – The official language is English. The government uses the English language for its affairs. siSwati is also its official language.

ETHIOPIA – The official language is Amharic. The English language is notably a language taught and used in schools. A part of Ethiopia also speaks Tigrinya as well as Eritrea. Of course, Eritrea was once part of Ethiopia. Other languages spoken include Oromo, Gurage, Somali, Arabic, and 80 other local languages.

GABON – The official language is French. Other languages of the population include Bantu languages, such as Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou, Eschira, and Bandjabi.

GAMBIA, THE – The official language is English. The people also speak other languages, such as Mandinka, Wolof, and Fula, several indigenous vernaculars.

GHANA – The official language is English. Other languages spoken by the people include Akan, Adangme, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga.

GUINEA – The official language is French, which is spoken by less than a quarter of the population. The country adopted some national languages, Soussou (Susu, in coastal Guinea), Peulh (Fulani, in north Guinea), Maninka (Upper Guinea), Kissi (Kissidougou Region), Toma and Guerze (Kpelle) in swamp forest Guinea. There exist other ethnic groups with their own language.

GUINEA-BISSAU – The official language is Portuguese. The people also speak Crioulo which is a combination of Portuguese and African terms. Cape Verde which has Portuguese as its official language also speaks Crioulo. In Guinea-Bissau, there are other types of spoken African languages.

KENYA – The official languages are English and Kiswahili. There are other many indigenous languages.

LESOTHO – The official languages are Sesotho and English. The people speak as well Zulu and Xhosa.

LIBERIA – The official language is English. There are about 20 other ethnic groups and languages.

LIBYA – The official language is Arabic. Italian and English languages are spoken in major cities.

MADAGASCAR – The official languages are French and Malagasy.

MALAWI – The official languages are English and Nyanja (Chichewa, Chewa). Different regions speak Lomwe, Tumbuka, Yao, and other languages.

MALI – The official language is French. Other languages spoken include Bambara (Bamanakan), Arabic, and numerous dialects of Dogoso, Fulfulde, Koyracini, Senoufou, and Mandinka/Malinké (Maninkakan), Tamasheq.

MAURITANIA – The official language is Arabic. Other languages are Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof, and French.

MAURITIUS – The official languages are French and English. Other languages spoken by the people include Creole, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, and Bhojpuri.

MOROCCO – The official language is Arabic. The French language is adopted for business, diplomacy, and government. Other languages are Berber dialects.

MOZAMBIQUE – The official language is Portuguese which is adopted as a second language. Other languages are Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and several other indigenous languages.

NAMIBIA – The official language is English which is spoken by not many of the population. Other languages spoken by the population include Afrikaans which is a common language of most of the population. Some people of the population speak German. There are other indigenous languages, namely Oshivambo, Herero, and Nama which are spoken by the population.

NIGER – The official language is French. Other languages spoken by the population are Hausa and Djerma. We shall note that the Hausa language is spoken also in northern Nigeria.

NIGERIA – The official language is English. Obviously, this was one of the inheritances they got from Britain following colonialism. The other four major languages spoken in Nigeria stem from the tribal commands they have in Nigeria. They include Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba.  Other languages include Fulani, Ijaw, Ibibio, and about 250 other indigenous languages spoken by the different ethnic groups.

REUNION – The official language is French. The population also speaks Creole.

RWANDA – The official languages include Kinyarwanda, a type of Bantu vernacular, French, and English. Another language spoken in commercial cities is Kiswahili.

SAINT HELENA – The official language is English.

SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE – The official language is Portuguese.

SENEGAL – The official language is French. The population also speaks Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, and Mandinka.

SEYCHELLES – The official languages are French and English. The population also speaks Creole.

SIERRA LEONE – The official language is English. Other languages spoken include Mende which is spoken particularly in the south, Temne spoken in the north, and Krio.

SOMALIA – The official language is Somali. The population also speaks Arabic, Italian, and English.

SOUTH AFRICA – The official languages are Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, Pedi, Sesotho, siSwati, Xitsonga, Tswana, Tshivenda, isiXhosa, isiZulu.

SUDAN – The official language is Arabic. Other languages include Nubian, Ta Bedawie, dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, and English.

TANZANIA – The official languages include Kiswahili (Swahili), Kiunguju, and English. The English language is the adopted language for commerce, administration, and education. Other languages spoken by the population are Arabic, Gogo, Haya, Makonde, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi, Sukuma, Tumbuka, and several other local languages.

TOGO – The official language is French used mainly for commerce. Other languages spoken by the population are Ewe and Mina in the south and Kabye and Dagomba in the north.

TUNISIA – The official language is Arabic and the language of commerce. French is also adopted as the language of commerce.

UGANDA – The official language is English. The population uses the English language in courts of law and by most of the media. Other languages spoken by the population are Ganda, some Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Acoli, Swahili, and Arabic.

WESTERN SAHARA – The languages spoken are Hassaniya Arabic and Moroccan Arabic.

ZAMBIA – The official language is English. Other languages are Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and up to 70 other indigenous languages.

ZIMBABWE – The official language is English. Other languages include Chishona, Sindebele, and other tribal dialects, such as Sotho and Nambya, Shangani, Venda, Chewa, Nyanja, and Tonga.

Further Readings

James McDougall - A History of Algeria. Cambridge University Press. 2017.

African languages in Nations Online. https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/african_languages.htm

Many African Languages in Africa.com. https://africa.com/many-african-languages/

Top 11 Most Spoken Languages in Africa in Africa Facts. https://africa-facts.org/top-10-most-spoken-languages-in-africa/

Languages of South Africa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_South_Africa

A Guide to African Languages Listed by Country – Anouk Zijlma 06 May 2019. https://www.tripsavvy.com/indigenous-african-languages-1454069

 

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