ImagesAfrica

African Languages

Language Families
There are several thousand languages spoken in the world, however it is estimated that about 100 account for 95% of the world's population. Languages can be grouped together into families on the basis of similarities of vocabulary and grammatical structure. It has been suggested that languages in the same family have common origins or antecedents. Languages families are divided into branches or sub-groups. For example, some of the branches of the Indo-European language family include the Indo-Iranian languages, the Romance languages, the Germanic languages (which include English) and the Celtic languages. Similarly, the Semitic languages form a sub-group of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and the Bantu languages form a sub-group of the Niger-Congo language family.

Languages of Africa

Region	Indigenous African languages, families and sub-groups
North Africa and the Horn of Africa	Arabic and other languages in the Afro-Asiatic or Hamito-Semitic language family.
West Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa.	The languages belong to the Niger-Congo family., which can be sub-divided into several branches or sub-group. The main ones are: - Mande, West Atlantic (both spoken in West Africa) Gur, (spoken in Northern Ghana, Upper Volta, Togo and Mali) Kwa, (includes most of the languages of Nigeria, except Hausa, and many of the languages of Ghana, Togo and Benin Benu-Congo, (covering some Bantoid languages spoken in Nigeria and the Bantu languages spoken south of a line stretching from the Cameroons in the west to Kenya in the east.
Sudan and the Sahara	Smaller language families: - Chari-Nile or Macro-Sudanic group. Khoisan or Clicl languages (which include Bushman, Hottentot and Hatsu).
Island of Malagassy	A Polynesian language is spoken.

In addition to these indigenous African languages, European languages (such as English and French) are widely used and constitute the official language of some African countries, although they may be the mother tongue of only a small proportion of the inhabitants. Finally there are sizeable minorities speaking Indian languages in Some East African countries.

Main language families.	Languages and sub-groups.	Context

Indo-European	Includes: - Most of the languages of Europe, India Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iran. Subgroups include: - Indo-Iranian, Romance, Germanic Slavic, Celtic and Hellenic languages.	Largest language family Spoken by about half the, world’s population
Sino-Tibetan	Includes : - Chinese, Burmese, Thai and Lao	Forms second largest group
Niger-Congo.	Includes: - large group of Bantu languages spoken in Central, East and Southern Africa and most of the languages spoken in West Africa (known as the West Sudanic sub-group).	Main family of African of languages
Afro-Asiatic or Hamito-Semitic	Includes: - the subgroup of Semitic languages such as Arabic, Hebrew and Amharic, the Berber languages, the Cushitic laguages (e.g. Somali,Galla) spoken in the Horn of Africa,and Hausa which forms part of the Chadic sub-group.	y
Malayo-Polynesian	Includes: - Malay, Indonesian, the languages of the Philippines, Melanesia and Polynesia	g
Dravidian	Consists of: - mainly South Indian languages such as Tamil and Teluga	y
Altaic	Includes: - Turkish, Mongolian and various languages spoken in Central Soviet Asia	g
Uralic	Includes: - Hungarian and Finnish, as well as some languages spoken in Central European Russia	y
Chari-Nile	Includes: - languages spoken in Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Chad	g
Mon-Khmer	Includes: - Khmer National language of Kampuchea	y

Language	Where spoken	Context

Arabic	North Africa	An Afro-Asiatic or Hamito-Semitic language.
Abua	River States, Nigeria.
Acholi	Uganda	A Nilotic language
Afrikaans	South Africa	Developed from Dutch, an Indo- European language
Akan	Ghana, Ivory Coast	Sometimes called "Twi-Fante". It is both a language and a dialect of Twi- Fante. It is a member of the Niger- Congo family.
Ambo	Northern Namibia and Angola	The language of the Ovambo people. It is a Bantu language and belongs to the Congo family.
Amharic	Ethiopia	The National Language of Ethiopia. It is a Semitic language and belongs to theHamito-Semitic language family. It is written in the Ethiopic or Amharic script.
Arabic	Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan and Northern Chad	The official language of Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Egypt and the Sudan. Also spoken on other continents.
Asante	Ghana	An Akan dialect, it is sometimes called Ashanti.
Bariba	Togo, Benin and Nigeria	It belongs to the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
Bassa	Cameroons and Central West Africa	A Bantu Language.
Bemba	Tanzania High Commission	A Bantu language, part of the Niger- Congo family.
Berber	Morocco and Algeria	A group of very similar languages, which form a branch of the Hamito- Semitic language family.
Buli	Congo (Brazzaville) and Central African Republic.	A Bantu language.
Che	Ghana and Togol	A Dialect of Tobote, a Gur language
Dagari	Northern Ghana	A Gur language
Dagbane	Northern Ghana and Togo	Belongs to the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
Dari	Chad	A Chadic language and part of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
Dinka	Sudan and Ethiopia	A group of related Chari-Nile or Nilotic languages.
Edo	Nigeria, the Niger River Delta	A member of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
Efik	The town of Calabar in Nigeria	Also known as Ibibio. A member of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
English	Mauritius and the Seychelles	The official language.
Emai	Nigeria	Belongs to the Niger-Congo family of languages.
Ewe	ESouth-Eastern Ghana, Togo and Benin	Togo A member of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
Fang	Southern Cameroons, Equatorial Guinea, and northern Gabon.	A Bantu language.
Fante	Ghana, in the forest area west of the Volta river.	Closely related to Twi, regarded by linguists as a dialect of the same language called "Twi-Fante" or Akan.
Fon	Southern Benin	A member of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
French	The Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Benin, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Upper Volta, and Zaire. Burundi, Cameroons, Malagasy Republic, and Rwanda.	The official language. One of the official languages, for some mother tongue and for others a second language
French Creole	Muaritius and the Seychelles.	Spoken widely although English is the official language.
Fulani	ZNorthern Nigeria, Mali and Mauritania	A member of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
Ga	Coastal area of Accra, Ghana	Zimbabwe House, 429 Strand
Gane	Burkina Faso	Belongs to the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
Galla	Ethiopia and north-eastern Kenya	Also called Oromo. It is a Cushitic language and a member of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
Gogo	Kenya and Tanazania	A Bantu language.
Guan	Ghana	Also known as Gonja. It is a Volta-Comoe language.
Gurage	Ethiopia	Three Semitic languiages:- Central West Gurage, East Gurage and Peripheral West Gurage. Harari is a dialect of East Gurage.
Gurma	Northern Ghana and Togo, and in Upper Volta, eastern Ghana.	A member of the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
Hausa	Northern Nigeria and Niger	It belongs to the Chadic sub-group of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
Ibo	East central State of Nigeria	Also known as Igbo. It is a member of the Niger-Congo language family.
Idoma	Benue Plateau State in Nigeria	A member of the Kwa sub-group Niger-Congo language family.
Igbira	Mid Western State Nigeria	Also known as Ebira. Niger-Congo language.
Ijo	Niger River Delta	Also known as Ijaw. Ijo dialects include Kalabari, Nembe and Okrika.
Ishan	Benin province of Nigeria	A language related to Edo.
Kache	East Africa	A Bantu language.
Kamba	Kenya	A Bantu language
Katab	Zaria province in Nigeria	Also called Tyap or Atyap. A Niger-Congo language
Khana	Ogoni diversions of Rivers State in Nigeria
Kikuyu	Kenya	One of the major languages of Kenya. A Bantu language.
Komoro	Central East Africa	Kingwana is one of the dialects of Komoro.
Kongo	Zaire, Angola and Congo	(Kikongo) - A Bantu language.
Kono	Liberia, Mali and Sierre Leone	It belongs to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
Kpelle	Liberia and Guinea	It belongs to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo language.
Kposo	Togo, near the border with Ghana	A Kwa language and part of the Niger-Congo language family.
Krio	Sierre Leone and Gambia	An English based Creole. The home language of many people in Sierre Leone and Gambia. Aku is a Krior dialect used in Gambia.
Kru	Liberia and the Ivory Coast	A Niger-Congo language.
Kuma	Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda	Also known as Arusha. A Bantu language.
Lamnso	Bamenda prefecture of Cameroons.	A Bantoid language, belonging to the Niger-Congo language family.
Limba	Sierre Leone and Guinea	A member of the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
Lingala	Zaire and Congo (Brazzaville)	Also known as Losengo. A Bantu language.
Lozi	South-western Zambia	A Bantu language.
Luba	Zaire	A Bantu language.
Luganda	Uganda	Also known as Ganda. A Bantu language.
Lugwere	Central East Africa	Also known as Gwere. A Bantu language.
Luo	Kenya and Tanzania	A Chari-Nile language.
Makua	Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi	A Bantu language.
Malinke	Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, GuineaBissau, Mali, and Ivory Coast	A West African Mande language.
Mambwe	Zambia and Tanzania.	A Bantu language.
Maragoli	Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zaire.	Also called Ragoli or Logooli. A Bantu language.
Masaba	Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.	A Bantu language. One of the dialects is Lugisu.
Mbo	Cameroons, Rio Muni, Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville) and Central African Republic.	A Bantu language. Dialects include Bafaw and Bakosi.
Mende	Sierre Leone.	The most important indigenous language of Sierre Leone. A Member of the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
Ndebele	Southwest Zambia and South Africa.	Also known as Matabele. Ndebele is similar to Zulu. It is a Bantu language.
Nkutu	Zaire and Congo (Brazzaville).	A Bantu language. Kalo is one of the dialects.
Nsenga	Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.	A Bantu language.
Nubian	Central Sudan.	A member of the Chari-Nile language family.
Nuer	Southern Sudan.	Chari-Nile or Nilotic language.
Nyang	Western Cameroons.	Also known as Bayang. A Bantoid language.
Nyanja	Malawi and Zambia.	A major language of these two countries. In the former it is known as (Chi-) Chewa. It is a Bantu language.
Nyari	Central Africa.	A Bantu language.
Nzema	Central Ghana.	Related to Akan. A member of the Niger-Congo language family.
Oku	Cameroons.	Also known as Ukfwo. A Bantoid language.
Oring	Nigeria	A Niger-Congo language. Utonkon, a Oring dialect is spoken in Utonkon district,Idoma division of Benue Plateau State
Portuguese	Angola, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique.	The official language of these countries.
Ruanda	Ruanda and Uganda.	A Bantu language.
Runyankore	Uganda, near the Tanzanian border.	A Bantu language.
Rutoro	Uganda.	Also known as Nyoro or Runyoro. A Bantu language.
Shangaan	Mozambique and South Africa.	Also known as Tsonga or Tonga. A Bantu language.
Shona	Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique.	A Bantu language.
Sidamo	Ethiopia.	Belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Hamito-Semitic language family. Uses Amharic script.
Somali	Somalia and Ethiopia.	The official language of Somalia. Belongs to Cushitic branch of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
Sotho	Republic of South Africa and South Africa.	One of the main Bantu languages in Lesotho. Also called Sesotho.
Sukuma	Tanzania	A Bantu language.
Sukur	Cameroons.	Also called Shakiri. Belongs to the Chadi sub-group of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
Swahili	Tanzania and Kenya.	The official language of these two countries. Widely used in East Africa. The mother tongue of many and the second language of many more. A Bantu language but contains words of Arabic origin.
Swazi	Swaziland and South Africa	A Bantu language.
Tari	Zaria province of Nigeria.	A Niger-Congo language.
Temne	Sierre Leone.	Belongs to the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
Tigre	Tigre province of Ethiopia.	A Semitic language belonging to the Hamito- Semitic language family.
Tigrinya	Tigre and Eritrea province of Ethiopia.	A Semitic language. It belongs to the Hamito-Semitic language family.
Tiv	Benue province of Nigeria.	A Bantiod language
Tooro	Central East Africa.	A Bantu language
Tswana	Botswana and South Africa.	Similar to Sotho and sometimes called Western Sotho. A Bantu language.
Tumbuka	Northern Malawi.	A Bantu language.
Twi	Ghana.	Together with Fante, to which it is related, the most important language of Ghana
Ukaan	In certain villages in Akoko division, Western State, Nigeria.
Ukele	South Eastern State, Nigeria.	Also called Kukele.
Urhobo	Mid-Western state south of Benin city Nigeria.	Isoko is an important dialect of Urhobo. A Nigerian Language.
Win	Ghana	Gur language.
Wolof	Senegal and Gambia.	Also known as Jolof. A member of the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
Xhosa	Transkei and eastern Cape Province of South Africa.	9Sometimes regarded together with Zulu as a dialect of the language "Nguni". A Bantu language.
Yaunde	Cameroons.	North Western Bantu language.
Yoruba	Nigeria.	One of the major languages of Nigeria. Spoken in the south west of Nigeria around Ibaban. Yoruba dialects include Itsekiri or Shekiri, and Ondo. A Niger-Congo language.
Yunger	Nigeria.	Roba is a Yunger dialect.
Zulu	South Africa.	Closely related to Xhosa. Some linguists regard Zulu and Xhosa as Nguni dialects.

Click to see a large version of the Language Map