What language is most commonly spoken in West Africa?
YORUBA. There are over 30 million Yoruba speakers in Nigeria, Benin and Togo combined, making it one of West Africa's most spoken languages.
How many languages are in West Africa?
in West Africa. These languages are of very unequal importance. The 130 languages most spoken (with more than 200,000 speakers) represent more than 80% of the regional population i.e. 240 million people. And the first five languages alone are spoken by 120 million people (see Figure 1).
Is West Africa French speaking?
the French spoken by people in West and Central Africa – spoken altogether by about 97 million people in 2018, as either a first or second language. the French variety spoken by Maghrebis and Berbers in Northwest Africa (see Maghreb French), which has about 33 million first and second language speakers in 2018.
What are the six major languages of West Africa?
Other important West African languages are Yoruba, Igbo, Akan and Fula. Major Horn of Africa languages are Somali, Amharic and Oromo. Important South African languages are Sotho, Tswana, Pedi, Venda, Tsonga, Swazi, Southern Ndebele, Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans.
Is Swahili spoken in West Africa?
4. Niger–Congo languages (Bantu and non-Bantu) Spoken in West, Central, Southeast and Southern Africa and considered the largest language family spoken in West Africa. Includes the languages: Swahili, Zulu, Fula, Yoruba, Igbo, Ashanti and Ewe language.
Is Afrikaans a language?
Afrikaans language, also called Cape Dutch, West Germanic language of South Africa, developed from 17th-century Dutch, sometimes called Netherlandic, by the descendants of European (Dutch, German, and French) colonists, indigenous Khoisan peoples, and African and Asian slaves in the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good …
What are 3 African countries that still speak French?
French is the official language in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, the Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, the Seychelles, and Togo.
Why is French so common in Africa?
Africa has the most French speakers of any continent. The French language was introduced to the African continent due to colonialism. France and Belgium lost control of their African colonies in the 1950s and 1960s. However, French is still spoken in at least 29 African countries.
Do they speak Arabic in West Africa?
Arabic. Arabic is the most widespread language in Africa and is the official or national language of Mauritania, Mali and Niger.
Is Spanish spoken in Africa?
Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, having become independent from Spain on October 12, 1968, during the eleventh Government of Francisco Franco, as part of the "process of decolonization of Africa", supported by the United Nations.
Is Dutch and Afrikaans the same?
Afrikaans and English are the only Indo-European languages among the many official languages of South Africa. Although Afrikaans is very similar to Dutch, it is clearly a separate language, differing from Standard Dutch in its sound system and its loss of case and gender distinctions.
Is Afrikaans the same as African?
Afrikaans (UK: /ˌæfrɪˈkɑːns/, US: /ˌɑːf-/, English meaning: African) is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia, and, to a lesser extent, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Which country in Africa speaks Spanish?
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, having become independent from Spain on October 12, 1968, during the eleventh Government of Francisco Franco, as part of the "process of decolonization of Africa", supported by the United Nations.
Which country speaks the best English in Africa?
Uganda Uganda. Uganda comes at number one in the list of African countries where people speak the best English. This landlocked country has a diverse landscape and has a population of 45 million, out of which approximately 29 million speak the English language.
Where are black French from?
French Black people or Black people in France (French: Noirs de France) or Afro-French (Afro-Français) are French citizens or residents who are of Sub-Saharan African (including Malagasy people) or Melanesian ancestry.
What is African language called?
The most widely spoken languages of Africa, Swahili (200 million), Yoruba (45 million), Igbo (30 million), and Fula (35 million) all belong to the Niger-Congo family.
What is the only Hispanic country in Africa?
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, having become independent from Spain on October 12, 1968, during the eleventh Government of Francisco Franco, as part of the "process of decolonization of Africa", supported by the United Nations.
Is Afrikaans German?
Afrikaans descended from Dutch dialects in the 17th century. It belongs to a West Germanic sub-group, the Low Franconian languages. Other West Germanic languages related to Afrikaans are German, English, the Frisian languages, and the unstandardised languages Low German and Yiddish.
Can a Dutch person understand Afrikaans?
Although Afrikaans is a daughter of Dutch, Dutch speakers might take some time to understand the language but they can understand Afrikaans. On the other hand, speakers of Afrikaans might not be able to readily comprehend the Dutch language.
Can Zulu understand Xhosa?
Because Xhosa and Zulu are both classed as Bantu languages, they are quite similar. Therefore, Xhosa and Zulu people frequently understand one another, even if they are each speaking their mother tongue. Xhosa has been grouped into several dialects.
Where is Zulu spoken?
South Africa IsiZulu is one of the 11 official languages spoken in South Africa. Approximately 10 million people in South Africa speak isiZulu as a first language and many more as a second language. There are an additional 38 000 in Malawi and 15000 in southern Swaziland who speak isiZulu.
What African country speaks English?
Sierra Leone and Liberia are the only countries in Africa where English is spoken as the primary language. English is the primary language of Nigeria and Ghana, but the language is spoken as a lingua franca in both states.
Which country has the most handsome man in Africa?
Somalia: Despite being riddled with corruption and political enmity, Somalia has the highest concentration of attractive men in Africa. Somalians are, on the whole, fairly kind people with a rich culture and history. They may be found almost anywhere, and their intimidating physical appearance makes them easy to spot.
What is the poorest country in Africa?
Burundi Based on the per capita GDP and GNI values from 2020, Burundi ranks as the poorest country in not only Africa, but also the world. The second-poorest country in Africa, Somalia, holds the same distinction.
What percentage of Africa is black?
The 2010 midyear estimated figures for the other categories were African at 78.4%, White at 10.2%, Coloured at 8.8%, Indian/Asian at 2.6%. The first census in South Africa in 1911 showed that Whites made up 22% of the population; it declined to 16% in 1980.
Which European country has the largest black population?
Nearly three-quarters of Europe's sub-Saharan migrant population lived in just four countries: the UK (1.27 million), France (980,000), Italy (370,000) and Portugal (360,000).
How do you say hello in Africa?
Zulu: Sawubona (Hello) Xhosa: Molo (Hello) Afrikaans: Hallo (Hello) English: Hello.
What black countries speak Spanish?
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea is not the closest African country to Spain, but it is the only African country that communicates using the Spanish language. Spain invaded this particular country in the 1700-the 1800s. Approximately 67.7% of the population in Equatorial Guinea speaks Spanish.
What country in Africa speaks French?
French is the official language in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, the Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, the Seychelles, and Togo.
Is Afrikaans Swedish?
If you aren't South African, you might be wondering what Afrikaans ↗️ is. In short, it is one of South Africa's 11 official languages, is also widely spoken in Namibia, and it originates from Dutch. Because of this it is quite similar to Dutch, and somewhat similar to Swedish due to the Germanic origins.