Afrikan 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-EuropeanIncludes: - 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-TibetanIncludes : - Chinese, Burmese, Thai and LaoForms 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 orHamito-SemiticIncludes: - 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-PolynesianIncludes: - Malay, Indonesian, the languages of the Philippines, Melanesia and Polynesiag
DravidianConsists of: - mainly South Indian languages such as Tamil and Telugay
AltaicIncludes: - Turkish, Mongolian and various languages spoken in Central Soviet Asiag
UralicIncludes: - Hungarian and Finnish, as well as some languages spoken in Central European Russiay
Chari-NileIncludes: - languages spoken in Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Chadg
Mon-KhmerIncludes: - Khmer National language of Kampucheay

LanguageWhere spokenContext
ArabicNorth AfricaAn Afro-Asiatic or Hamito-Semitic language.
AbuaRiver States, Nigeria.
AcholiUgandaA Nilotic language
AfrikaansSouth AfricaDeveloped from Dutch, an Indo- European language
AkanGhana, Ivory CoastSometimes called "Twi-Fante". It is both a language and a dialect of Twi- Fante. It is a member of the Niger- Congo family.
AmboNorthern Namibia and AngolaThe language of the Ovambo people. It is a Bantu language and belongs to the Congo family.
AmharicEthiopiaThe 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.
ArabicMorocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan and Northern ChadThe official language of Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Egypt and the Sudan. Also spoken on other continents.
AsanteGhanaAn Akan dialect, it is sometimes called Ashanti.
BaribaTogo, Benin and NigeriaIt belongs to the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
BassaCameroons and Central West AfricaA Bantu Language.
BembaTanzania High CommissionA Bantu language, part of the Niger- Congo family.
BerberMorocco and AlgeriaA group of very similar languages, which form a branch of the Hamito- Semitic language family.
BuliCongo (Brazzaville) and Central African Republic.A Bantu language.
CheGhana and TogolA Dialect of Tobote, a Gur language
DagariNorthern GhanaA Gur language
DagbaneNorthern Ghana and TogoBelongs to the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
DariChadA Chadic language and part of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
DinkaSudan and EthiopiaA group of related Chari-Nile or Nilotic languages.
EdoNigeria, the Niger River DeltaA member of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
EfikThe town of Calabar in NigeriaAlso known as Ibibio. A member of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
EnglishMauritius and the SeychellesThe official language.
EmaiNigeriaBelongs to the Niger-Congo family of languages.
EweESouth-Eastern Ghana, Togo and BeninTogo A member of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
FangSouthern Cameroons, Equatorial Guinea, and northern Gabon.A Bantu language.
FanteGhana, 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.
FonSouthern BeninA member of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
FrenchThe 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 CreoleMuaritius and the Seychelles.Spoken widely although English is the official language.
FulaniZNorthern Nigeria, Mali and MauritaniaA member of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
GaCoastal area of Accra, GhanaZimbabwe House, 429 Strand
GaneBurkina FasoBelongs to the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
GallaEthiopia and north-eastern KenyaAlso called Oromo. It is a Cushitic language and a member of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
GogoKenya and TanazaniaA Bantu language.
GuanGhanaAlso known as Gonja. It is a Volta-Comoe language.
GurageEthiopiaThree Semitic languiages:- Central West Gurage, East Gurage and Peripheral West Gurage. Harari is a dialect of East Gurage.
GurmaNorthern Ghana and Togo, and in Upper Volta, eastern Ghana.A member of the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
HausaNorthern Nigeria and NigerIt belongs to the Chadic sub-group of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
IboEast central State of NigeriaAlso known as Igbo. It is a member of the Niger-Congo language family.
IdomaBenue Plateau State in NigeriaA member of the Kwa sub-group Niger-Congo language family.
IgbiraMid Western State NigeriaAlso known as Ebira. Niger-Congo language.
IjoNiger River DeltaAlso known as Ijaw. Ijo dialects include Kalabari, Nembe and Okrika.
IshanBenin province of NigeriaA language related to Edo.
KacheEast AfricaA Bantu language.
KambaKenyaA Bantu language
KatabZaria province in NigeriaAlso called Tyap or Atyap. A Niger-Congo language
KhanaOgoni diversions of Rivers State in Nigeria
KikuyuKenyaOne of the major languages of Kenya. A Bantu language.
KomoroCentral East AfricaKingwana is one of the dialects of Komoro.
KongoZaire, Angola and Congo(Kikongo) - A Bantu language.
KonoLiberia, Mali and Sierre LeoneIt belongs to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
KpelleLiberia and GuineaIt belongs to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo language.
KposoTogo, near the border with GhanaA Kwa language and part of the Niger-Congo language family.
KrioSierre Leone and GambiaAn English based Creole. The home language of many people in Sierre Leone and Gambia. Aku is a Krior dialect used in Gambia.
KruLiberia and the Ivory CoastA Niger-Congo language.
KumaTanzania, Kenya and UgandaAlso known as Arusha. A Bantu language.
LamnsoBamenda prefecture of Cameroons.A Bantoid language, belonging to the Niger-Congo language family.
LimbaSierre Leone and GuineaA member of the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
LingalaZaire and Congo (Brazzaville)Also known as Losengo. A Bantu language.
LoziSouth-western ZambiaA Bantu language.
LubaZaireA Bantu language.
LugandaUgandaAlso known as Ganda. A Bantu language.
LugwereCentral East AfricaAlso known as Gwere. A Bantu language.
LuoKenya and TanzaniaA Chari-Nile language.
MakuaTanzania, Mozambique and MalawiA Bantu language.
MalinkeSenegal, Gambia, Guinea, GuineaBissau, Mali, and Ivory CoastA West African Mande language.
MambweZambia and Tanzania.A Bantu language.
MaragoliUganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zaire.Also called Ragoli or Logooli. A Bantu language.
MasabaUganda, Kenya and Tanzania.A Bantu language. One of the dialects is Lugisu.
MboCameroons, Rio Muni, Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville) and Central African Republic.A Bantu language. Dialects include Bafaw and Bakosi.
MendeSierre Leone.The most important indigenous language of Sierre Leone. A Member of the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
NdebeleSouthwest Zambia and South Africa.Also known as Matabele. Ndebele is similar to Zulu. It is a Bantu language.
NkutuZaire and Congo (Brazzaville).A Bantu language. Kalo is one of the dialects.
NsengaTanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.A Bantu language.
NubianCentral Sudan.A member of the Chari-Nile language family.
NuerSouthern Sudan.Chari-Nile or Nilotic language.
NyangWestern Cameroons.Also known as Bayang. A Bantoid language.
NyanjaMalawi and Zambia.A major language of these two countries. In the former it is known as (Chi-) Chewa. It is a Bantu language.
NyariCentral Africa.A Bantu language.
NzemaCentral Ghana.Related to Akan. A member of the Niger-Congo language family.
OkuCameroons.Also known as Ukfwo. A Bantoid language.
OringNigeriaA Niger-Congo language. Utonkon, a Oring dialect is spoken in Utonkon district,Idoma division of Benue Plateau State
PortugueseAngola, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique.The official language of these countries.
RuandaRuanda and Uganda.A Bantu language.
RunyankoreUganda, near the Tanzanian border.A Bantu language.
RutoroUganda.Also known as Nyoro or Runyoro. A Bantu language.
ShangaanMozambique and South Africa.Also known as Tsonga or Tonga. A Bantu language.
ShonaZimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique.A Bantu language.
SidamoEthiopia.Belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Hamito-Semitic language family. Uses Amharic script.
SomaliSomalia and Ethiopia.The official language of Somalia. Belongs to Cushitic branch of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
SothoRepublic of South Africa and South Africa.One of the main Bantu languages in Lesotho. Also called Sesotho.
SukumaTanzaniaA Bantu language.
SukurCameroons.Also called Shakiri. Belongs to the Chadi sub-group of the Hamito-Semitic language family.
SwahiliTanzania 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.
SwaziSwaziland and South AfricaA Bantu language.
TariZaria province of Nigeria.A Niger-Congo language.
TemneSierre Leone.Belongs to the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
TigreTigre province of Ethiopia.A Semitic language belonging to the Hamito- Semitic language family.
TigrinyaTigre and Eritrea province of Ethiopia.A Semitic language. It belongs to the Hamito-Semitic language family.
TivBenue province of Nigeria.A Bantiod language
TooroCentral East Africa.A Bantu language
TswanaBotswana and South Africa.Similar to Sotho and sometimes called Western Sotho. A Bantu language.
TumbukaNorthern Malawi.A Bantu language.
TwiGhana.Together with Fante, to which it is related, the most important language of Ghana
UkaanIn certain villages in Akoko division, Western State, Nigeria.
UkeleSouth Eastern State, Nigeria.Also called Kukele.
UrhoboMid-Western state south of Benin city Nigeria.Isoko is an important dialect of Urhobo. A Nigerian Language.
WinGhanaGur language.
WolofSenegal and Gambia.Also known as Jolof. A member of the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
XhosaTranskei and eastern Cape Province of South Africa.9Sometimes regarded together with Zulu as a dialect of the language "Nguni". A Bantu language.
YaundeCameroons.North Western Bantu language.
YorubaNigeria.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.
YungerNigeria.Roba is a Yunger dialect.
ZuluSouth Africa.Closely related to Xhosa. Some linguists regard Zulu and Xhosa as Nguni dialects.

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