Sub-Saharan Africa - Languages and Ethnic Groups

Languages and Ethnic Groups

Sub-Saharan Africa displays the most linguistic diversity of any region in the world. This is apparent in the number of languages spoken. The region contains over 1,000 languages, which is 1/6 of the world's total.

With the exception of extinct Sumerian, the Afro-Asiatic has the longest documented history of any language phyla in the world. Egyptian was recorded as early as 3200 BCE. The Semitic branch was recorded as early as 2500 BCE. The distribution of the Afro-Asiatic languages within Africa is principally concentrated in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. The Chadic branch is distributed in Central and West Africa. Hausa is a lingua franca in West Africa (Niger, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, and Chad). The Semitic branch of the phylum also has a notable presence in Western Asia, making Afro-Asiatic the only language family spoken in Africa that is also attested outside of the continent. In addition to languages now spoken, Afro-Asiatic includes several ancient languages, such as Ancient Egyptian, Biblical Hebrew and Akkadian.

The Khoi-San languages represent the oldest language family in the world. They include languages indigenous to Southern and Eastern Africa, though some, such as the Khoi languages, appear to have moved to their current locations not long before the Bantu expansion. In Southern Africa, their speakers are the Khoi and Bushmen (San), in East Africa, the Sandawe and Hadza.

The Niger–Congo phylum is the largest language family in the world in terms of the number of languages (1,436) it contains. The vast majority of languages of this family are tonal such as Yoruba, Fulani and Igbo. A major branch of Niger–Congo languages is the Bantu family, which covers a greater geographic area than the rest of the family put together. Bantu speakers represent the majority of inhabitants in southern, central and southeastern Africa, though Pygmy, Khoisan (Bushmen), and Nilotic groups, respectively, can also be found in those regions. Bantu-speakers can also be found in parts of Central Africa such as the Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and southern Cameroon. Swahili, a Bantu language with many Arabic, Persian and other Middle Eastern and South Asian loan words, developed as a lingua franca for trade between the different peoples in southeastern Africa. In the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "Hottentots") have long been present. The San evince unique physical traits, and are the indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of central Africa.

The Nilo-Saharan languages are concentrated in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers. They are principally spoken by Nilotic peoples and are also spoken in Sudan among the Fur, Masalit, Nubian and Zaghawa peoples and in West and Central Africa among the Songhai and Kanuri. The Old Nubian language is also a member of this phylum.

South Africa has the largest populations of Whites, Indians and Coloureds in Africa. The term "Coloured" is used to describe persons of mixed race in South Africa and Namibia. People of European descent in South Africa include the Afrikaner and a sizeable populations of Anglo-Africans and Portuguese Africans. Madagascar's population is predominantly of mixed Austronesian (Pacific Islander) and African origin. The area of southern Sudan is inhabited by Nilotic people.

List of major languages of Sub-Saharan Africa by region, family and total number of native speakers in millions:

Eastern Africa

• Afro-Asiatic
  • Amharic: 35–42
  • Oromo: 30-35
  • Somali: 15-18
  • Tigrinya: 7
  • Gurage: 2

• Niger–Congo
  • Swahili: 5–10
  • Chichewa: 9
  • Gikuyu (Kenya): 5
  • Luhya: 4

• Nilo-Saharan
  • Luo: 5-10
  • Shilluk: 1-2
  • Nubian: 5-10
  • Maasai: 1-2
  • Fur: 5-10
  • Dinka:2
  • Masalit:2
  • Zaghawa:2

Western Africa

• Niger–Congo
  • Yoruba: 25
  • Ibibio (Nigeria): 2
  • Igbo (Nigeria): 20–25
  • Akan (Ghana): 19
  • Fula (West Africa): 10–16
  • Mandingo:5
  • Wolof: 3

• Afro-Asiatic
  • Hausa: 24

• Nilo-Saharan
  • Kanuri: 4

Southern Africa

• Niger–Congo
  • Zulu: 10
  • Xhosa: 8
  • Shona: 7
  • Sotho: 5
  • Tswana: 4
  • Umbundu (Angola): 4
  • Northern Sotho: 4

• Khoisan
  • Khoi

• Indo-European
  • Afrikaans: 6–7

Central Africa

• Niger–Congo
  • Kinyarwanda 7
  • Kongo: 7
  • Tshiluba: 6
  • Kirundi: 5

• Nilo-Saharan
  • Zaghawa