South Africa has 11 official languages, and several other unofficial ones. Here is a brief look at the 11 languages spoken in SA and their origins:

English – Around half of the country’s people have a speaking knowledge of English. English was declared the official language of the Cape Colony in 1822 (replacing Dutch). Today, English is South Africa’s primary language of government, business, and commerce.

Afrikaans – Afrikaans is the third most common language in South Africa. It is spoken by 13.5 percent of the population.

isiNdebele – isiNdebele, the language of the Ndebele people, is one of South Africa’s four Nguni languages. The language is largely found in Mpumalanga, where 37 percent of its speakers reside.

isiXhosa – This is South Africa’s second-largest language, isiXhosa is spoken by 16 percent of all South Africans.

isiZulu – isiZulu is the most common language in South Africa, spoken by nearly 23 percent of the total population. It’s the language of South Africa’s largest ethnic group, the Zulu people, who take their name from the chief who founded the royal line in the 16th century.

Sesotho sa Leboa or Northern Sotho – This language is the fourth most common language in South Africa. It is one of South Africa’s three Sotho languages.

Sesotho – Sesotho is another of South Africa’s three Sotho languages, spoken by 7.6 percent of the country’s population. It is the language of the Free State, which borders the kingdom of Lesotho.

Setswana – Setswana is largely found in North West, a province bordering the country of Botswana, where the language dominates.

siSwati – SisSwati is one of South Africa’s minority languages. It is the language of the Swazi nation, spoken mainly in eastern Mpumalanga, an area that borders the Kingdom of Swaziland.

Tshivenda – Another of South Africa’s minority languages, Tshivenda shares features with Shona and Sesotho sa Leboa, with some influence from Nguni languages.

Xitsonga – The Tsonga people came to South Africa long after most other African people, settling in the Limpopo River valley. The language, Xitsonga, is spoken by 4.5 percent of the national population.