African Languages
There are 1,250 to 2,100 and by some counts over 3,000 languages spoken natively in Africa. They are divided into six major language families:
- Afroasiatic languages are spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahel.
- Austronesian languages are spoken in Madagascar.
- Indo-European languages are spoken on the southern tip of the continent (Afrikaans), as well as in the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla (Spanish) in the north.
- Khoe languages are concentrated in the deserts of Namibia and Botswana.
- Niger–Congo (Bantu and non-Bantu) covers West, Central, Southeast and Southern Africa.
- Nilo-Saharan languages are centered on Sudan and Chad (disputed validity).
Indo-European languages are spoken on the southern tip of the continent (Afrikaans), as well as in the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla (Spanish) in the north.
Khoe languages are concentrated in the deserts of Namibia and Botswana.
Niger–Congo (Bantu and non-Bantu) covers West, Central, Southeast and Southern Africa.
Nilo-Saharan languages are centered on Sudan and Chad (disputed validity). There are several other small families and language isolates, as well as languages that have yet to be classified. In addition, Africa has a wide variety of sign languages, many of which are language isolates.
Around a hundred of the languages of Africa are widely used for inter-ethnic communication. Arabic, Somali, Berber, Amharic, Oromo, Swahili, Hausa, Manding, Fulani and Yoruba are spoken by tens of millions of people. If clusters of up to a hundred similar languages are counted together, twelve are spoken by 75 percent, and fifteen by 85 percent, of Africans as a first or additional language.
The high linguistic diversity of many African countries (Nigeria alone has over 500 languages, one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world) has made language policy a vital issue in the post-colonial era. In recent years, African countries have become increasingly aware of the value of their linguistic inheritance. Language policies being developed nowadays are mostly aimed at multilingualism. For example, all African languages are considered official languages of the African Union (AU). 2006 was declared by the African Union as the "Year of African Languages". However, although many mid-sized languages are used on the radio, in newspapers, and in primary-school education, and some of the larger ones are considered national languages, only a few are official at the national level.
African Languages Speaking Doctors, GPs and Specialists.
