AFRICA

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  Ethiopia Afar 979,367 in Ethiopia. 905,872 monolinguals. Eastern lowlands, Afar Region. May also be in Somalia. Also spoken in Djibouti, Eritrea. Literacy rate in first language: below 1%. Literacy rate in second language: 3%. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1994. The people are called "Danakil" in Arabic and by others, but that is considered to be offensive by the Afar; called 'Adal' in Amharic. Nomadic. People have suffered from recent famines. SOV. Coastal, salt flats, volcanic rock. Desert, plain. Pastoralists; agriculturalists. Muslim, Christian.
    Amharic 17,372,913 mother tongue speakers, 5,104,150 second language users, in North central Ethiopia, Amhara Region, and in Addis Ababa. Bilingualism in English, Arabic, Oromo, Tigrinya. Used in government, public media, national business, education to seventh grade in many areas, wide variety of literature (fiction, poetry, plays, magazines). People have suffered from recent famines. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. SOV, prepositions, postpositions, genitives, articles, and relatives precede noun heads, question word initial, case affixes, verb suffixes show person, number, gender of subject and (optionally) object, passives including deponents, causatives, CV, CVC, V, CVCC. Literacy rate in first language: 28.1%. Literacy rate in second language: 28.1%. Radio programs, TV. Christian, Jewish. Bible 1840-1988.
    Sidamo 1,876,329 speakers, 1,632,902 monolinguals. South central Ethiopia, northeast of Lake Abaya and southeast of Lake Awasa (Sidamo Awraja). Awasa is the capital of the Sidama Region. Literacy rate in first language: 1% to 5%. Literacy rate in second language: 20.3%. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1990. SOV.
    Oromo: Western 8,920,000 speakers in Ethiopia, Oromo Region, West and Central Ethiopia, and along the Rift Valley escarpment east of Dessie and Woldiya. Also spoken in Egypt. Trade language. Used by regional and national government, public media, national commerce, education to eighth grade, variety of literature. The Oromo are viewed as one people speaking one language. Literacy rate in first language: 1% to 5%. Literacy rate in second language: 22.4%. Roman script. Newspapers. Radio programs. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1899–1998. SOV. Agriculturalists: variety of crops, spices, coffee; animal husbandry; miners; tourism; textiles; meat packing; refineries. Traditional religion (Waaqqefata), Christian, Muslim.
         
  Eritrea Tigre 800,000 in Eritrea Bible: 1988. Used as second language by the Tukrir. Spoken by some Beni-Amer called 'Lobot'. Other ethnic groups are Ad Aha, Geden Sikta, Iddifer, Teroa Beit Mushe. Believed by some to be the direct linguistic descendant of Ge'ez. Incorrectly called 'Ge'ez'. SOV. Muslim.
    Tigrinya 3,224,875 speakers in Ethiopia, Tigray Province. 1,200,000 in Eritrea. Literacy rate in first language: 1% to 10%. Literacy rate in second language: 26.5%. Ethiopic script. Radio programs. Grammar. Bible: 1956. Speakers are called 'Tigrai'. Christian.
    Kunama 107,000 in Western Eritrea, on the Gash and Setit rivers, Sudan border and into Tigray Province. Also spoken in Ethiopia. Literacy rate in second language: Low. NT: 1927. Laka-Takura and Tika have been influenced by Arab culture and by the Beni-Amer. SOV; postpositions; case suffixes. Mountains, savannah, thorn trees. Agriculturalists: sorghum, millet, sesame; animal husbandry: cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, poultry. Traditional religion, Muslim (Ilit, Bitama).
         
  Congo Chokwe 504,000 speakers in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Close to Angola border in southeastern Bandundu, Kasaï Occidental, and Katanga provinces. Also spoken in Angola, Namibia, Zambia. Population total all countries: 1,009,580. Bible: 1970–1990. National language in Angola. Traditional religion, Christian.
    liNgala Second language speakers together with Bangala: 7,000,000. Widely used in Bandundu, Equateur, and Orientale provinces, except the southeast of Orientale. Also spoken in CAR, Congo. Close to Lusengo and Bangala. 33% lexical similarity with Bobangi. Degree of effective understanding and use varies with location, age, rural versus urban and commercial centers, ethnically mixed areas, formal education. Variation in communities. National language. Dictionary. SVO. Bible 1970.
         
  Benin Dompago (Lukpa) 50,000 speakers in Benin, Also spoken in Togo. Literacy rate in first language: 5% to 30%. Dictionary. NT: 1977. Different from Logba of Ghana. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim.
    Gun-Alada 243,000 speakers in Southeast Benin, also spoken in Nigeria. Literacy rate in first language: 1% to 5%. Radio programs. Bible: 1923–1972. Traditional religion, Christian.
         
  Mali Bambara 2,700,000 speakers in Mali There are many local dialects. The main division is Standard Bambara, influenced heavily by Maninka, and rural dialects. Bamanankan dialects are spoken in varying degrees by 80% of the population. Wasulu is a dialect of Bamanankan in Mali, but of Western Maninka in Guinea. Used for adult education. Wasulu are former Fulbe. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. Radio programs. Muslim, traditional religion, Christian. Bible 1961-1987.
         
         
  Nigeria Yoruba 18,850,000 in Nigeria. Population total all countries 20,000,000 Official language in southwest. Used for government notices. 2,000,000 second-language speakers. Literacy rate in second language: 35%. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Roman script. Newspapers. Radio programs. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1884–1966.SVO. Christian, Muslim, traditional religion.
    Hausa 18,525,000 in Nigeria, Spoken as a first language in large areas of Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Bauchi, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Gombe states. Spoken as a second language in the northern half of Nigeria. Also spoken in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Germany, Ghana, Niger, Sudan, Togo. Official language in northern region. Trade language. 15,0000,000 second-language speakers. Roman and Ajami scripts; Roman and Arabic scripts in Cameroon. Radio programs. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1932–1996. Official regional language in the north. SVO. Muslim, traditional religion (Maguzawa), Christian.
    Igbo 18,000,000 speakers or 16.6% of the population 30 dialects vary in inherent intelligibility. A standard literary form is developing from the dialect of Owerri and Umuahia. The main trade language of Anambra and Imo States. Used for government notices. Official language. Dictionary. Grammar. Roman. Radio programs, TV. Christian, traditional religion. Bible 1906-1988.
    Efik 400,000 first language speakers (1998), 2,400,000 including second language users (1998). The major dialect and language of the Ibibio-Efik group. Used in adult education, university courses. Decreasing in use as a second language. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. SVO. Roman. Radio programs, TV. Bible 1868-1995.
    Gbari 350,000 speakers in Zungeru in Niger State to the Kaduna River in the north, southeast through Minna and Paiko to a little past Kwali in the Federal Capital Territory. Literacy rate in first language: below 1%. Literacy rate in second language: 5% to 15%. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible portions: 1925–1926. Mountain slope. Agriculturalists. Traditional religion, Muslim.
         
  Kenya Kalenjin 2,458,123 speakers, Mainly Nandi, Kericho, and Uasin Gishu districts, Rift Valley Province. Literacy rate in first language: below 1%. Literacy rate in second language: 15% to 25%. Bible: 1939–1969. VSO. Agriculturalists: millet, maize, potatoes, beans, pumpkins, tobacco, bananas, tea, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, peas, fruit, coffee, pyrethrum; animal husbandry: cattle, goats, sheep, poultry. Keiyo: Christian, traditional religion; Kipsigis: Christian, traditional religion; Nandi: Christian, traditional religion.
    Kiembu 429,000 speakers in Embu District, Eastern Province.
    Kikamba 2,448,300 speakers in South central, Machakos and Kitui districts, Eastern Province. 600,000 second-language speakers. Literacy rate in first language: below 1%. Literacy rate in second language: 25% to 50%. Bible: 1956. Mountain slope. 450 to 1,600 meters. Agriculturalists: sorghum, millet, maize, beans, peas, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, sugarcane, bananas, tobacco; animal husbandry: cattle, sheep, goats; traders; woodcarvers. Christian, traditional religion, Muslim.
    Kimeru 1,305,000 speakers in Meru District, Eastern Province, northeast of Mt. Kenya. 85% lexical similarity between Imenti and Tigania. 67% similarity with Chuka, 63% with Embu and Gikuyu, 57% with Kamba. 'Mero' is not a correct spelling. Different from Meru (Rwo) of Tanzania. Literacy rate in first language: 5% to 10%. Literacy rate in second language: 25% to 50%. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim. Bible 1964.
    Ekegusii 1,582,000 speakers in Southwestern, south of Kavirondo Gulf, Kisii District, Nyanza Province. Different from Kisi of Tanzania. Literacy rate in first language: Below 1%. Literacy rate in second language: 15% to 25%. Christian, traditional religion. Bible 1988.
    giGikuyu 5,347,000 speakers in West central Kenya, in Kiambu, Murang'a, Nyeri, and Kirinyaga districts, Central Province. 73% lexical similarity with Embu, 70% with Chuka, 67% with Kamba, 63% with Meru. Bilingualism in Swahili, English. The first consonant of the name 'Gikuyu' or 'Gekoyo' is a voiced velar fricative; the vowels are mid. Grammar. Literacy rate in first language: 30% to 60%. Literacy rate in second language: 75% to 100%. 95% of the children are in school. Mountain slope, hills, plains. Agriculturalists: sorghum, millet, beans, sweet potatoes, maize, potatoes, cassava, bananas, sugar cane, yams, fruit, tobacco, coffee, castor oil, tea, pyrethium, peas; animal husbandry: goats, sheep, cattle. Christian, traditional religion. Bible 1951-1965.
    Lunyore 120,000 speakers Above Kavirondo Gulf, Kakamega District, Western Province 61% lexical similarity with Nyole of Uganda. SVO. Christian. Bible in press (1998).
    Luo 3,185,000 speakers in Nyanza Province. Also spoken in Tanzania. Different from Lwo of Uganda or Lwo (Luo, Jur Lwo) of Sudan. Literacy rate in first language: 10% to 30%. Literacy rate in second language: 50% to 75%. Fishermen. Christian, traditional religion, Muslim. Bible 1953-1977.
    Luragoli 197,000 speakers in Kakamega District, Western Province. 70% to 80% lexical similarity with Idakho-Isukha-Tiriki. The people are called 'Avalogoli'. 'Mulogoli' is a person from Maragoli. Literacy rate in first language: 10% to 30%. Literacy rate in second language: 50% to 75%. Bible 1951.
    Turkana 340,000 speakers in Turkana, Samburu, Trans-Nzoia, Laikipia, Isiolo districts, Rift Valley Province, west and south of Lake Turkana, and Turkwel and Kerio rivers. Also spoken in Ethiopia. Vigorous. Unfriendly toward the Karamojong and Pokot; friendly with Jie. Most are monolingual. Only a few adults have mastered upcountry Swahili as lingua franca. More are learning Swahili because of a new road. A few can speak Pokot or Daasenech. Literacy rate in first language: 5% to 10%. Literacy rate in second language: 25% to 50%. NT: 1986. A few Somali and Gikuyu have shops in the area. Seminomadic. VSO; highly inflectional; grammatical tone; vowel harmony; voiceless vowels. Plains. Semiarid desert. 350 to 2,000 meters. Pastoralists: cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys; fishermen. Traditional religion, Christian.
    Maasai 453,000 speakers in Kenya, Kajiado and Narok districts, Rift Valley Province. 430,000 in Tanzania Purko is the largest dialect in Kenya and centrally located. The last three dialects listed are in Tanzania. Kwavi may be a dialect. Purko has 91% to 96% lexical similarity with other Kenya dialects, 82% with Baraguyu, 86% with Arusha in Tanzania, 77% to 89% with Samburu, 82% to 89% with Chamus, 60% with Ngasa (Ongamo). The Kore now speak Somali as first language. Semi-nomadic. VSO. Literacy rate in first language: Below 1%. Literacy rate in second language: 18%. Pastoralists: cattle, goats; agriculturalists. Traditional religion, Christian. Bible 1991.
    Swahili 313,200 monolinguals or 1.8%, 93.4% bilinguals in Tanzania, Zanzibar, coastal areas. Rural people are second language users; they use the local language for most activities, but Swahili with outsiders. National language. Dictionary. SVO. Used through secondary education and in some university courses. Muslim. Bible 1891-1996.
    Taita 203,389 speakers in Taita Hills, Taita District, Coast Province. Speakers are highly bilingual in Swahili. Literacy rate in first language: 1% to 5%. Literacy rate in second language: 25% to 50%. NT: 1922–1990. Christian, traditional religion, Muslim.
    Oluluyia 3,418,083 speakers in Lake Victoria area, Western Province. Saamia and Songa dialects are in Uganda. Saamia has 88% lexical similarity with Wanga, 62% with Masaba, 52% with Isuxa, 51% with Gwere. The people are called 'Abaluyia', singular 'Muluyia.' Literacy rate in first language: 10% to 30%. Literacy rate in second language: 25% to 75%. Christian, traditional religion, Muslim. Bible 1975.
    Borana 3,634,000 speakers in South Oromo Region. Also spoken in Kenya, Somalia. Literacy rate in first language: below 1%. Literacy rate in second language: 16%. Bible: 1995. Called 'Borana' in Kenya. The name "Galla" is derogatory. SOV. Muslim, traditional religion.
         
  Sudan Dinka (Bor) 250,000 speakers in Southern Sudan, east of the Nile, around Bor, and northwards. Sudanese Arabic is the second language. Speakers of some dialects also speak Nuer Gewaar and Nuer Lou. NT: 1940.Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim.
    Nuer: Union 740,000 speakers in Southern Sudan, east Upper Nile Province, in the region of Nasir on the upper Sobat River, in and around a triangle formed between Bahr el Zeraf and Bahr el Jebel, and extending up the Sobat River across the Ethiopian border. Also spoken in Ethiopia. Southern Sudan, east Upper Nile Province, in the region of Nasir on the upper Sobat River, in and around a triangle formed between Bahr el Zeraf and Bahr el Jebel, Speakers also use Arabic. Bible: 1999. They call themselves 'Naath'. Severe disruption in residence patterns caused by fighting in Sudan and Ethiopia. Many are refugees or homeless (1991). Plains. Pastoralists: cattle; fishermen. Traditional religion, Christian.
         
  Burkina Faso San 85,000 speakers in Nayala Province, concentrations in Nouna and Solenzo areas, and Ouaga, Bobo, Dedougou, and Koudougou cities. Used in the home, religion, commerce. All ages. Toma is the larger and more politically important dialect. Toma speakers are more bilingual in French; others in Jula. Older men who have traveled a lot also use Jula; otherwise it is mainly youth who use Jula. Reciprocal bilingualism with Mòoré along the eastern border of the area. Literacy rate in second language: Higher among Toma. Motivation to read French and Toma Samo is high. A literacy center in Toma teaches Toma. Grammar. NT: 1995. The Rimaïbé are Samo who were former Fula slaves, now speak Fulfulde as second language, and live in Kawara, Kassan, Zoumou, Teri, in the Tougan area. Traditional religion, Muslim, Christian.
    Moore 5,000,000 speakers in Central Ouagadougou area and throughout the country. Also spoken in Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Togo. Dominant African language of Burkina Faso. All ages. Some who have traveled outside the area speak Jula as second language. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1983. 'Moose' is the name of the people (pl.) or 'Moaaga' (sg.); 'Mòoré' of the language. Other spellings reflect obsolete spellings or pronunciations of nonspeakers. SOV; postpositions; genitives, articles, adjectives, numerals after noun heads; question word final; word order distinguishes subjects, objects; CV, CVC, CVV, CCV; tonal. Savannah. Peasant agriculturalists. Traditional religion, Muslim, Christian.
    Jula 1,000,000 speakers in Comoé, Kénédougou, Houet, and Leraba provinces. Also spoken in Côte d'Ivoire, Mali. Jula is a trade language of western Burkina Faso and northern Côte d'Ivoire. It is a separate language from Bambara and Malinke, and ethnically distinct. Trade language. 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 second-language speakers. All ages. Radio programs. Films. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1993–1997. Different than Jola (Diola) of Senegal. Muslim.
         
  Zambia Luvale 205,000 speakers in Northwestern and Western provinces. Also spoken in Angola. Language of wider communication. Recognized for educational and administrative purposes. A dominant regional language. Newspapers. Radio programs. Bible: 1955–1961. Traditional religion, Christian.
    Namwanga 169,000 speakers in Eastern Northern Province to Lake Rukwa. Also spoken in Tanzania. Bible: 1982. Agriculturalists: millet, peanuts, beans, maize; animal husbandry: cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, pidgeons. Traditional religion.
    Lozi 473,000 speakers in Zambia, 5.6% of the population. Barotseland, Western Province and Southern Province near Livingstone. Also spoken in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe. Recognized for educational and administrative purposes. Newspapers, radio programs. Bible 1951-1987.
    chiBemba 2,000,000 speakers in Zambia, 25% of the population. In Northern, Copperbelt and Luapula provinces. Possibly in Zimbabwe. Also spoken in Botswana, DRC, Malawi, Tanzania. Town Bemba has a Bemba base with heavy codeswitching with English and neighboring Bantu languages. Town Bemba is a widely used lingua franca in urban, not rural areas, and it has higher social status than other languages except English. Bemba is recognized for educational and administrative purposes. Language of wider communication. Dictionary. SVO. Newspapers, radio programs. Traditional religion, Christian. Bible 1956-1983.
         
  Malawi Tumbuka 662,000 speakers in Northern Province, west shore of Lake Malawi, south of the Ngonde, north of the Tonga and Ngoni. Also spoken in Tanzania, Zambia. Most Ngoni in Malawi speak Tumbuka or Chewa. Kandawire and Fulirwa are clans, not dialects. National language. Christian, some traditional religion. Bible 1957-1980.
    chiChewa 3,958,000 speakers in West central and southwestern. Also spoken in Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Most Ngoni in Malawi speak Chewa or Tumbuka. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. SVO. Traditional religion, Christian. Bible 1905, in press (1997).
         
  South Africa Venda 876,409 in South Africa, Transvaal, north. Also spoken in Zimbabwe. Official language. The Lembaa are a Venda-speaking Jewish people claiming Falasha descent. Literacy rate in second language: Fairly low. Radio programs. Bible: 1936. Traditional religion, Christian, Jewish (Lembaa).
    Xhosa 6,858,000 speakers in Southwest Cape Province and Transkei. Also spoken in Botswana, Lesotho. 15% of the vocabulary is estimated to be of Khoekhoe (Khoisan) origin. Many understand Zulu, Swati, Southern Sotho. 'Cauzuh' is an obsolete name. Somewhat acculturated. National language. Clicks. Literacy rate in second language: Fair rate. Newspapers, radio programs. Bible 1859, in press (1997).
    Tsonga 1,756,105 in South Africa, Transvaal. Also spoken in Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe Official language. A language of secondary education. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1907–1989 Christian, traditional religion.
    Zulu 9,200,144 speakers in Zululand and northern Natal. Also spoken in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland. Official language. 15,700,000 second-language speakers. Literacy rate in second language: 70%. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Newspapers. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1883–1959.Christian, traditional religion.
    Northern Sotho 3,840,000 speakers in South Africa, Transvaal, south and central. Also spoken in Botswana. Dialects Pai, Kutswe, and Pulana are more divergent and sometimes called 'Eastern Sotho.' National language. Newspapers, radio programs. Bible 1904-1951.
    Swati 650,000 in Swaziland (1993 Johnstone), or 90% of the population. The people are highly educated. National language. Literacy rate in first language: High. Taught in all national schools. Christian, traditional religion. Bible 1996.
    Southern Ndebele 586,961 speakers in Transvaal, south and central. Official language. 1,400,000 second-language speakers. Grammar. NT: 1986. Different from Ndebele of Zimbabwe.
    Afrikaans 6,200,000 in South Africa (1991 Christos van Rensburg), of whom 1,000,000 are native bilinguals with English (1989 J. Holm), 15.1% of the population (1995 The Economist). 4,000,000 in South Africa use it as a second or third language A variant of the Dutch spoken by the 17th century colonists, with some lexical and syntactic borrowings from Malay, Bantu languages, Khoisan languages, Portuguese, and other European languages. Their ancestors were brought from Java 300 years ago. 150,000 Cape Malays speak Afrikaans; some also speak English. National language. Cape Malays: builders, carpenters. Cape Malay: Muslim, Christian. Bible 1933-1983.
         
  Madagascar Malagasy 9,390,000 speakers in Madagascar, The central part of the Island. Also spoken in Comoros Islands, Réunion. The closest language outside of Madagascar is Ma'anyan in south Borneo (Kalimantan, Indonesia). Loans from Bantu languages, Swahili, Arabic, English, French. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. VOS. The Merina dialect was the first to be written in Latin characters and it has become the literary dialect. Subsistence agriculturalists: coffee, cloves, vanilla, rice; perfume. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim. Bible 1835-1938.
         
  Angola Kwanyama 421,000 speakers in south central Angola. Also spoken in Namibia. Bible 1974. Intelligible with Ndonga and Kwambi. Called 'Otjiwambo' and 'Owambo' together with Ndonga. National language. Literacy rate in second language: 50%.
    Umbundu 4,000,000 speakers or 38% of the population, in West, Benguela District. Also spoken in Namibia. Related to Nkhumbi, Ndombe, Nyaneka. 'Umbundu' is a better name than 'Mbundu Benguella.' Trade language. Dictionary. Grammar. Christian, traditional religion. Bible 1963.
    Luchazi 155,000 speakers in Southeast Angola.Also spoken in Zambia. Bible: 1963. Christian, traditional religion.
         
  Chad Mbai 80,000 speakers in Southwest, Moyen-Chari Prefecture, Moïssala Subprefecture. Around Moïssala. The traditional area is on the border of Chad and Central African Republic. Also spoken in Central African Republic, Nigeria. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1980. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim.
         
  Cameroon Mboum 38,600 in Cameroon. West Mbum is spread out in isolated groups: south and southwest of Ngaoundere (Adamawa Province, Vina and Djerem divisions); North Province, around Ngaoundere to border of Faro Reserve in Faro Division. Gbete is in East Province, Lom-and-Djerem Division, Belabo Subdivision. Not in Chad. Also spoken in Central African Republic. Speakers are rapidly becoming bilingual in Fulfulde. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1965. Muslim, traditional religion.
         
  Zimbabwe Ndebele 1,485,000 speakers in Matabeleland, around Bulawayo. Also spoken in Botswana. Close to Zulu. One of the main languages of Zimbabwe. Different from Ndebele of Transvaal, South Africa, which is related to Northern Sotho. Dictionary. Literacy rate in second language: 55%. Bible 1978.
    Shona: Standard 6,225,000 speakers in Mashonaland, central, and dispersed over many areas of the country. Also spoken in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia. Shona is the dominant African language of Zimbabwe and is understood by a considerable number. It is primarily a written language apparently based chiefly on Karanga and Zezuru with lexical items also from Manyika and Korekore. 'Swina' is a derogatory name. Dictionary. Grammar. SVO. Roman. Used in primary education, mother tongue authored literature. Bible 1949-1980.
         
  Rwanda Kinyarwanda 6,491,700 speakers in Rwanda, 98.3% of population Intelligible with Rundi. Hima is an ethnic group speaking Rwanda or Rundi, not a language. Ethnic groups: Hutu 89%, Tutsi 10%, Twa (pygmies, 30,000; 1972 Barrett) 1%. Possibly 75% of the BaTwa killed in the 1994 war. National language. SVO. Christian, traditional religion, Muslim; Twa: traditional religion, Christian. Bible 1954-1993.
         
  Botswana Tswana 1,070,000 in Botswana (1993 Johnstone), 70% of the population. 2,822,000 in South Africa (1995), 7.2% of the population Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho, and Tswana are largely inherently intelligible but have generally been considered separate languages. Standard Tswana uses Kgatla dialect. Used among the educated. Used more for spoken purposes than written. All ages. Vigorous use. 90% to 95% of children complete standard 7 in primary school. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. Literacy rate in first language: 80% to 90%. Officially used as language of instruction in grades 1-4 in all government primary schools. Often used for explanations through Standard 7 and first 2 years of secondary. Taught as a required subject in all secondary schools. Newspapers, magazines, radio programs, TV. Agriculturalists, pastoralists: cattle. Christian, traditional religion. Bible 1857-1993.
         
  Mozambique Ronga 423,797 speakers in Mozambique, South of Maputo Province, coastal areas. Also spoken in South Africa. Partially intelligible with ShiTsonga and ShiTswa. Grammar. Bible 1923.
    Tshwa 695,212 speakers in Mozambique, Southern region, most of Inhambane Province. Also spoken in South Africa, Zimbabwe. Partially intelligible with Ronga and Tsonga. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible 1910-1955.
         
         
  Namibia Kwangali 73,074 in Namibia, Okavango. Also spoken in Angola. National language. Used in education, administration. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1987.
    Nama 176,201 speakers in Namibia, South central to the Orange River, Great Namaland. 1,500 in Botswana, 56,000 in South Africa National language. Offered as a school subject. Can be studied up to doctoral level at U. of Namibia, also used in administration. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1966. SOV. Pastoralist.
    Ndonga 713,919 in Namibia together with Kwanyama and Kwambi, Ovamboland. Also spoken in Angola. Partially intelligible with Kwanyama. Called 'Otjiwambo' and 'Owambo' together with the Kwanyama and Kwambi. Highly acculturated. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. Literacy rate in second language: 75%. Christian, traditional religion. Bible 1954-1986.
    Herero 113,000 speakers, in Damaraland and northwest Ovamboland territory, Kaokoveld. Also spoken in Botswana. Erroneously called 'Damara'. The people are 'Ovaherero.' National language. Dictionary. Grammar. Traditional religion, Christian. Bible 1987. All ages. Some older speakers are moving back to Namibia. Spoken by the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu peoples. Erroneously called 'Damara'. Most came to Botswana as refugees from Namibia in the early 1900s. Dictionary. Grammar. Literacy rate in first language: Nearly 60%. Literacy rate in second language: Nearly 60% in Tswana. Christian, traditional religion.
  Lesotho Southern Sotho 1,493,000 in Lesotho (1993 Johnstone), 85% of the population. 2,704,000 in South Africa (1995), 6.9% of the population National language. Christian, traditional religion. Bible 1878-1989. Sotho, Pedi, and Tswana are largely inherently intelligible but have generally been considered separate languages. National language. Literacy rate in second language: Fair. Language of secondary education. Newspapers, radio programs. Bible 1878-1989.
         
  Tanzania Ngonde 750,000 speakers in Tanzania, Southern areas of Mbeya Region. North end of Lake Malawi. Some also in Iringa Region, Makete District. 300,000 in Malawi. Vigorous. Dictionary. Bible: 1993–1996. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim.
         
  Ghana Twi-Akupaem 555,000 Akuapem Twi in southeast, in areas north of Accra. Literacy rate in first language: 30% to 60%. Literacy rate in second language: 5% to 10%. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Roman script. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1871–1964. The speech of the Asante and Akuapem is called 'Twi'. SVO.
    Twi-Asanti 2,800,000 speakers in south central Ghana, Ashanti Province Literacy rate in first language: 30% to 60%. Literacy rate in second language: 5% to 10%. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Roman script. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1871–1964. The speech of the Asante and Akuapem is called 'Twi'. SVO.
    Nzema 285,800 speakers in Southwest corner and into Côte d'Ivoire. Also spoken in Côte d'Ivoire. Bilingualism in Fante. Literacy rate in first language: 1% to 5%. Literacy rate in second language: 50% to 75%. Traditional religion. Bible 1999.
    Ewe 2,250,500 speakers in Ghana Southeast corner. Also spoken in Togo. Language of wider communication. Vigorous. 500,000 second-language speakers. All domains. Literacy rate in first language: 30% to 60%. Literacy rate in second language: 75% to 100%. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Roman script. Newspapers. Radio programs. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1913–1931. Some form of whistle speech reported. Christian, traditional religion.
    Fante 555,000 speakers in south central, between Winneba, Takoradi, and Obuasi. Literacy rate in first language: 30% to 60%. Literacy rate in second language: 5% to 10%. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Roman script. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1871–1964.
         
  Uganda Lango 977,680 speakers. 5.6% of population, Central, north of Lake Kyoga, Lango Province. Literacy campaign in progress. Taught in primary schools. Roman script. Newspapers. Radio programs. Grammar. Bible: 1979. Distinct from Acholi (Lwo), Lango of Sudan (related to Lotuko), or Lango (Didinga) of Sudan.
    luGanda 3,015,980 in Uganda (1991 census), a little more than 16% of the population, Southeast, from the northwest shore of Lake Victoria to Lake Kyoga and the Tanzania border; primarily Buganda Province. Also spoken in Tanzania. Luvuma, Ludiope may be dialects. 71% to 86% lexical similarity with Soga, 68% with Gwere. The most widely spoken second language in Uganda next to English. Used in primary schools. The people are called 'Baganda.' Investigation needed: intelligibility with Luvuma, Ludiope. Language of wider communication. Dictionary. SVO. Newspapers, radio programs. Plateau, hills, swamps, valleys. Agriculturalists: bananas, tobacco, beans, millet, maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts, cassava, cotton; animal husbandry: cattle, goats, chicken; hunters. 4,000 feet. Bible 1896-1968.