The Languages of Africa

Within the African continent, there exists a great variety of languages and ethnicities with thousands of years of history and culture.  Of the languages spoken in Africa, the majority are native to the land.  The clear exceptions are Arabic and European languages such as French, English, and Portuguese.  However, these languages too have become an integral part of African culture and identity.  Arabic itself is part of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages, that include other Semitic languages spoken in East Africa such as Amharic (official language of Ethiopia), Gurage, Tigrina, Tigré (sometimes known as Ge’ez).  Other groups within the Afro-Asiatic family include Camitic (Berber languages such as Tuareg and Tamazight), Cushitic (Somali & Oromo) and Chadic (Hausa).  Virtually all of these languages are found throughout the northern half of the continent, that is, the Sahara, the Sahel, and East Africa.  In the Nile River Valley we also find several languages of the Nilo-Saharan family.  These include such spoken languages as Nuer and Dinka as well as many other languages and dialects in the Sudan, Ethiopia and Chad.

By far the most diverse language family in Africa is the Niger-Congo family.  It is divided into the Kordofanian (several dialects in the Sudan), Mande (Bambara and Mandinka in Mali), and the Atlantic-Congo groups.  The Atlantic-Congo is divided into the Atlantic and the Volta-Congo.  The Atlantic group includes several languages spoken along the Atlantic coast such as Wolof, and Fulani, which is spoken further inland.  The Volta-Congo group is further divided into several groups.  In the Benue-Congo group, we find Bantoid, Cross River, and Defoid languages.  Bantoid languages constitute the largest sub-group (over 600 languages) and they include Swahili, Lingala and Kongo (in the Congo), Swati, Xhosa, Zulu, and several other languages spoken in the southern half of the continent.  Cross River languages include several such as Efik and Ibibio spoken in Nigeria.  The most well-known Defoid language is Yoruba, which is spoken in Nigeria and in other countries along the coast.  Many dialects and creoles derived from Yoruba are still spoken in the Caribbean as well, by descendents of Africans brought over during the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  In the Kwa group, we find languages such as Ewe and Akan (Fante and Ashanti) which are spoken in and around Ghana.

Beginning in the 15^th century, Portuguese explorers began charting the African coast and established several colonies on their route to India and China.  Portuguese is still the official language of Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tome e Principe, Angola and Mozambique.  Spanish is the official language of the island nation of Equatorial Guinea and is widely spoken and understood in the northern part of Morocco (Tangiers).  English and French are used officially in the majority of African nations.  Most nations in the South and East coasts of Africa use English as an official language.  French is an official language for several nations in West and Central Africa, and is a language of education and commerce in Northwest Africa (the Maghrib).

With the exception of languages with an official status such as Arabic, French, Amharic, Somali, Swahili, etc., many of the languages and dialects in Africa are only spoken and do not have a writing system of their own.  In many nations, the majority of the population may not be very literate or fluent in the official language, and rather speak local dialects from their own region.

The Arabic Language in Africa

The Arabic Language is the official language of nine (9) African nations:  Egypt, Libya, the Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania (Hasaniya Arabic), Chad and Djibouti.  It is also widely spoken throughout Central & East Africa, such as in Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Central African Rep., and Tanzania (Zanzibar).  Its presence in Africa dates back to 641 CE with the introduction of Islam into Egypt.  It gradually spread throughout Africa down the Nile River valleys into the Sudan and East Africa, across the Sahara to the Maghrib (Northwest Africa) and the Atlantic coast.  

Classical Arabic is the language of the Quran and the liturgical language for over 430 million Muslims on the African continent.  Today Modern Standard Arabic is used in books, newspapers, television, radio, and for official and international purposes in business and politics.  Most literature and media is written in MSA.  

As the many indigenous peoples of Africa, such as the Egyptians, Berbers and Sudanese, converted to Islam and adopted the Arabic language, their own languages greatly influenced Arabic as it is spoken today.  Egyptian Colloquial Arabic is spoken in Egypt (50 million) and Libya (1 million).  The particular dialect spoken in Cairo, Cairene Arabic, is understood throughout most of the Arabic-speaking world.  This is because it is used in films, music, and television programs from Egypt, which are popular in other Arabic-speaking countries as well.  In Northwest Africa, the native Berber languages, and to a lesser extent French, had a great impact on the Arabic dialects of Maghribi (Morocco), Darja (Algeria), and Hasaniya (Mauritania).  In the Sudan and Chad, there are also several pidgins and creoles derived from Arabic.  It is important to note that sometimes Arabic dialects are not mutually intelligible, as an Arabic speaker from Lebanon or Saudi Arabia may not be able to understand someone speaking Maghribi or Darja, but Modern Standard Arabic is generally understood throughout the Arab speaking world.

The French Language in Africa

The French Language is the official language of nineteen (19) African nations with over 42 million speakers:  Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Rep., Chad, Congo, Dem. Rep. of Congo (Zaire), Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo.  It is also widely spoken in the Maghrib (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) with over 40 million.

Spoken French in Africa has been influenced to a certain extent by the native peoples that adopted and learned to speak it.  Being an official language, it is taught in schools and used for higher education, television, radio, newspapers, literature as well as for legal, political and economic use.  The native languages and dialects influence the way French is spoken here compared to as it is spoken in Paris.  Changes in accent, intonation, as well as expressions and borrowed vocabulary from the African languages make African French different and colorful.  Spoken French in West and Central Africa vary depending on local influences from the culture in that particular region.  The French spoken in North Africa carries more of an Arabic/Berber influence, although university educated French speakers approximate Parisian French.  French is also studied to a great deal in Egypt by the university educated population.

The French Language was introduced to the African continent during the period of colonialism in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  France had first acquired Algeria in 1830 and established colonies throughout the Mediterranean coast of Northwest Africa.  Throughout the next few decades, both France and Belgium had established several territories in Sub-Saharan Africa, and French became the language of administration.  During the 20^th century, many of the African nations fought for and won their independence from European colonialism.  The French language, however, was already established as a lingua franca for official use and for education and commerce.   Today, over half of the French-speaking world is in Africa or of African origin.  

The languages and dialects in Bold Print are available for translation and/or interpretation.  If there is a need for a language or dialect that is not in bold print or not listed here, contact us and we will do our best to accomodate  your needs.  214.528.2731 or info@liaisonlanguage.com