(s of
South Africa . The language has also variously been known as "Xosa," "Koosa," "Kaffer", "Kaffir", "Caffre", "Cafre", and "Cauzuh"
{Link without Title} .
Xhosa is spoken by approximately
7.9 Million People , or about 18% of the South African population. Like most
Bantu Languages , Xhosa is a
Tonal Language , that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said with a rising or falling or high or low intonation. One of the most distinctive features of the language is the prominence of
Click Consonant s; "Xhosa," the name of the language itself, begins with a click.
Xhosa is written using a
Latin Alphabet -based system. Three letters are used to indicate the basic clicks: ''c'' for dental clicks, ''x'' for lateral clicks, and ''q'' for alveolar clicks (for a more detailed explanation, see the table of consonant phonemes, below). Tones are not indicated in the written form.
Xhosa is the most widely distributed African language in South Africa, while the most widely spoken is the majority of Xhosa speakers, approximately 5.3 million, live in the
Eastern Cape , followed by the
Western Cape (approximately 1 million),
Gauteng (671,045), the
Free State (246,192),
KwaZulu-Natal (219,826), North West (214,461),
Mpumalanga (46,553), the
Northern Cape (51,228), and
Limpopo (14,225)
{Link without Title} .
Xhosa is the southernmost branch of the . There is some mutual intelligibility with Swati, Northern Ndebele and Zulu, a Northern Ndebele and Xhosa share many linguistic features. Nguni languages are in turn part of a larger group of
Bantu languages, and as such Xhosa is related to languages spoken across much of Africa
{Link without Title} .
Xhosa has several
Dialect s, including Gcaleka, Ndlambe, Ngqika (Nqqika, considered "standard"), Thembu, Bomvana, Mpondomse (Mpondomise), Mpondo, Xesibe, Rharhabe, Bhaca, Cele, Hlubi, and Mfengu
{Link without Title} .
There is some debate among scholars as to what exactly the divisions between the dialects are.
Xhosa-speaking peoples have inhabited coastal regions of southeastern Africa since before the sixteenth century. The members of the ethnic group that speaks Xhosa refer to themselves as the
AmaXhosa and call their language isiXhosa (''isi''- is a prefix relating to languages), while the language is most commonly known as "Xhosa" in English.
Almost all languages with clicks are and English.
, an
Englishman who became fluent in Xhosa and jointly produced the first translation of the Bible into the language in 1859.]]
The role of
African Languages in South Africa is complex and ambiguous. Their use in education has been governed by legislation, beginning with the
Bantu Education Act Of 1953 {Link without Title} .
At present Xhosa is used as the main language of instruction in many
Primary School s and some
Secondary School s, but is largely replaced by English after the early primary grades, even in schools mainly serving Xhosa-speaking communities. The language is also studied as a subject.
The language of instruction at
Universities In South Africa is English or Afrikaans, and Xhosa is taught as a subject, both for native and non-native speakers.
Literary works, including prose and poetry, are available in Xhosa, as are newspapers and magazines. The first broadcasts in Xhosa on both radio (on Umhlobo Wenene FM) and television, and films, plays and music are also produced in the language. The best-known performer of Xhosa songs outside South Africa is
Miriam Makeba , whose ''Click Song #1'' (''Qongqothwane'' in Xhosa) and ''Click Song #2'' (''Baxabene Oxamu'') are known for their large number of click sounds.
In 1996 , the literacy rate for first-language Xhosa speakers was estimated at 50%, though this may have changed dramatically in the years since the abolition of
Apartheid {Link without Title} .
Xhosa is an
Agglutinative language featuring an array of prefixes and suffixes which are attached to root words. As in other Bantu languages, Xhosa nouns are classified into fifteen
Morphological Classes (or
Genders ), with different prefixes for singular and plural. Various parts of speech that qualify a
Noun must agree with the noun according to its gender. These agreements usually reflect part of the original class that it is agreeing with. Constituent word order is
Subject Verb Object .
Verbs are modified by affixes which mark subject, object, tense, aspect, and mood. The various parts of the sentence must agree in class and number
{Link without Title} .
:
: uku - to play
: uku - to see
: ntwana - a child
: ntwana - children
: ntwana '''uya'''dlala - the child plays
: ntwana '''baya'''dlala - the children play
: doda - a man
: doda - men
: doda '''i'''ya''m''bona ''um''ntwana - the man sees the child
: doda '''a'''ya''ba''bona ''aba''ntwana - the men see the children
: onke '''z'''into '''ezi'''lungile '''zi'''vela '''ku'''Thixo - all things that are good proceed from god
Xhosa has a simple inventory of five vowels: , , , and , written ''a'', ''e'', ''i'', ''o'' and ''u''.
Xhosa is a , but are usually not written, except for ''â''.
Xhosa is rich in uncommon
Consonant s. Besides
Pulmonic Egressive sounds, as in
English , it has fifteen
Clicks (by way of comparison, the
Ju/’hoan Language , spoken by roughly 10,000 people in
Botswana and
Namibia has 48 clicks, while the
!Xóõ Language , with roughly 4,000 speakers in
Botswana , has 83 click sounds, the largest consonant inventory of any known language), plus
Ejective s and an
Implosive . The same sounds occur in Zulu, but are used less frequently than in Xhosa.
The five
Dental Click s (represented by the letter "c") are made with the tongue on the back of the teeth, and are similar to the sound represented in English by "tut-tut" or "tsk-tsk" to reprimand someone. The second five are
Lateral (represented by the letter "x"), made by the tongue at the sides of the mouth, and are similar to the sound used to call horses. The remaining five are
Alveolar (represented by the letter "q"), made with the tip of the tongue at the roof of the mouth, and sound something like a cork pulled from a bottle.
The following table lists the consonant phonemes of the language, giving the pronunciation in
IPA on the left, and the orthography on the right:
is a famous Xhosa speaker.]]
Two additional consonants, and , are found in borrowings. Both are spelled as ''r''.
Two additional consonants, and , are found in borrowings. Both are spelled as ''zh''.
Two additional consonants, and , are found in loans. Both are spelled as ''dz''.
An additional consonant, is found in loans. It is spelled as ''ngh''.
In addition to the ejective affricate , the spelling ''tsh'' may also be used for either of the aspirated affricates and .
The breathy voiced glottal fricative is sometimes spelled ''h''.
The "breathy voiced" clicks, plosives, and affricates are actually plain voiced, but the following vowel is murmured. That is, ''da'' is pronounced .
When consonants are
Prenasalized , their pronunciation and spelling may change. Murmur no longer shifts to the following vowel. Fricatives become affricates, and if voiceless, become ejectives as well, at least with some speakers: ''mf'' is pronounced ; ''ndl'' is pronounced ;''n+hl'' becomes ''ntl'' ; ''n+z'' becomes ''ndz'' , ''etc.'' The orthographic ''b'' in ''mb'' is a voiced plosive, .
When voiceless clicks ''c, x, q'' are prenasalized, a silent ''k'' is added - ''nkc, nkx, nkq'' - so as to prevent confusion with the nasal clicks ''nc, nx, nq''.
''
Nkosi Sikelel' IAfrika '' is part of the
National Anthem Of South Africa , national anthem of
Tanzania and
Zambia , and the former anthem of
Zimbabwe and
Namibia . It is a Xhosa hymn written by
Enoch Sontonga in 1897. The first chorus is:
: ''Nkosi, sikelel' iAfrika;''
: ''Malupakam'upondo lwayo;''
: ''Yiva imithandazo yethu''
: ''Usisikelele.''
: Lord, bless Africa;
: May her horn rise high up;
: Hear Thou our prayers And bless us.
Article 1 of the
Universal Declaration Of Human Rights :
: ''Bonke abantu bazalwa bekhululekile belingana ngesidima nangokweemfanelo. Bonke abantu banesiphiwo sesazela nesizathu sokwenza isenzo ongathanda ukuba senziwe kumzalwane wakho.''
: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
is a famous Xhosa speaker. Her song ''Qongqothwane'' is known in English as ''The Click Song'']]
''Qongqothwane'' ("The Knock-Knock Beetle," known in English as ''The Click Song'') is a Xhosa wedding song best known as performed by Miriam Makeba. Note the frequent occurrence of palatial clicks:
: ''Igqira lendlela nguqongqothwane''
: ''Igqira lendlela kuthwa nguqongqothwane''
: ''Sebeqabele gqithapha bathi nguqongqothwane''
: ''Sebeqabele gqithapha bathi nguqongqothwane.''
: The diviner of the roadways is the knock-knock beetle
: The diviner of the roadways is said to be the knock-knock beetle
: It has passed up the steep hill, the knock-knock beetle
: It has passed up the steep hill, the knock-knock beetle
: Molo - hello (to one person)
: Molweni - hello (to more than one person)
: Unjani? - how are you? (one person)
: Ninjani? - how are you? (more than one person)
: Ndiphilile - I am well
: Siphilile - we are well
: Ngubani igama lakho? - What is your name?
: Unangaphi? - How old are you?
: Malini na? - How much money?
: Yintoni le? - What is this?
: Ngubani xesha? - What is the time?
: Kuyabanda ngaphandle! - It is cold outside!
: Enkosi - thank you
: Uxolo - excuse me
: Ngxesi - sorry
: Nceda - please
: Andiqondi/Andikuva - I don't understand
: Andiyazi - I don't know
: Ndithetha isiXhosa kancinci nje - I only speak a little Xhosa
: Ndiyagoduka ngoku - I am going home now
: Entwasahlobo bufikile - Spring has arrived
: Ndihamba ngebhasi - I go by bus
: Ndilahlekile - I am lost
: Ndingakwenzela ntoni? - What i can i do for you?
: Vula iincwadi sakho - Open your books (to one person)
: Vulani iincwadi senu - Open your books (to more than one person)
