Xhosa language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Xhosa
isiXhosa
Native to	South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho
Region	Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Free State
Ethnicity	Xhosa people
Native speakers	8.2 million  (2011 census)e18 11 million L2 speakers (2002)
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Bantu Southern Bantu Nguni Zunda Xhosa
Writing system	Latin (Xhosa alphabet) Xhosa Braille
Official status
Official language in	South Africa  Zimbabwe
Guthrie code	S.41
Linguasphere	99-AUT-fa incl. varieties 99-AUT-faa to 99-AUT-faj + 99-AUT-fb (isiHlubi)
Proportion of the South African population that speaks Xhosa at home      0–20%      20–40%      40–60%      60–80%      80–100%
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Xhosa is an important official language in South Africa. About 8.2 million people speak Xhosa as their first language. This means around 18% of the people in South Africa speak it. Many more people, about 11 million, speak Xhosa as a second language.

Xhosa is written using the Latin alphabet, which is the same alphabet English uses. A missionary named Henry Hare Dugmore helped translate the entire Bible into Xhosa in 1859.

One very special thing about Xhosa is its unique sounds. It has three main click sounds. It also has ten different vowel sounds.

Images for kids

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  Trilingual government building sign in Afrikaans, English and Xhosa

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  English missionary Henry Hare Dugmore helped translate the Bible into Xhosa in 1859

See also

In Spanish: Idioma xhosa para niños