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Poll: How many African languages could you name off the top of your head?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Mar 14, 2025

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How many African languages could you name off the top of your head?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 16:14
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Mar 14, 2025

I know that in Angola, where I lived for a while, there are over 40 native languages. I can name four - Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo and Chokwe – plus a very interesting language of the Khoisan family, known for integrating clicks into its phonological systems.

expressisverbis
 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 16:14
English to Portuguese
+ ...
African languages Mar 14, 2025

The number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on the delineation of language vs. dialect) at between 1,250 and 2,100,[1] and by some counts at over 3,000.[2] Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to SIL Ethnologue),[3] one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world.

... See more
The number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on the delineation of language vs. dialect) at between 1,250 and 2,100,[1] and by some counts at over 3,000.[2] Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to SIL Ethnologue),[3] one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Africa

With anywhere between 1000 and 2000 languages, Africa is home to approximately one-third of the world's languages.

The diversity of Africa's languages is evidenced by their populations. In total, there are at least 75 languages in Africa which have more than one million speakers. The rest are spoken by populations ranging from a few hundred to several hundred thousand speakers.

https://alp.fas.harvard.edu/introduction-african-languages

I know that Nubian languages are a group of languages spoken in Sudan and Southern Egypt. ▲ Collapse


Yaotl Altan
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 17:14
Member (2003)
Danish to English
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Surprisingly few! Mar 14, 2025

I have to admit that literally out of the top of my head, I only managed six! I tried hard to remember some of the 12 South African languages, but I was completely blocked by Indian languages! I can list a couple of dozen when I get going, based on childhood memories and family interests.

When I found a list to check that the languages I had thought of really were African languages, I found a whole lot more that I recognised at once and felt I ´should´ have been able to think of s... See more
I have to admit that literally out of the top of my head, I only managed six! I tried hard to remember some of the 12 South African languages, but I was completely blocked by Indian languages! I can list a couple of dozen when I get going, based on childhood memories and family interests.

When I found a list to check that the languages I had thought of really were African languages, I found a whole lot more that I recognised at once and felt I ´should´ have been able to think of spontaneously.

It was quite humbling. Thank you for a good question! ▲ Collapse


Liena V.
Maria Laura Curzi
 


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Poll: How many African languages could you name off the top of your head?






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