The languages of Africa are divided into several major language families say hello to an African person:
- Niger–Congo or perhaps Atlantic–Congo languages (Bantu and non-Bantu, the inclusion of Mande and a few other groups is disputed) are spoken in West, Central, Southeast and Southern Africa.
- Afroasiatic languages are spread throughout Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and parts of the Sahel.
- Indo-European languages are spoken in South Africa and Namibia (Afrikaans, English, German) and are used as lingua francas in the former colonies of Britain and Liberia that was part of American Colonization Society (English), former colonies of France and of Belgium (French), former colonies of Portugal (Portuguese), former colonies of Italy (Italian), former colonies of Spain (Spanish) and the current Spanish territories of Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands (Spanish).
- Various families of Nilo-Saharan languages (unity debated) are spoken from Tanzania to Eritrea and Sudan and from Chad to Mali.
- Austronesian languages are spoken in Madagascar.
- Khoe–Kwadi languages are spoken principally in Namibia and Botswana. say hello to an African person
There are several other small families and language isolates, as well as creoles and languages that have yet to be classified. In addition, Africa has a wide variety of sign languages, many of which are language isolates (see below).
The total 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, and by some counts at “over 3,000”. Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to SIL Ethnologue), one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. However, “One of the notable differences between Africa and most other linguistic areas is its relative uniformity. With few exceptions, all of Africa’s languages have been gathered into four major phyla.”
Around a hundred languages are widely used for inter-ethnic communication. Arabic, Somali, Berber, Amharic, Oromo, Igbo, Swahili, Hausa, Manding, Fulani and Yoruba are spoken by tens of millions of people. Twelve dialect clusters (which may group up to a hundred linguistic varieties) are spoken by 75 percent, and fifteen by 85 percent, of Africans as a first or additional language. Although many mid-sized languages are used on the radio, in newspapers and in primary-school education, and some of the larger ones are considered national languages, only a few are official at the national level. The African Union declared 2006 the “Year of African Languages”
54 countries, countless languages (500 or more in Nigeria alone), customs from abroad, innovations at home, traditions, religions,…but: Just for fun here’s a few: On the phone in Nigeria, assuming either English or Pidjin: “Afar?” (short for “How far away are you?” pronounced Ah’-fa) As in am I going to actually see you, or are you going to flake out on our plans due to traffic/road problems? say hello to an African person
To a Muslim, but generally only if you are a fellow believer, “Salaam alaikum” or “peace to you.” Reply is “Waalaikum salaam.” “To you, peace.”In the morning, greeting, especially fellow workers or neighbors, “How was your night?” To which many will reply “Thanks be to God…” or “We thank God.” This is most common among Christians.
In Swahili, on the other side of the continent, hours by airline, “Jambo.” And in most of Africa, either “hello” or “Bon jour” as English and French are widely spoken. say hello to an African person
Note: Where multiple languages are spoken, only the official or most prominent language is included. say hello to an African person
How to Say “Hello” In…
Angola
- Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
Botswana
- Setswana: Dumela mma (Hello to a woman), Dumela rra (Hello to a man)
- English: Hello
Burkina Faso
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
- Mossi: Ne y yibeogo! (Good morning)
- Dyula: I ni sogoma (Good morning)
Cameroon
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
- English: Hello
Cote d’Ivoire
- French: Bonjour
Egypt
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Ethiopia
- Amharic: Teanastëllën (Hello, formal), Tadiyass (Hello, informal)
Gabon
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
- Fang: M’bole (Hello to one person), M’bolani (Hello to several people)
Ghana
- English: Hello
- Twi: Maakyé (Good morning)
Kenya
- Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)
- English: Hello
Lesotho
- Sesotho: Lumela (Hello to one person), Lumelang (Hello to several people)
- English: Hello
Libya
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Madagascar
- Malagasy: Salama (Hello), M’bola tsara (Hello)
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
Malawi
- Chichewa: Moni (Hello)
- English: Hello
Mali
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
- Bambara: I ni ce (Hello)
Mauritania
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
- Hassaniya: Aw’walikum (Hello)
Morocco
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
Mozambique
- Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)
Namibia
- English: Hello
- Afrikaans: Hallo (Hello)
- Oshiwambo: Mwa lele po (Hello)
Nigeria
- English: Hello
- Hausa: Sànnu (Hello)
- Igbo: Ibaulachi (Hello)
- Yoruba: Bawo (Hello)
Rwanda
- Kinyarwanda: Muraho (Hello)
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
- English: Hello
Senegal
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
- Wolof: Nanga def (How are you?)
Sierra Leone
- English: Hello
- Krio: Kushe (Hello)
South Africa
In South Africa we have 11 official languages including English. You say hello in them this way:
- Zulu: Sawubona (Hello)
- Xhosa: Molo (Hello)
- Afrikaans: Hallo (Hello)
- English: Hello
1. Howzit – A traditional South African greeting that translates roughly as “How are you?” or simply “Hello”.
2. Heita – An urban and rural greeting used by South Africans. A cheery slang form of saying “Hello”.
3. Aweh – A South African slang word used to acknowledge something or greet someone and is mainly used in the coloured community.
4. Sawubona (First person singular) – If you meet a South African and you would like to greet them in isiZulu, you can say “Sawubona” meaning “greetings”.
5. Molo – You can also try greet a South African in Xhosa by saying “Molo” which means “How are you doing?”
6. Unjani – This is another way you can greet someone in isiZulu meaning “Hello”.
7. Thobela – Thobela means “How are you?” which is a formal way of greeting someone in Pedi.
8. Dumela (Setswana) – Mainly used with the Tswana people, this can also be used to greet a South African.
9. Hoe gaan dit? – Taken from Afrikaans, which means “How are you?”
10. Sharp Fede – South African township greeting meaning “Hello, how are you?”
Zulu – sawubona (single person), sanibonani (plural)
Xhosa – molo (sg) molweni (pl)
Afrikaans – halo
Sotho – dumela (sg) dumelang (pl)
Swazi – sawubona (sg) sanibonani (pl)
Tswana – dumela (sg) dumelang (pl)
Ndebele – sawubona (sg) lotjhani/salibonani (pl)
Pedi – thobela/dumelang
Venda – hurini
Tsonga – xewani/avuxeni
Zulu, Swazi and Ndebele the greeting is the same. Because they belong to the Nguni group together with Xhosa. But Xhosa uses a different greeting. Sometimes it will be Zulu which uses a different word for something while the rest share the same word. Sometimes it will be others etc.
Similarly Sotho, Tswana and Pedi share dumela/dumelang and they belong to the Sotho group.
Sudan
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Eswatini
- Swati: Sawubona (Hello)
- English: Hello
Tanzania
- Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)
- English: Hello
Togo
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
Tunisia
- French: Bonjour (Hello)
- Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Uganda
- Luganda: Oli otya (Hello)
- Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)
- English: Hello
Zambia
- English: Hello
- Bemba: Muli shani (How are you?)
Zimbabwe
- English: Hello
- Shona: Mhoro (Hello)
- Ndebele: Sawubona (Hello)
Below is a list of language isolates and otherwise unclassified languages in Africa, from Vossen & Dimmendaal (2020:434):
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