South Africa has 12 official languages , and many people speak more than one of them.

Quick scoop: what language do they speak?

Legally, South Africa recognises these official languages:

  • isiZulu
  • isiXhosa
  • Afrikaans
  • English
  • isiNdebele
  • siSwati (Swati)
  • Sesotho
  • Sepedi (Sesotho sa Leboa / Northern Sotho)
  • Setswana
  • Tshivenda
  • Xitsonga
  • South African Sign Language (added as an official language in 2023)

In everyday life, isiZulu and isiXhosa are the largest home languages , while English is the main language of government, business, and higher education, even though relatively few people speak it at home.

How it works in practice

  • Most South Africans are multilingual , often speaking an African language at home, plus English, and sometimes Afrikaans or another local language.
  • English is the common bridge language across ethnic groups and is used widely in cities, media, and official communication.
  • Different provinces have different dominant languages (for example, isiZulu in KwaZulu-Natal, isiXhosa in Eastern Cape, Afrikaans in much of Western and Northern Cape).

So if you’re visiting, English will take you a long way, but the linguistic landscape is rich, diverse, and officially protected in the constitution.