Home
Languagevs


Shona and Xhosa


Xhosa and Shona


Countries

Countries
Zimbabwe   
South Africa   

Total No. Of Countries
1   
14
1   
14

National Language
Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe   
South Africa   

Second Language
Not spoken in any of the countries   
Lesotho, South Africa   

Speaking Continents
Africa   
Africa   

Minority Language
Not spoken in any of the countries   
Botswana, Lesotho   

Regulated By
Not Available   
Not Available   

Interesting Facts
  • Shona language is tonal language.
  • The African people in Zimbabwe is made of 10 ethnic groups, each speaking a different languages, shona is spoken by 60 percent of population.
  
  • Xhosa has 15 click sounds, borrowed from the khoi-khoi and san languages of the South Africa.
  • The same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meaning when said with different tones, so Xhosa is tonal.
  

Similar To
Kalanga and Nambya Language   
Zulu, Swazi, and Ndebele   

Derived From
Not Available   
Khoi-Khoi and San Languages   

Alphabets

Alphabets in
Shona-Alphabets.jpg#200   
Xhosa-Alphabets.jpg#200   

Alphabets
Not Available   
53   
32

Phonology
  
  

How Many Vowels
5   
2
10   
7

How Many Consonants
46   
34
43   
32

Scripts
Latin   
Latin   

Writing Direction
Not Available   
Not Available   

Hard to Learn
  
  

Language Levels
4   
3
3   
2

Time Taken to Learn
Not Available   
44 weeks   
11

Greetings

Hello
Mhoro   
Molo   

Thank You
Waita zvako   
Ndiyabulela   

How Are You?
Wakadini zvako?   
Unjani   

Good Night
Urare zvakanaka   
Ulale kakuhle   

Good Evening
Manheru   
Ubusuku obuhle   

Good Afternoon
Masikati   
Uben' emva kwemini entle   

Good Morning
Mangwanani   
Molo   

Please
Ndinokumbirawo   
Ndicela   

Sorry
Ndineurombo   
Ndicela uxolo   

Bye
bye   
Uhambe/Usale kakuhle   

I Love You
Ndinokuda   
Ndiyakuthanda   

Excuse Me
Pamusoro   
Uxolo   

Dialects

Dialect 1
Hwesa   
Gcaleka   

Where They Speak
Zimbabwe   
South Africa   

Dialect 2
Karanga   
Thembu   

Where They Speak
southern Zimbabwe   
South Africa   

Dialect 3
Zezuru   
Hlubi   

Where They Speak
central Zimbabwe, Mashonaland   
South Africa   

Total No. Of Dialects
4   
4
9   
9

How Many People Speak

How Many People Speak?
25.00 million   
40
20.00 million   
99+

Speaking Population
0.13 %   
99+
0.11 %   
99+

Native Speakers
8.30 million   
99+
8.20 million   
99+

Second Language Speakers
Not Available   
11.00 million   
21

Native Name
Not Available   
isiXhosa   

Alternative Names
Chishona, “Swina” (pej.), Zezuru   
“Cauzuh” (pej.), Isixhosa, Koosa, Xosa   

French Name
shona   
xhosa   

German Name
Schona-Sprache   
Xhosa-Sprache   

Pronunciation
Not Available   
Not Available   

Ethnicity
Not Available   
amaXhosa, amaBhaca   

History

Origin
20th century   
16th Century   

Language Family
Niger-Congo Family   
Niger-Congo Family   

Subgroup
Benue-Congo   
Benue-Congo   

Branch
Bantu   
Bantu   

Language Forms
  
  

Early Forms
Not Available   
No early forms   

Standard Forms
Not Available   
isiXhosa   

Language Position
107   
99+
Not Available   

Signed Forms
Not Available   
Signed Xhosa   

Scope
Individual   
Individual   

Code

ISO 639 1
sn   
xh   

ISO 639 2
  
  

ISO 639 2/T
sna   
xho   

ISO 639 2/B
sna   
xho   

ISO 639 3
sna   
xho   

ISO 639 6
Not Available   
Not Available   

Glottocode
core1255   
xhos1239   

Linguasphere
99-AUT-a   
99-AUT-fa   

Types of Language
  
  

Language Type
Living   
Living   

Language Linguistic Typology
Not Available   
Subject-Verb-Object   

Language Morphological Typology
Not Available   
Not Available   

Summary >>
<< Code

All Shona and Xhosa Dialects

Most languages have dialects where each dialect differ from other dialect with respect to grammar and vocabulary. Here you will get to know all Shona and Xhosa dialects. Various dialects of Shona and Xhosa language differ in their pronunciations and words. Dialects of Shona are spoken in different Shona Speaking Countries whereas Xhosa Dialects are spoken in different Xhosa speaking countries. Also the number of people speaking Shona vs Xhosa Dialects varies from few thousands to many millions. Some of the Shona dialects include: Hwesa, Karanga. Xhosa dialects include: Gcaleka , Thembu. Also learn about dialects in South American Languages and North American Languages.

Compare Most Difficult Languages

Shona and Xhosa Speaking population

Shona and Xhosa speaking population is one of the factors based on which Shona and Xhosa languages can be compared. The total count of Shona and Xhosa Speaking population in percentage is also given. The percentage of people speaking Shona language is 0.13 % whereas the percentage of people speaking Xhosa language is 0.11 %. When we compare the speaking population of any two languages we get to know which of two languages is more popular. Find more details about how many people speak Shona and Xhosa on Shona vs Xhosa where you will get native speakers, speaking population in percentage and native names.

Shona and Xhosa Language Codes

Shona and Xhosa language codes are used in those applications where using language names are tedious. Shona and Xhosa Language Codes include all the international language codes, glottocodes and linguasphere.

Most Difficult Languages

Most Difficult Languages

» More Most Difficult Languages

Compare Most Difficult Languages

» More Compare Most Difficult Languages