Shona and Xhosa
Countries
Zimbabwe
South Africa
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 in
Shona-Alphabets.jpg#200
Xhosa-Alphabets.jpg#200
Writing Direction
Not Available
Not Available
Time Taken to Learn
Not Available
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
Where They Speak
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Where They Speak
southern Zimbabwe
South Africa
Where They Speak
central Zimbabwe, Mashonaland
South Africa
Second Language Speakers
Not Available
Native Name
Not Available
isiXhosa
Alternative Names
Chishona, “Swina” (pej.), Zezuru
“Cauzuh” (pej.), Isixhosa, Koosa, Xosa
German Name
Schona-Sprache
Xhosa-Sprache
Pronunciation
Not Available
Not Available
Ethnicity
Not Available
amaXhosa, amaBhaca
Origin
20th century
16th Century
Language Family
Niger-Congo Family
Niger-Congo Family
Subgroup
Benue-Congo
Benue-Congo
Early Forms
Not Available
No early forms
Standard Forms
Not Available
isiXhosa
Language Position
Not Available
Signed Forms
Not Available
Signed Xhosa
Scope
Individual
Individual
ISO 639 6
Not Available
Not Available
Glottocode
core1255
xhos1239
Linguasphere
99-AUT-a
99-AUT-fa
Language Type
Living
Living
Language Linguistic Typology
Not Available
Subject-Verb-Object
Language Morphological Typology
Not Available
Not Available
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.
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.