What Are The Three Main Languages Spoken In East Africa?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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They may be grouped into three categories:

Bantu, Cushitic, and Nilotic/ Paranilotic

. Bantu is spoken by 65% of the population, Cushitic by 4%, and Nilotic/Paranilotic by 31%.

What are 3 languages spoken in Africa?

The most widely spoken languages of Africa, Swahili (100 million),

Hausa

(38 million), Yoruba (20 million), Amharic (20 million), Igbo (21 million), and Fula (13 million) all belong to the Niger-Congo family.

What is the main language spoken in East Africa?


Swahili

to become East Africa’s official language. The EAC is made up of five countries, namely Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

How many languages are in East Africa?

gathering appoximately

140 languages

with some eleven millions speakers scattered in Central and Eastern Africa.

What are the 3 main languages spoken in Kenya?

The official languages are English, which is widely spoken to a high standard in the tourist industry, and

KiSwahili

, an East African lingua franca that originates from the coast and spread inland along trade routes in the early 19th century. Other major languages include Kikuyu, Luo, Akamba and Maa.

What is the religion in East Africa?

The majority of Africans are adherents of

Christianity or Islam

. African people often combine the practice of their traditional belief with the practice of Abrahamic religions.

What is the oldest African language?


Afrikaans

is one of the official languages of South Africa. It belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European family. It evolved from the variety of Dutch which was spoken by Dutch settlers in South Africa.

What is the most popular language in Africa?

The most spoken language in Africa is

Swahili

which is said to have between 100 and 150 million speakers. Known as a ‘Bantu’ language, Swahili apparently originated from other languages like Arabic.

What language did the Jesus speak?

Most religious scholars and historians agree with Pope Francis that the historical Jesus principally spoke

a Galilean dialect of Aramaic

. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C., and would become the lingua franca in much of the Middle East.

What part of Africa speaks French?

Regions Country Status Africa

Congo

official
Ivory Coast official Djibouti co-official with Arabic Equatorial Guinea co-official with Spanish and Portuguese

How do u say hello in Kenya?

The most common greeting among those who speak Swahili is

‘Hujambo’

(‘Hello’) or the more colloquial greeting of ‘Jambo’. Both greetings can be responded with the phrase ‘sijambo’, which means ‘I am well’. Other common greetings in contemporary Kenya include ‘sasa’ or ‘Mambo’.

Where is English spoken in Africa?


Sierra Leone and Liberia

are the only countries in Africa where English is spoken as the primary language. English is the primary language of Nigeria and Ghana, but the language is spoken as a lingua franca in both states.

What is the official language of Africa?

The Union has defined all languages of Africa as official, and currently uses

Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili

.

What is the main religion in Kenya?

The government estimates as of 2019 approximately 85.5 percent of the total population is

Christian

and 11 percent Muslim. Groups constituting less than 2 percent of the population include Hindus, Sikhs, Baha’is, and those adhering to various traditional religious beliefs.

What is the most popular language in Kenya?

The country’s two official languages — and the ones you’ll hear and see used most frequently — are

English and Swahili

, which is considered the lingua franca of southeastern Africa for its widespread usage and ubiquity in the areas of trade, commerce, communications and education.

Juan Martinez
Author
Juan Martinez
Juan Martinez is a journalism professor and experienced writer. With a passion for communication and education, Juan has taught students from all over the world. He is an expert in language and writing, and has written for various blogs and magazines.