How many official languages are there in South Africa?

How many official languages are there in South Africa?

• A. Eleven official languages
• B. Nine official languages
• C. Twelve official languages
• D. Fourteen official languages

Answer: (A)

East Africa? No—the main idea here is how many official languages South Africa officially recognizes. There are eleven official languages, a designation rooted in the 1996 Constitution to reflect the country’s linguistic diversity and to ensure equal access to government, courts, education, and public services in multiple languages. The eleven are isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, isiXitsonga, isiSwati, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Tshivenda, Afrikaans, and English. This official status means government documents and broadcasts can be provided in several languages and public life aims to be accessible to speakers of all of them. The other counts don’t match the constitutional designation, so eleven is the number to remember.

East Africa? No—the main idea here is how many official languages South Africa officially recognizes. There are eleven official languages, a designation rooted in the 1996 Constitution to reflect the country’s linguistic diversity and to ensure equal access to government, courts, education, and public services in multiple languages. The eleven are isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, isiXitsonga, isiSwati, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Tshivenda, Afrikaans, and English. This official status means government documents and broadcasts can be provided in several languages and public life aims to be accessible to speakers of all of them. The other counts don’t match the constitutional designation, so eleven is the number to remember.