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Xhosa

Also known as xh, isiXhosa, Xosa, Xhosa language, xho

Nguni language of southern South Africa

AI overview

Xhosa is a language spoken in southern South Africa that belongs to the Nguni language family. It matters because it is an important part of the cultural identity and heritage of the Xhosa people and millions of speakers in the region.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: modern language
Country: Lesotho

Show 14 more facts

linguistic typology: subject–verb–object
P11012: Chiquinho
Commons category: Xhosa language
writing system: Latin script
Wikimedia language code: xh
native label: IsiXhosa
topic's main category: Category:Xhosa language
indigenous to: Western Cape
category for films in this language: Category:Xhosa-language films
topic has template: Template:Lang-xh
language regulatory body: Pan South African Language Board
exact match: data.linguistik.de/bll/bll-ontology#bll-133079600
P10369: United Kingdom
number of speakers, writers, or signers: 11000000

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Encyclopedic overview

Xhosa (/ˈkoʊsə/ KOH-sə, Xhosa: [ᵏǁʰôːsa] ), formerly spelled Xosa and also known by its local name isiXhosa, is a Bantu language, indigenous to Southern Africa and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Xhosa is spoken as a first language by approximately 8 million people and as a second language in South Africa, particularly in Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng, and also in parts of Zimbabwe and Lesotho. It has perhaps the heaviest functional load of click consonants in a Bantu language (approximately tied with Yeyi), with one count finding that 10% of basic vocabulary items contained a click.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Xhosa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.