Lesson 1: Languages and Peoples of Africa
Video Lesson
Competencies(MLC)
At the end of this lesson, learners will be able to:
- Describe languages and peoples of Africa.
- Appreciate the diversity of the languages of Africa.
Brainstorming Questions
What is a native language?
Key Terms
- Native
- Language
A person born in a particular place or country
A systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols
Africa’s Linguistic Super-Families
Africa is home to over 1000 languages, classified into four main super-families:
1. Afro-Asiatic:
- Geographic Distribution: Northern Africa, the Sahara, the Horn of Africa, and around Lake Chad.
Sub-Groups:
- Berber: Spoken mainly in North Africa.
- Chadic: Found in parts of Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon.
- Coptic: Ancient Egyptian, now largely a liturgical language.
- Cushitic: Extends from the Red Sea coast, through the Horn of Africa, and into central Kenya and Tanzania.
- Omotic: Exclusively spoken in Ethiopia.
- Semitic: Predominantly in the Horn of Africa (e.g., Amharic, Tigrinya).
2. Niger-Congo:
- Geographic Distribution: Much of West Africa and all of Bantu Africa.
Major Branches:
- Niger-Congo: Includes a vast array of languages spoken across West, Central, and Southeast Africa.
- Bantu: Covers much of sub-Saharan Africa with over 450 languages, including Swahili, which has significant African and Arab influences.
- Kordofanian: Spoken in the Nuba Hills, south of Sudan.
3. Nilo-Saharan:
- Geographic Distribution: Central and Eastern Africa, especially around the Nile and the Sahel region.
Sub-Groups:
- Chari-Nile
- Songhay
- Saharan
- Meban
- Koman
- Fur
4. Khoisan:
- Geographic Distribution: Southern Africa, particularly in and around the Kalahari Desert.
- Sub-Groups:
- Khoikhoi
- San
Non-Native Languages
- Arabic: Introduced to northern Africa by Muslim Arabs between the 7th and 11th centuries.
- European Languages: Brought to Africa during the colonial period, including languages like English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
This classification highlights the continent’s rich linguistic tapestry and shows how historical migrations, trade, and colonization have influenced language distribution and development across Africa.
