Zulu

Zulu, also known as isiZulu, is a Nguni language and part of the Niger-Congo language family. Zulu is spoken naively by the Zulu people who live primarily in South Africa, where Zulu is one of the official languages. Zulu is also spoken in Botswana, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Mozambique.

Like other Southern African languages, the Zulu language possesses many clicks sounds, which may have been adopted from the Khoisan language as the Zulu people migrated along the east coast and encountered the language. Zulu also shares many similarities with other Nguni languages including Xhosa, Ndebele, and Swati, so much so that speakers of one language commonly understand the other. Zulu can be divided into two dialects: Lala and Qwabe.

In South Africa, 24 percent of the population speak Zulu as a mother tongue. An additional 50 percent of the population understands Zulu or speak it as a second language. In the eastern half of South Africa where other Nguni languages are spoken, Zulu is sometimes used as a lingua franca.

Zulu is one of South Africa’s 11 official languages and has been increasingly taught in schools. Since the 1930’s there has been a growth in Zulu publications, including newspapers and magazines. Furthermore, there has been an increasing amount of Zulu television, radio and film.