Languages of the African Union

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The languages of the African Union (AU) are languages used by citizens within the member states of the AU. The Union has defined all languages of Africa as official, and currently uses Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese as its working languages ^[1], due to the Arab conquest of North Africa and colonization making the languages of Europe linguas franca in various parts of Africa.

Supplemental protocols have made Swahili another working language. In 2001, the AU created the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) to harmonize the various languages across the continent and safeguard any that are on the verge of becoming extinct. To that end, the AU declared 2006 the Year of African Languages^[2][3].

Contents 1 Languages of AU states 2 Language issues 2.1 Illiteracy 2.2 Language extinction 3 External links 4 References

[edit] Languages of AU states

•  Algeria - The Constitution of Algeria defines the official language as Arabic; an amendment made Berber a national language, with four dialects being spoken. French is spoken by governmental and educational elite. There is also an Algerian Sign Language. (Languages of Algeria)
•  Angola - Portuguese is the official language, and many persons speak one or several of 41 Bantu or Khoisan languages. (Languages of Angola)
•  Benin - French is the official language, with Fon and Yoruba being the most common languages in the south. At least six major languages are spoken in the north. (Languages of Benin)
•  Botswana - English is the official language, with Tswana being the most common national language. There are significant communities that speak Ikalanga and Sekgalagadi. (Languages of Botswana)
•  Burkina Faso - French is the official language, but most speak one of the Sudanic languages. (Languages of Burkina Faso)
•  Burundi - French and Kirundi are co-official. Many persons also speak Swahili. (Languages of Burundi)
•  Cameroon - English and French are co-official, with Cameroonian Pidgin English widely spoken. Twenty-four major African language families and sub-groups are present in Cameroon. Cameroon is one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world. (Languages of Cameroon)
•  Cape Verde - Standard Portuguese is official along with nine creoles. (Languages of Cape Verde)
•  Central African Republic - French and Sango are co-official; the latter is the lingua franca. Sango is the local language with the most speakers, 70 languages are listed in the Ethnologue report for the country. (Languages of the Central African Republic)
•  Chad - Arabic and French are co-official, with over 120 other languages spoken. (Languages of Chad)
•  Comoros - Arabic, French, and Comorian are co-official; the latter is a Bantu language closely related to Swahili. (Languages of Comoros)
•  Democratic Republic of the Congo - French is official, with four national languages: Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba. There are an estimated total of 242 languages spoken in the DRC. (Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
•  Republic of the Congo - French is official, but is only spoken by the cultural elite. Kituba and Lingala are national linguae franca; the latter is a creole of Kikongo. (Languages of the Republic of the Congo)
•  Côte d'Ivoire - French is official, with some 60 indigenous languages, of which the Dioula dialect of Bambara is the most widely spoken. Other languages include: the Gur languages, the Kru languages (including the Bété languages, Dida, Nyabwa, Wè, and Western Krahn), and the Kwa languages. (Languages of Côte d'Ivoire)
•  Djibouti - Arabic and French are co-official; Afar and Somali are widely spoken. (Languages of Djibouti)
•  Egypt - Arabic is official, with Masri (Egyptian Arabic) being the national standard. The Egyptian language is still used via Coptic among Christians. English and French are widely understood among the educated. (Languages of Egypt)
•  Equatorial Guinea - Spanish, French and Portuguese are official. Other languages include Annobonese, Bubi, Fang, Ibo, and a pidgin English. (Languages of Equatorial Guinea)
•  Eritrea - There is no official language per se, but Arabic, English, and Tigrinya are used by the government. Other common languages include Afar, Blin, Kunama, Nara, Saho, and Tigre. Ge'ez is the liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. Amharic is spoken by Ethiopians. (Languages of Eritrea)
•  Ethiopia - Amharic is official, among more than 80 languages spoken. English is widely spoken and taught in secondary school. (Languages of Ethiopia)
•  Gabon - French is official, but many African languages are spoken. (Languages of Gabon)
•  Gambia - English is official, but many African languages are spoken. (Languages of Gambia)
•  Ghana - English is official, Akan, Dagaare/Wale, Dagbane, Dangme, Ewe, Ga, Gonja, Kasem and Nzema are government-recognized languages. (Languages of Ghana)
•  Guinea - French is official, Susu is the lingua franca. (Languages of Guinea)
•  Guinea-Bissau - Portuguese is official, but the most widely spoken language is a Portuguese-based creole language, Kriol. (Languages of Guinea-Bissau)
•  Kenya - Swahili and English are official, many other languages are spoken. (Languages of Kenya)
•  Lesotho - Sesotho and English are official. (Languages of Lesotho)
•  Liberia - English is official, many African languages are spoken. (Languages of Liberia)
•  Libya - Arabic is official, Tamazight is spoken by about 10% of the population. Italian is understood by some older Libyans. (Languages of Libya)
•  Madagascar - Malagasy, French and English are official. (Languages of Madagascar)
•  Malawi - Chichewa and English are official. (Languages of Malawi)
•  Mali - French is official, Bambara is the primary lingua franca. (Languages of Mali)
•  Mauritania - Hassaniya Arabic and French are official, other languages spoken include: Pulaar, Soninke, and Wolof. (Languages of Mauritania)
•  Mauritius - English is official, the native language of much of the populace is Mauritian Creole. Hindi and other Indian languages are spoken by the Indian community. Arabic, Portuguese and various Chinese dialects like Hakka and Mandarin are also spoken by some. (Languages of Mauritius)
•  Mozambique - Portuguese is the official language. Makua, Sena, Ndau, Shangaan and Swahili are spoken by a sizable amount of the population. The educated often speak English as a second or third language. The Arab, Indian and Chinese communities speak their own languages. (Languages of Mozambique)
•  Namibia - The official language is English. Half of all Namibians speak Oshiwambo (Ovambo) as their first language, whereas the most widely understood language is Afrikaans. Most "whites" in Namibia speak Afrikaans or German which were the official languages before independence. (Languages of Namibia)
•  Niger - French is the official language. Hausa, Djerma, Tamajaq, Fulfulde are important African languages. (Languages of Niger)
•  Nigeria - English is the official language, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Edo, Efik, Adamawa, Fulfulde]], Idoma, and Central Kanuri are all widely spoken. 510 languages currently exist with native speakers in Nigeria. (Languages of Nigeria)
•  Rwanda - Kinyarwanda, French, and English are official languages. Kinyarwanda is the most spoken mother tongue. (Languages of Rwanda)
•  São Tomé and Príncipe - Portuguese is the official language, spoken by 95% of the population. Other languages include the Portuguese-based creoles Forro (85%), Angolar (3%) and Principense (0.1%). (Languages of São Tomé and Príncipe)
•  Senegal - French is the official language, used regularly by a minority of Senegalese educated in a system styled upon the colonial-era schools of French origin. Most persons also speak their own ethnic language while, especially in Dakar, Wolof is the lingua franca. Pulaar is spoken by the Peuls and Toucouleur. Various Portuguese Creoles are spoken in Senegal by those from Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe. (Languages of Senegal)
•  Seychelles - English, French and Seychellois Creole are official. As Seychelles had no indigenous population, many languages are spoken by the various African, Chinese, European, and Indian peoples who colonized it. Seychellois Creole is the lingua franca between these groups. (Languages of Seychelles)
•  Sierra Leone - English is the official language but it is only understood by a minority. Most persons speak their ethnic language. (Languages of Sierra Leone)
•  Somalia - Somali, Arabic and Italian are official. Somali is the most spoken language. Minority languages include Maay-Maay, Barawa and Swahili. A considerable amount of Somalis speak Arabic in religion, commerce and education. English is also widely used and taught in schools. In some pockets in Southern Somalia, Italian is also used as a second language. (Languages of Somalia)
•  South Africa - South Africa has 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sesotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu. (Languages of South Africa)
•  Sudan - Arabic and English are the official languages. Many African languages are spoken in both North and South Sudan. (Languages of Sudan)
•  Swaziland - English, Swati and Zulu are official languages. (Languages of Swaziland)
•  Tanzania - English and Swahili are the official languages. Swahili is the dominant lingua franca. Gujarati is spoken by many in the Indian community. About 120 indigenous languages from all the four language families of Africa are spoken. (Languages of Tanzania)
•  Togo - French is the official language. Ewe and Kabiye are national languages. (Languages of Togo)
•  Tunisia - Arabic is official, French is often used as a language of commerce. The Berber minority speaks various Berber languages including Shelha, Ghadamès, Nafusi, Sened (may be extinct) and Djerbi. (Languages of Tunisia)
•  Uganda - English and Swahili are official, although Swahili is rarely used. Luganda is the most spoken language. Other important languages include Lusoga, Ruyankole, Rukiga, Teso, Masaba, Nyoro and Ayoro (Languages of Uganda)
•  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic - The official language is Arabic. (Languages of Western Sahara)
•  Zambia - English is the official language, many African languages are spoken by the country's roughly 72 different ethnic groups. (Languages of Zambia)
•  Zimbabwe - English is the official language, but is the native language of only 2% of the population, while Shona and Ndebele are spoken by the majority of the population. (Languages of Zimbabwe)

[edit] Language issues

[edit] Illiteracy

Many African states have low literacy levels, in part as a product of poor educational infrastructure and several regional and ethnic languages lacking an alphabet or writing system at all or until the twentieth century. the United Nations Development Programme^[4] is the United Nations agency responsible for collecting information regarding demographics such as literacy. In 2005, the Programme ranked several African states at the bottom of its rankings. One exception to the tendency toward illiteracy in Africa is the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. This community is estimated to have 90% literacy, making them second only to the Boers of South Africa as the most literate African nation.

Rank	Country	Literacy rate
1	Australia	99.9
1	Austria	99.9
1	Belgium	99.9
1	Canada	99.9
1	Czech Republic	99.9
1	Denmark	99.9
1	Finland	99.9
1	France	99.9
1	Georgia	99.9
1	Germany	99.9
1	Iceland	99.9
1	Ireland	99.9
1	Japan	99.9
1	Luxembourg	99.9
1	Netherlands	99.9
1	New Zealand	99.9
1	Norway	99.9
1	Sweden	99.9
1	Switzerland	99.9
1	United Kingdom	99.9
2	Estonia	99.8
3	Barbados	99.7
3	Latvia	99.7
3	Poland	99.7
3	Slovenia	99.7
4	Belarus	99.6
4	Lithuania	99.6
4	Slovakia	99.6
5	Kazakhstan	99.5
5	Tajikistan	99.5
6	Armenia	99.4
6	Russia	99.4
6	Ukraine	99.4
7	Hungary	99.3
7	Uzbekistan	99.3
8	Tonga	98.9
9	Azerbaijan	98.8
9	Turkmenistan	98.8
10	Albania	98.7
10	Kyrgyzstan	98.7
10	Samoa	98.7
11	Italy	98.5
11	Trinidad and Tobago	98.5
12	Bulgaria	98.2
13	Croatia	98.1
14	South Korea	97.9
15	Mongolia	97.8
15	Saint Kitts and Nevis	97.8
16	Spain	97.7
17	Uruguay	97.7
18	Greece	97.5
19	Romania	97.3
20	Argentina	97.2
20	Maldives	97.2
21	United States	97.0
22	Cuba	96.9
22	Israel	96.9
23	Cyprus	96.8
24	Guyana	96.5
25	Moldova	96.2
26	Macedonia	96.1
27	Grenada	96.0
28	Costa Rica	95.8
29	Chile	95.7
30	Bahamas	95.5
31	Bosnia and Herzegovina	94.6
32	Colombia	94.2
33	Hong Kong S.A.R. of the People's Republic of China	93.5
34	Venezuela	93.0
35	Fiji	92.9
36	Brunei	92.7
37	Philippines	92.6
37	Thailand	92.6
38	Malta	92.5
38	Portugal	92.5
38	Singapore	92.5
39	Palestinian territories	91.9
39	Panama	91.9
39	Seychelles	91.9
40	Paraguay	91.6
41	Ecuador	91.0
42	People's Republic of China (mainland only)	90.9
43	Sri Lanka	90.4
44	Mexico	90.3
44	Vietnam	90.3
45	Saint Lucia	90.1
46	Zimbabwe	90.0
47	Jordan	89.9
48	Myanmar	89.7
49	Qatar	89.2
50	Malaysia	88.7
51	Brazil	88.4
52	Turkey	88.3
53	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	88.1
54	Dominica	88.0
54	Suriname	88.0
55	Indonesia	87.9
56	Bahrain	87.7
56	Dominican Republic	87.7
56	Peru	87.7
57	Jamaica	87.6
58	Bolivia	86.5
58	Lebanon	86.5
59	Antigua and Barbuda	85.8
60	Namibia	85.0
61	Mauritius	84.3
62	Equatorial Guinea	84.2
63	São Tomé and Principe	83.1
64	Kuwait	82.9
64	Syria	82.9
65	Republic of the Congo	82.8
66	South Africa	82.4
67	Libya	81.7
68	Lesotho	81.4
69	Honduras	80.0
70	El Salvador	79.7
71	Saudi Arabia	79.4
72	Swaziland	79.2
73	Botswana	78.9
74	United Arab Emirates	77.3
75	Iran	77.0
76	Belize	76.9
77	Nicaragua	76.7
78	Solomon Islands	76.6
79	Cape Verde	75.7
80	Oman	74.4
81	Tunisia	74.3
82	Vanuatu	74.0
83	Cambodia	73.6
83	Kenya	73.6
84	Gabon	71.0
85	Madagascar	70.6
86	Algeria	69.8
87	Tanzania	69.4
88	Guatemala	69.1
89	Uganda	68.9
90	Laos	68.7
91	Cameroon	67.9
91	Zambia	67.9
92	Angola	66.8
92	Nigeria	66.8
93	Djibouti	65.5
94	Democratic Republic of Congo	65.3
95	Malawi	64.1
96	Rwanda	64.0
97	India	61.0
98	Sudan	59.0
99	Burundi	58.9
100	Timor-Leste	58.6
101	Papua New Guinea	57.3
102	Eritrea	56.7
103	Comoros	56.2
104	Egypt	55.6
105	Ghana	54.1
106	Togo	53.0
107	Haiti	51.9
108	Mauritania	51.2
109	Morocco	50.7
110	Yemen	49.0
111	Pakistan	48.7
112	Central African Republic	48.6
112	Nepal	48.6
113	Côte d’Ivoire	48.1
114	Bhutan	47.0
115	Mozambique	46.5
116	Ethiopia	41.5
117	Bangladesh	41.1
118	Guinea	41.0
119	Guinea-Bissau	39.6
120	Senegal	39.3
121	Gambia	37.8
122	Benin	33.6
123	Sierra Leone	29.6
124	Chad	25.5
125	Mali	19.0
126	Niger	14.4
127	Burkina Faso	12.8

[edit] Language extinction

Several African languages are on the verge of extinction due to increasing urbanization and the lack of a written alphabet.

[edit] External links

• African Academy of Languages

[edit] References

v • d • e Working languages of the African Union Arabic · English · French · Portuguese · Swahili