Misplaced Pages

Languages of Eswatini
Road signs in English in Eswatini, with Swazi placenames
Official	Swazi
Minority	Tsonga, Zulu
Immigrant	Maore, Nyanja, Sotho
Foreign	English
Signed	Swazi Sign Language
Source	Simons et al. 2018

Eswatini is home to two official languages. The native language is Siswati. Recent immigrant languages include Chichewa, Tsonga, Zulu.

National and official languages

Siswati, a Southern Bantu language, is the native language of Eswatini, and is spoken by approximately 95 percent of Swazis. Siswati and English are the country's two official languages, and proceedings of the Parliament of Eswatini take place in both languages.

Swazi language education is present in all national schools, and literacy in Swati — defined as the ability to read and write the language — is very high in Eswatini. Siswati is also used in mass media.

Minority and immigrant languages

A minority of Swazi people, estimated to number 76,000 as of 1993, speak Zulu, one of the eleven official languages of South Africa. Tsonga, a Tswa–Ronga language and also an official language of South Africa, is spoken by 19,000 Swazis (as of 1993).

Chewa, an official language of Malawi, and Sotho (Sesotho or Southern Sotho), spoken mainly in Lesotho and the South African province of Free State, are immigrant languages with 5,700 and 4,700 speakers respectively. Shimaore is also an immigrant language and is spoken by 600 inhabitants.

See also

• Languages of Lesotho
• Languages of Mozambique
• Languages of South Africa

Notes

1. ^ Simons & Fennig 2018.
2. ^ Austin 2008, p. 108.
3. Dalby 1998, p. 596.
4. Stokes 2009, p. 673.
5. Fitzpatrick 2006, p. 654.

References

• Austin, P., ed. (2008). One thousand languages: living, endangered, and lost. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520255609.
• Dalby, A. (1998). Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231115698.
• Fitzpatrick, M. (2004). South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland. Lonely Planet Travel Guides Series. ISBN 9781741041620.
• Fitzpatrick, M. (2006). South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland. Lonely Planet Travel Guides Series. ISBN 9781740599702.
• Kanduza, A. M.; et al., eds. (2003). Issues in the economy and politics of Swaziland since 1968. OSSREA.
• Simons, G. F.; et al., eds. (2018). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (21st ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
• Stokes, J., ed. (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East. New York: Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9780816071586.

v t e Eswatini articles
History	Monarchs Second Boer War World War II 2021–2023 protests
Geography	Cities and towns Geology Regions Wildlife
Politics	Cabinet Elections Foreign relations Human rights LGBT rights Ngwenyama Ndlovukati Prime Minister Military Commander Law enforcement Parliament Senate House of Assembly Political parties
Economy	Central Bank Child labour Companies Mining Prostitution Stock Exchange Telecommunications Transport
Society	Abortion Culture Demographics Education Flag Languages Music Religion
Outline Category

• Languages of Eswatini