The most widely spoken languages of Africa, Swahili (200 million), Yoruba (45 million), Igbo (30 million), and Fula (35 million) all belong to the
Yoruba. Yoruba also has millions of speakers amongst African emigrants around the world. As a result, it's the most widely spoken African language outside of Africa.
The rise of Swahili, for some Africans, was a mark of true cultural and personal independence from the colonising Europeans and their languages of control and command. Uniquely among Africa's independent nations, Tanzania's government uses Swahili for all official business and, most impressively, in basic education.
With its origin in East Africa, Swahili speakers spread over more than 14 countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Comoros, and as far as Oman and Yemen in the Middle East.
How hard is it to learn? Swahili is said to be the easiest African language for an English speaker to learn. It's one of the few sub-Saharan African languages that have no lexical tone, just like in English. It's also much easier to read as you read out Swahili words just the way they are written.
mainly in Tanzania, Kenya and, Comoros, Mayotte, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Bajuni Islands (part of Somalia), northern Mozambique (mostly Mwani), Zambia, Malawi, and Madagascar.
The word "Swahili" means people of the coasts in Arabic and is derived from the word sawahil ("coasts"). The Swahili people and their culture formed from a distinct mix of African and Arab origins.
Today's Swahili, a mixture of African and Arab ancestry, trace their origins to this trading relationship. The Swahili use a Bantu-related language laced with Arabic words, and practice Islam, but enjoy music and food that is distinctly African.
Where In The World Is Swahili Spoken? Most native speakers of Swahili — about 15 million — are concentrated in Tanzania, where the tongue is a national language.
If your destination is Zimbabwe or South Africa, take into account that Zulu is the most widely spoken and understood language. If you're traveling to East Africa, familiarize yourself with Swahili, a language that's a blend of Arabic and Bantu.
The Swahili people originate from Bantu inhabitants of the coast of Southeast Africa, in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. These Bantu-speaking agriculturalists settled the coast at the outset of the first millennium.
Xhosa is one of the most difficult languages to learn because of its complex structure. It is spoken by 8 million people in South Africa and by 11 million people throughout Africa. Most of its speakers live in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Gauteng, and Northern Cape.
Uganda. Uganda comes at number one in the list of African countries where people speak the best English. This landlocked country has a diverse landscape and a population of 45 million, out of which approximately 29 million speak the English language.
We all know that the most famous Swahili phrase is 'Hakuna Matata,' made famous by the Lion King.
Hausa. The Hausa are primarily located in West Africa in northwestern Nigeria and southern Niger but they are also found in Cameroon, Togo, Chad, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Ghana. They are notable because they are the largest ethnic group in Africa with a population of 78 million.
Swahili serves as a national language of four nations: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Shikomor, the official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is related to Swahili.
Nigeria is home to Africa's largest Muslim population.
One of the main difficulties with learning Swahili is that the language uses particles at the beginning of the word to indicate verb tense (present, past, future) and person (I, you, we, they, etc). This is unlike English and other widely spoken languages and it may take a while to remember.
Across multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language listed as the most challenging to learn. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center puts Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.