The document provides historical context about the languages of South Africa. It discusses how the Dutch were the first European settlers in 1652 and how control later transferred to the British in 1815. It also summarizes the main languages currently spoken in South Africa, including Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, and others, and provides statistics on number of speakers. The formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 designated both Dutch and English as official languages initially before Dutch was replaced by Afrikaans.

1. The
Rainbow
Nation

2. Historical Background
The Dutch were the first
European settlers on Cape
of Good in 1652.
Open a new trade
center for the VOC.

3. British occupied
Cape Town in 1795
France wanted to
take control over
the land

4. • In 1815 Holland and Britain reached an
agreement, and Cape Town was now officially owned
by the British.

5. The Great Trek
• A place where Dutch could stablish a homeland
• Some of the causes were:
- Problems between them and the Xhosas
- Xhosas would steal the farmer’s cattle
- Between 1823 and 1828 the government declared that Dutch
language would be substituted with English language

6. Diamonds
Diamonds were
discovered first in
Hopetown in 1867 and
later on gold would be
found in Kimberly.

8. Johannesburg

9. Indusrty of Diamonds Today

10. Languages of South Africa
• The formation of the Union of South Africa occurred in 1910 and it was only
then when both languages, Dutch and English were declared official. But
Dutch would be replaced with Afrikaans in 1925.

11. SOUTH AFRICAN LANGUAGES 2001
Language Number of speakers* % of total
Afrikaans 5 983 420 13.35%
English 3 673 206 8.2%
IsiNdebele 711 825 1.59%
IsiXhosa 7 907 149 17.64%
IsiZulu 10 677 315 23.82%
Sesotho sa Leboa 4 208 974 9.39%
Sesotho 3 555 192 7.93%
Setswana 3 677 010 8.2%
SiSwati 1 194 433 2.66%
Tshivenda 1 021 761 2.28%
Xitsonga 1 992 201 4.44%
Other 217 291 0.48%
TOTAL 44 819 777 100%

12. Distribution of IsiZulu Speakers
-Apperared in the 16th century.
-Writing of the language began in
19th.
-Thomas Mofolo’s “Chaka”
would be the first novel in IsiZulu
literature.

13. Distribution of Afrikaans Spakers
-Its roots come from Dutch
but is also influenced by
other languages such as
German, French, Malay, P
ortuguese and even some
African languages.
- Mainly spoken in the
Cape Region.

14. English language in South Africa
• Used for commerce and business.
• Mandatory subject in schools.
• Important to build a bridge of communication
between people.
• Spoke by other groups from different cultures living in
South Africa.