Languages ​​of Mozambique

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

43 languages ​​are listed by SIL International as languages ​​of Mozambique , as they are spoken by the peoples of Mozambique as their mother tongue . Some Bantu languages are indigenous ("native") languages. Portuguese , the language of the former colonial rulers, has shaped the country as the lingua franca and language of the European or Europeanized upper class for over 500 years and is the official language of the country. Mozambique is therefore a full member of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries and Portuguese loanwords are common in the native languages.

Even if only a small group of people use Portuguese as their main language, it is the most widely spoken language in Mozambique, according to the Mozambican National Institute for Statistics: 39.6% of the total population and 72.4% of the urban population are fluent in it. Other widely spoken languages ​​are Swahili , Makua , Chichewa , the Shona dialect Ndau and Xitsonga . Other languages ​​include Lomwe , ChiMakonde , Chichopi , Chuwabu , Xironga (sometimes called the dialect of Xitsonga), Kimwani (a Swahili dialect), Zulu and Tswa .

Smaller communities of Arabs , Overseas Chinese, and Indians each speak their own languages. Mozambican Indians , who come from the former Portuguese India , often speak the Portuguese-based Creole of former Portuguese places in India alongside Portuguese as a second language. Most educated Mozambicans also speak English, which is taught in schools and widely used as a business language.

As is common in Africa, most Mozambicans speak more than one language.

The largest languages ​​in Mozambique

Languages ​​of Mozambique
language Number of speakers Percent of the population
Makua 4,007,010 24.8
Chisena 1,807,319 11.2
Xitsonga 1,799,614 11.2
Elomwe 1,269,527 7.9
Echuwabo 1,203,494 7.5
Shona 1,070,471 6.6
Xitswa 763.029 4.7
Xironga 626.174 3.9
Chichewa 607.671 3.8
Portuguese
(Mozambican Portuguese)		 489.915 3
Cinyungwe 446,567 2.8
Cicopi 406,521 2.5
Ciyao 374,426 2.3
Shimakonde 371.111 2.3
Gitonga 319.836 2.0
Ekoti 102.393 0.6
Kimwani 29,980 0.2
Swahili 21,070 0.1
Siswati 7.742 0.05
Cisenga 3,584 0.02
Zulu 3.529 0.02
Other languages 405,420 2.5
Total 16,135,403 100

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Mozambique
  2. ↑ Inquérito Nacional aos Agregados Familiares sobre Condições de Vida, Resultados Gerais , Instituto Nacional de Estatística, Maputo, 1998.

Web links