With a population of over a billion people and a linguistically small population, Africa is home to a diverse range of languages. Millions of Africans speak dialects such as Yoruba, Oromo, Swahili, Igbo, and Hausa. Do you know there are many English speaking countries in Africa? Read on to find out more.
Several English-speaking countries in Africa utilize the language as a primary, official, or second language as a result of British colonization. Apart from Rwanda and Eritrea, all of Africa’s English-speaking countries were once British colonies.
While the language is spoken in around a half-dozen countries across the continent, only a small percentage of people can speak it fluently. The following is a list of the top 10 African English speaking countries which is arranged in no particular order.
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10 English Speaking Countries In Africa
1. Ghana
English is the authoritative language of Ghana and is utilized as the most widely used language all through the country. English is the most utilized of the 11 authority dialects spoken in Ghana.
Because of Ghana’s frontier history, Ghanaian English most intently takes after English, even though it is unequivocally differed and goes amiss from the norm from various perspectives depending on the spot and setting.
2. Nigeria
Nigerian English, otherwise called Nigerian Standard English, is a tongue of English spoken in Nigeria. Dependent on English, the lingo contains different loanwords and collocations from the local dialects of Nigeria, because of the need to communicate ideas explicit to the way of life of the country.
Nigerian Pidgin, a pidgin got from English, is generally utilized in casual discussions, however, the Nigerian Standard English is utilized in governmental issues, formal training, the media, and other authority employments.
Nigerian English is a nativized type of English. Like South African English, its nativization and advancement as Another World English compares generally with the time of colonization and post-colonization by Britain. Nigerian English turned into a nativized language that capacities interestingly inside its social context.
3. Liberia
There are five English spoken in Liberia which are: Standard Liberian English or Liberian Pioneer English (like American English), Kru Pidgin English, Liberian Kreyol language (Vernacular Liberian English) from African American Vernacular English, Mexico language (Americo-Liberian pilgrims from the US of America) and Caribbean English (ex-Caribbean slaves pioneers from the Caribbean islands).
Ordinarily, Liberians allude to this load of assortments just as “English”. Furthermore, the expression “Liberian English” is some of the time utilized for all assortments aside from the norm.
Standard Liberian English is the language of those individuals whose African-American predecessors from the US and the Caribbean islands moved to Liberia in the nineteenth century. It stays predominant in Liberia because of political and monetary connections to the US that incorporate exchange and training that support the significance of this assortment.
4. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leonean English is the lingo of English spoken by Sierra Leoneans which has been vigorously impacted by the Sierra Leone Creole individuals.
Sierra Leonean English acknowledges as a voiced uvular fricative, or, all the more infrequently, a uvular quaver. This is uncommon among accents of English.
Krio language, an English-based creole language initially spoken by the Sierra Leone Creole individuals in Sierra Leone and today the country’s fundamental most widely used language.
5. Zambia
English was made the authority language by the English during colonist rule. It is the official language of government, the press, business, and education. Among educated Zambians, English, the previous colonist language, fills in as a common language. English was declared the public language upon the country’s independence in 1964.
6. Uganda
Ugandans speak a kind of English known as Uglish. In the year 2012, the term Uglish was coined. Uganglish (recorded in 2006) and Ugandlish are two other conversational mashup words (2010).
The language samples of Ugandan dialects have a major impact on English communication. Uganda has a diverse range of native dialects, and someone who is familiar with the country may quickly identify the local language of someone speaking English.
Unfamiliar words will be changed to sound more pleasing to hear by Ugandan speakers. Consonants spoken alone without a vowel in the syllable are uncommon in Bantu dialects spoken in southern Uganda. “Quiet let” is undoubtedly the Luganda term for consonant.
7. Malawi
The many languages spoken in Malawi demonstrate the country’s diversity. English is the official language, and Chichewa is the national dialect, among the many languages spoken. There are various additional languages spoken around the country.
However, due to the country’s past as a British colony, English is more generally spoken as a second language and remains an important language in the country. Chichewa, on the other hand, is a native dialect spoken by over half of Malawi’s people.
8. Cameroon
Cameroon was a colony of both the United Kingdom and France between 1916 and 1960. Cameroon’s official languages represent the country’s colonial history, even though the country is now independent. Cameroon’s official languages are French and English.
Eight of the country’s ten regions are french, while two are mainly English speaking. The number of English people in the country, on the other hand, is gradually declining.
9. Kenya
Kenyan English is a nearby vernacular of the English language spoken by a few groups and individuals in Kenya and certain Kenyan refugees in other countries. The vernacular has features that are unique to it and were derived from nearby Bantu dialects.
The impact of Swahili was reduced, and English became the primary form of instruction in Kenyan schools. After Kenya’s independence on December 12, 1963, English remained in widespread use.
Kenya’s official dialects are English and Swahili, with the latter also serving as the public language.
10. South Africa
The English language is one of South Africa’s official languages. It was widely recognised when the British colony was established to replace the Dutch colonization in the 1800s. Apart from English, there are 11 additional official languages in South Africa.
Zulu is the most widely spoken dialect in the country. Xhosa, Northern Sotho, Afrikaans, Tswana, and Sotho are among the other official languages.
Conclusion
Africa is one of the world’s largest continents in terms of both area and population. It’s impossible to imagine a world without English-speaking countries, given the variety it provides.
By the end of the day, there are a lot of countries that communicate in that language. All of these countries adopted English during the English colonial period and have not abandoned it since.
Regardless of whether English is the official language of these countries, it is used and understood in a wide range of settings. It is also the official language of these countries and the language of business and education.