Learn Xhosa online

Xhosa, also called isiXhosa, is one of the most fascinating languages in South Africa. The Xhosa are an ethnic group in southern Africa and belong to Niger-Kongo-Sprachfamilie, especially for Nguni-Zweig. With about 9 million speakers, they account for around 18% of the South African population and, according to Zulu, are the second largest ethnic group in the country.

While most Africans do not Click-Laute know, this speciality makes Xhosa unique. The characteristic clicks were taken over by the San and Khoikhoi. In addition, Xhosa is a sound language like Twi, Lingala and Oromo, where the pitch changes the meaning of words. Nelson Mandela spoke Xhosa as a native language. Other than the kuschitische Somali belongs to Xhosa Bantu language family and is closely related to Zulu.

You want to learn Xhosa? Discover our language courses on Sankofa Lingua and dive into the world of click laute.

The 7th century southern Africa by Khoisan-Völkern inhabited, hunters and collectors who have lived in this region for thousands of years. In this time other Migration movements of human history, the so-called Bantu expansion. Bantu-Völker moved from Central and East Africa to the south and brought farms, livestock farming and new languages. Among them were the ancestors of the Xhosa who reached today's South Africa and met the local population there.

Before the 15th century Tshawe founded the Xhosa kingdom and expanded the kingdom toward the south. What followed was not a simple displacement, but a complex process of integration. The Xhosa integrates the Khoisan groups into their political system, made them tributable and spread their language isiXhosa among the subject peoples. But the Khoisan also left her own traces in the language their new rulers. From this intense and centuries-long contact, the characteristic click route emerged, which today distinguishes Xhosa fundamentally from other Bantu languages. 

Even the name "Xhosa" itself is probably from the Khoisan and is translated as "grained men" or "wild". This fusion of two completely different language families makes Xhosa linguistically unique. The grammatical structure follows the rules of Bantu languages, while the phonetics the unmistakable Khoisan-Clicks. 

Most Xhosa spokesmen live in the provinces East Cape and West Cape in South Africawhere the clicks are particularly often heard. Smaller communities can also be found Zimbabwe and Botswana and Lesotho. The identity of the Xhosa is deeply rooted in the line of origin and the concept of Ubuntuthat as "I am because we are".

IsiXhosa is an agglutinic tone language. This means that words are formed by adding affixes. Similar to the word "unfortunate" in German, Xhosa also works by building blocks. The pitch additionally influences the word meaning. The Xhosa language includes also 18 click consonants, originally taken over by the Khoisan people. These characteristic click-louds today make about a sixth of the language isiXhosa.

The You can click in three basic types which are each generated by different tongue positions. Each of these clicks has a characteristic sound that can also be imitated by western tongues with some exercise.

Article	Sound	Tongue position	Comparing everyday life
c Type Dental implants	"tsk-tsk"	Tongue tip against front teeth	Missing snare
q Type Alveolar	Knalling noise	Tongue jerking off the palate	Pulling corks from bottle
x Type Lateral	Side suction	Tongue laterally on the palate	Driving horses

Xhosa is written with the Latin alphabet. This form of writing was introduced by missionaries in the early 19th century. For centuries the language existed exclusively orally, handed over by stories, praises and ritual songs. 

The first copy of the language was made in 1823 on the banks of the Tyhume River in Alice in East Cape. Scottish missionary John Bennie is considered a pioneer who first recorded isiXhosa and developed the first Orthography. The standardization of spelling was a long process. Various missionaries and later also African scholars developed different systems, leading to inconsistencies. The today's standardised spelling goes significantly on agreements from 1931 back.

Nelson Mandela was far more than a political leader. He was a Xhosa from the royal family of Thembu and heard Madiba-Clan on. His identity and political path were inseparably linked to the colonial history of the Xhosa nation. He was born in 1918 in Qunu in Ostkap, a region deeply rooted in the traditions of the Xhosa. During apartheid, the Xhosa spokesmen were forced to live in the so-called Homelands Transkei and Ciskei. These Bantustans were artificially created areas that served the white minority government to control the black population and its political rights in the rest of South Africa.

Mandela's political consciousness became strong through the oral tradition of his people's history a. As a child, he heard stories about the nine border wars in which the Xhosa defended their independence for over a century and their country against British troops and Buren. The stories of brave chiefs and lost battles formed his understanding of resistance and dignity. The Xhosa had never surrendered, and this tradition of resistance should shape Mandela's political philosophy.

The connection to the Xhosa culture also remained visible in its political life. With his Riron and speeches Mandela was often accompanied by a traditional praise singer, an imbongi. These poets recited izibongo poetry, calling the deeds of the ancestors and the identity of the nation. For the Xhosa this was not merely a folklore, but a lively memory of common values and historical struggles. 

Almonda used it Symbol for the recovery of unitthat the apartheid had destroyed. His presidency was shaped by the concept of Ubuntu, deeply rooted in the Xhosa philosophy. "I am because we are" became the basis of his policy of reconciliation. Mandela remained faithful to his Xhosa identity until his death in 2013 and was buried in Qunu where his history began.