Tsotsitaal

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A language of South Africa

ISO 639-3
fly
Alternate Names
Flaai Taal, Fly Taal
Population

Had tens of thousands of primary users; hundreds of thousands of L2 users.

Location

Gauteng Province, Johannesburg area, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and other cities.

Language Status

8b (Nearly extinct).

Classification
Creole, Afrikaans based
Dialects

Not intelligible of Afrikaans [afr]. Used many Afrikaans, English [eng], and Bantu words, and others of unknown origin.

Language Use

Originated in gold mines in Transvaal from 1886. Creolized by 1930. Used until the 1970s or 1980s.

Other Comments

‘Tsotsitaal’, speech of a young gang member, criminal, or thug.