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Ethnologue: Languages of the World
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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Africa > Swaziland

Languages of Swaziland

See language map.
Kingdom of Swaziland. 1,169,241. National or official languages: Swati, English. Literacy rate: 65%–67%. Immigrant languages: Maore (600), Nyanja (5,700), Southern Sotho (4,700). Information mainly from J. Bendor-Samuel and Hartell 1989. Blind population: 1,000 (1982 WCE). Deaf institutions: 1. The number of individual languages listed for Swaziland is 5. Of those, all are living languages.
Afrikaans

[afr] 13,000 in Swaziland (2006).  Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, Low Saxon-Low Franconian, Low Franconian 
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English

[eng] 7,500 in Swaziland (2006).  Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English 
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Swati

[ssw] 980,000 in Swaziland (2006). Population total all countries: 2,034,200. Also in Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa. Alternate names: Isiswazi, Phuthi, Siswati, Swazi, Tekela, Tekeza.  Dialects: Baca, Hlubi, Phuthi.  Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, S, Nguni (S.40) 
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Tsonga

[tso] 19,000 in Swaziland (Johnstone 1993).  Alternate names: Changana, Shitsonga, Xichangana, Xitsonga.  Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, S, Tswa-Ronga (S.50) 
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Zulu

[zul] 76,000 in Swaziland (Johnstone 1993).  Alternate names: Isizulu, Zunda.  Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, S, Nguni (S.40) 
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