Language Centre Resources - Xhosa

Xhosa

A Niger-Congo language and a member of the Bantu family (Nguni group), spoken by more than 5 million people in the south-eastern part of South Africa, most notably in Cape Province and Transkei; also known as isiXhosa.

Nguni languages are unique among the Bantu family in the use of click sounds as consonants. These sounds were borrowed from the Khoisan languages of the original inhabitants of the area. Xhosa has three basic clicks.

The closest linguistic affiliation of Xhosa is with Zulu, the two languages being mutually intelligible to a great extent. Xhosa is spelt in the Roman alphabet.

Like many other languages from the Bantu family, Xhosa is a tonal language.

CLASSIFICATION = Niger-Congo family    SCRIPT = Roman

Courses

Lumko Self-Instruction Course in Xhosa	XH CA *
Masithethe isiXhosa : an audio-visual guide	XH CC1-2 *
Speak Xhosa With Us	XH CB *

Films

Son of man	XH L 2(DVD) *
U-Carmen e khayelitsha	XH L 1(DVD) *

External Link

The world and the word: tales and observations from the Xhosa oral tradition (ACLS Humanities e-book, controlled access)