Encyclopedia - Language and Languages Category

If you're fascinated by language, talk to us.

Upgrade to Britannica Online

Take a tour, New improved britannica online

Imagine Britannica's 32-volume encyclopedia online right there for you, plus full access to articles. Amazing content, written by world experts, that you can cite for projects and assignments.

Click here for Britannica shop

African languages

African languages extract from Britannica Online.

Languages indigenous to Africa that belong to the Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, Khoisan, and Afro-Asiatic language phyla. Africa is the most polyglot continent; estimates of the number of African languages range from 1,000 to more than 1,500. Many have numerous dialects. Distinctions in tone play a significant role in nearly all sub-Saharan languages. Contact between people who do not speak the same language has necessitated the development of lingua francas such as Swahili in East Africa, Lingala in the Congo River basin (see Bantu languages), Sango in the Central African Republic (see Adamawa-Ubangi languages), and Arabic across much of the Sahel.

African languages is one of 26,000 free short articles on Britannica Philippines

Find more information on African languages. Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on African languages.

  • Get more

  • M?ss?ng more?

    Subscribers see 10 times more content. Just US $69.95 per year

  • Britannica, just as colourful as The Philippines
  • There's more to Britannica Online than words! Discover photos, graphics, videos, charts, as well as thousands of expert views and articles by the world's leading scholars.