Why do some African countries speak European languages?

Some regions had more than one European country that claimed them at various points in history. As a result, European languages, or colonial languages, became the official language(s) in most Africa countries.

Why do European countries speak different languages?

Well, nature is one of the cause for that. The seas, mountains, rivers separated them so their populations were different and speak different languages. Another reason is that the European countries were always at war with each other and the governments of the countries banned each other’s languages.

What countries in Africa speak European languages?

Indo-European languages are spoken in South Africa and Namibia (Afrikaans, English, German) and are used as lingua francas in the former colonies of Britain and Liberia that was part of American Colonization Society (English), former colonies of France and of Belgium (French), former colonies of Portugal (Portuguese).

Why do African countries have so many languages?

One of the reasons for the continent’s rich linguistic diversity is simply down to time – people in Africa have had more time to develop languages than peoples elsewhere in the world. But the development of Africa’s languages is also due to cultural and political factors.

What is the main language spoken in Africa?

While Arabic is the most spoken language in Africa, there’s plenty more – other popular languages include Amharic, Berber, Portuguese, Oromo, Igbo, Yoruba, Zulu and Shona.

How many African countries speak French as their official language?

11 African countries
French remains the sole official language in 11 African countries, and the second official language in 10.

Why do we all speak different languages?

The main reason why there are so many languages has to do with distance and time. Groups of people who speak a common language get divided by distance, and over time their dialects evolve in different directions. After enough time passes, they end up speaking two separate, but related languages.

How did colonization affect African languages?

During colonization, colonizers usually imposed their language onto the peoples they colonized, forbidding natives to speak their mother tongues. In some cases colonizers systematically prohibited native languages.

How did European colonization have an impact on languages spoken in Africa?

During colonization, colonizers usually imposed their language onto the peoples they colonized, forbidding natives to speak their mother tongues. Many writers educated under colonization recount how students were demoted, humiliated, or even beaten for speaking their native language in colonial schools.

How do Africans speak languages?

With anywhere between 1000 and 2000 languages, Africa is home to approximately one-third of the world’s languages. The diversity of Africa’s languages is evidenced by their populations. In total, there are at least 75 languages in Africa which have more than one million speakers.