Xhosa vs Shona
Countries
South Africa
Zimbabwe
National Language
South Africa
Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
Second Language
Lesotho, South Africa
Not spoken in any of the countries
Speaking Continents
Africa
Africa
Minority Language
Botswana, Lesotho
Not spoken in any of the countries
Regulated By
Not Available
Not Available
Interesting Facts
- Xhosa has 15 click sounds, borrowed from the khoi-khoi and san languages of the South Africa.
- The same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meaning when said with different tones, so Xhosa is tonal.
- Shona language is tonal language.
- The African people in Zimbabwe is made of 10 ethnic groups, each speaking a different languages, shona is spoken by 60 percent of population.
Similar To
Zulu, Swazi, and Ndebele
Kalanga and Nambya Language
Derived From
Khoi-Khoi and San Languages
Not Available
Alphabets in
Xhosa-Alphabets.jpg#200
Shona-Alphabets.jpg#200
Writing Direction
Not Available
Not Available
Time Taken to Learn
Not Available
Thank You
Ndiyabulela
Waita zvako
How Are You?
Unjani
Wakadini zvako?
Good Night
Ulale kakuhle
Urare zvakanaka
Good Evening
Ubusuku obuhle
Manheru
Good Afternoon
Uben' emva kwemini entle
Masikati
Good Morning
Molo
Mangwanani
Please
Ndicela
Ndinokumbirawo
Sorry
Ndicela uxolo
Ndineurombo
Bye
Uhambe/Usale kakuhle
bye
I Love You
Ndiyakuthanda
Ndinokuda
Where They Speak
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Where They Speak
South Africa
southern Zimbabwe
Where They Speak
South Africa
central Zimbabwe, Mashonaland
Second Language Speakers
Not Available
Native Name
isiXhosa
Not Available
Alternative Names
“Cauzuh” (pej.), Isixhosa, Koosa, Xosa
Chishona, “Swina” (pej.), Zezuru
German Name
Xhosa-Sprache
Schona-Sprache
Pronunciation
Not Available
Not Available
Ethnicity
amaXhosa, amaBhaca
Not Available
Origin
16th Century
20th century
Language Family
Niger-Congo Family
Niger-Congo Family
Subgroup
Benue-Congo
Benue-Congo
Early Forms
No early forms
Not Available
Standard Forms
isiXhosa
Not Available
Language Position
Not Available
Signed Forms
Signed Xhosa
Not Available
Scope
Individual
Individual
ISO 639 6
Not Available
Not Available
Glottocode
xhos1239
core1255
Linguasphere
99-AUT-fa
99-AUT-a
Language Type
Living
Living
Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Verb-Object
Not Available
Language Morphological Typology
Not Available
Not Available
Xhosa and Shona Language History
Comparison of Xhosa vs Shona language history gives us differences between origin of Xhosa and Shona language. History of Xhosa language states that this language originated in 16th Century whereas history of Shona language states that this language originated in 20th century. Family of the language also forms a part of history of that language. More on language families of these languages can be found out on Xhosa and Shona Language History.
Xhosa and Shona Greetings
People around the world use different languages to interact with each other. Even if we cannot communicate fluently in any language, it will always be beneficial to know about some of the common greetings or phrases from that language. This is where Xhosa and Shona greetings helps you to understand basic phrases in Xhosa and Shona language. Xhosa word for "Hello" is Molo or Shona word for "Thank You" is Waita zvako. Find more of such common Xhosa Greetings and Shona Greetings. These greetings will help you to be more confident when conversing with natives that speak these languages.
Xhosa vs Shona Difficulty
The Xhosa vs Shona difficulty level basically depends on the number of Xhosa Alphabets and Shona Alphabets. Also the number of vowels and consonants in the language plays an important role in deciding the difficulty level of that language. The important points to be considered when we compare Xhosa and Shona are the origin, speaking countries, language family, different greetings, speaking population of these languages. Want to know in Xhosa and Shona, which language is harder to learn? Time required to learn Xhosa is 44 weeks while to learn Shona time required is Not Available.