Language Learning Resource

Learn Xhosa

isiXhosa

Language Facts:

Speakers:  20 million 
Family:  Southern Bantu 
Status:  Official in South Africa and Zimbabwe, recognized minority language in Botswana 

Script:  Latin 
 
  •  Xhosa has two tones, a high and a low tone, but they are not normally written. 
  • Maybe the most famous feature of Xhosa, there are 18 click consonants. This is also in addition to a very large consonant inventory. 
  • Xhosa has 15 noun classes/gender! 
  • The morphology is very agglutinative, with man prefixes and suffixes being added to words. Verbs are conjugated based on subject, tense, number, aspect and mood. 
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xhosa

Resources

 

Books: 

Learn Xhosa with A. Munnik – Good beginner book available in South Africa. Link via Takealot. 
 
If you can find a copy, Teach Yourself: Xhosa is a very good, but out of print resource. 
 
Grammar of IsiXhosa – a very academic overview of Xhosa grammar. For advanced learners or linguists. 
–Amazon Link
–Takealot Link 
–African Sun Media Link 

 

 

 
 

Youtube: 

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Podcasts: 

Courses: