I would like to learn an African language, Swahili or Afrikaans; is one easier than the other?

Question

My father is a Rhodesian who brought us (when I was just a pup) over to England when UDI was declared. I speak only English.

I would one day like to go back to Southern Africa to see our old farm, and to meet family and friends who are still over there. I would like to learn an African language to make my stay easier; I will be visiting SA, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya, but the main focus will be on Zim and SA.

Afrikaans and Swahili; which language would be more useful, and is one easier to learn than the other? Are there any other languages I could consider? Thanks!

Answer 1

Depends where you're going. SA? Afrikaans. Kenya? Swahili.

Answer 2

If you're in Southern Africa then you will be able to use English everywhere.  Apart from Namibia, all those countries used to be British protectorates so English is wide spread.  People in Namibia DO speak English too, they normally speak Afrikaans as a mother tongue though.

Between Afrikaans and Swahili, Swahili is only good if you're speaking to specific tribes in (and ONLY in) parts of Kenya.  Afrikaans on the other hand is spoken throughout the rest and personally I would say your best bet.  BUT, there's no need to learn either.  Your English will take you everywhere you need to go.

Enjoy your stay.

Answer 3

You should be able to get along with English.

Swahili is only spoken by certain tribes and even then there are different dialects.

Between the two I would recommend Afrikaans if you would really like to learn another language. Afrikaans is widely spoken in South Africa and there aren't differnet dialects. Once you can speak Afrikaans you will be able to understand a lot of Dutch and Flemish as well which wouldn't be much helpful in your visit to Southern Africa but may be later on.

I can recommend EuroTalk Interactive for a start. We used it to learn basic Arabic and it is easy and fun. You can go to the following link:

http://www.eurotalk.co.uk/en/

Answer 4

Swahili is spoken in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania), not in ZA or Zim of Namibia. Afrikaans is like a bad dutch and is spoken by whites and colored people in the Cape.

English is still you best bet, will help everywhere.

Answer 5

Afrikaans is not a "bad dutch" and has no negative connections. Except for those that keep on insisting to be racists. But, unless you want to learn another language for the fun of it, stick to English. It will get you everywhere in this beautiful country of ours.

Come and enjoy the diversity of one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

Answer 6

I speak Afrikaans and is married to a Briton, he quickly learned to speak Afrikaans, it is very easy to learn to speak. I would say go for Afrikaans.

Answer 7

To be 100% honest you dont need to learn another language. English is spoken everywhere is South Africa, and even in Zimbabwe.

If you are going to learn a language, I would say go for Afrikaans. To me it is easier than Swahili (but then again ive been learning in since beginning of school). You will probably use Afrikaans alot more than Swahili. Afrikaans is spoken everywhere is South Africa.

Answer 8

Kiswahili (this is the correct word for the language, while swahili is the adjective) is pretty easy at the beginning. Being a language born top allow people communicate during their trade, you can pick up some of it (enough for a simple chat) in a short time. Harder would be to be proficient.

It is the only official language in Tanzania, widespread in Kenya (above all in the coast region and in Nairobi), Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and, I was told, in the north of Mozambique.

Answer 9

I would imagine that Afrikaans is far easier for an english speaker to learn because the grammer is similar.

Answer 10

learn Zulu or Ndebele coz they cover both Zim and South Africa

Zulu is like Ndebele so a zulu speakingperson can understand a ndebele speaking person and vice versa

and pliz, never mention sumone as Rhodesian coz rhodesia doesnt exist nomore, its either they r Zimbabwean or not (no rhodesia, thats kinda racist to ppl who fought for Zim and live in Zim, they deserve respect as well)

but really u dont have to learn the native language coz most of the ppl understand english coz its the official language in Zim and i think in SA too, its not like China

Answer 11

Wouldn't it depend on which group of people you wanted to talk to?  Isn't Afrikaans used almost exclusively by the white people and Swahili used exclusively by the black people in Africa?

Answer 12

Zulu is THE ultimate African language..trust me..dnt waste ur time learning any other language!!

Answer 13

Try Zulu. Zulu is spoken in South Africa & Zimbabwean Ndebele is more like Zulu.  

Answer 14

Unless you speak English like Yoda (Starwars), i don't think that you will find the the Afrikaans grammar similar.

In South Africa, you will find that a number of people speak or at least understand Afrikaans, given that it was a compulsory second language for a long time. I think now kids have the option of Afrikaans or Zulu as a second language. I am not sure if this was the same in the rural schools. South Africa alone has 11 official languages. I think English, Afrikaans, Zulu and Xhosa are the most popular.

Bear in mind though, that if you choose to learn Afrikaans in this day and age, especially if you are white, there are a number of negative connotations associated with the language, given that it most affiliated with Apartheid. Oh! what do i know...i've just lived in SA all my life. Whatever you choose, have fun with it. When you are there, spending time with locals is the best way to learn.



    

Answer 15

i could be wrong

but ive spoken to a few people from Nairobi

and they said no one speaks Swahili correctly or Grammatically

and i said how so

they told me its all slang

so i asume it a little of there language with english to make up a slang so every ones accent and dialect is different  

Answer 16

You will find English the most useful  if you are travelling to all those countries.

Answer 17

You'll get by with English alone but i'd say Afrikaans is easier to learn.

My mother's family only speak english and they are from Zimbabwe and Zambia and I only ever speak English and I live in South Africa lol.

You can learn either but it won't make a difference if you don't.  

Answer 18

I think so but languages are languages some are easier to learn for some people and for others it is much more difficult.