Resources for African Languages

It’s very difficult to find African language learners nowadays and resources are scarce too. I am self learning Swahili now and is considering learning Xhosa soon. I can hardly find any resources for both languages, especially Xhosa. Does anybody have any recommendations? It will be of great help if someone can help me. Thank you in advance! :pray:t2: :pray:t2: :pray:t2:

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Bluebird has the languages of RSA Zulu, Xhosa, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Afrikaans and various other African languages: Hausa, Amharic, Oromo, Yoruba, Tigrinya, Somali, Swahili https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/bluebird-leer-163-talen/id1484286928

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YES!!! I am learning Swahili and there are many hidden gems!!! A nice start is COLLOQUIAL SWAHILI which uses story learning, authentic real-world conversations and audio and written exercises for practice. These materials are available for free on line. If you like a more structured approach with a focus on grammar try 2SEEDSSWAHILI . Their materials are also available for free on line and include audio files.https://langmedia.fivecolleges.edu/culturetalk/Tanzania is filled with cultural information in spoken swahili and comes with transcripts in Swahili and English. THere is also Pimsleur Swahili Level 1 . See the Language Transfer App and choose Swahili for Pimsleur like Swahili practice that allows for improvements in grammar without teaching grammar directly. There is so much out there. This is just the tip of the iceburg. There is something for every language learning style. Keep searching

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Sawubona Jinhyoung! That is hallo Jinhyoung, in isiZulu. I would be glad to help you with resources for African languages. I have an online isiZulu course that I have to offer. Did you know that isiZulu and isiXhosa share four fifths of their vocabulary, both being from the Nguni family of languages? Here is the link to my course if you are interested: http://isizulu101.co.za Great meeting you! Ube nosuku oluhle! / Have a great day! John_FK Mulder PS. I must add that it is a paid online course - I do this for a living.

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Just today I noticed that the Language Transfer app has Swahili on it. Memrise has some Swahili courses also, and a list of other African languages.

Sawubona Johan! Ek leer afrikaans en ek wens daar was 'n kursus soos joune vir afrikaans! Ek leer self en ek mis die struktuur en interaksie van 'n kursus… weet jy as daar bestaan enige iets aanlyn vir afrikaans? Ook betalende kursusse want in my opinie - soms kry 'n mens waarvoor hy betaal! Baie dankie :wink:

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There are some online classes for African languages with www.lingua54.com .
You can also find some resources from the IG of @learn_african_languages

I’m starting Swahili too! But I haven’t yet decided on which resource I will use mostly. Just started a Duolingo tree for now and taking notes from it. Message me if you want to practice your Swahili with me!

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I’m Swahili native speaker from Zanzibar, Tanzania. Feel free to ask me anything about Swahili

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a fantastic resource I recently came across that I think will be of great interest to anyone here studying, researching, or just passionate about African languages.

A nonprofit organization called Resulam has built a platform called African Polyglot, and it is a major step forward for under-resourced languages.

Unlike traditional online tools that offer basic, word-for-word dictionary definitions, this platform provides contextualized, real-life sentences ready for practical use. What makes it particularly valuable for research and language acquisition is its use of semantic search—allowing users to retrieve sentences based on the intention of the thought rather than being limited to rigid keyword matching.

A few highlights of the platform:

  • 20+ African Languages: Currently bridging dozens of languages using both English and French.
  • Intent-Based Search: Moves past traditional dictionary limitations to find true contextual meaning.
  • Gamified Learning: Includes an interactive game section to make practicing engaging.

Whether you are looking into digital humanities, language revitalization, or simply want to explore these languages yourself, it is well worth checking out.

Please feel free to share this with your networks, colleagues, or anyone else who might find it useful!

Explore the platform here: african-polyglot [dot] com