The Rainbow

Nation

Historical Background

The Dutch were the first European

settlers on Cape of Good in 1652.

Open a new trade center for

the VOC.

British occupied Cape Town in 1795

France wanted to take control over the land

• In 1815 Holland and Britain reached an agreement, and Cape Town was now

officially owned by the British.

The Great Trek

• A place where Dutch could stablish a homeland

• Some of the causes were: - Problems between them and the Xhosas - Xhosas would steal the farmer’s cattle - Between 1823 and 1828 the government declared that Dutch language would be substituted with English language

Diamonds

Diamonds were discovered first in Hopetown in 1867 and later on gold would be found in

Kimberly.

Johannesburg

Indusrty of Diamonds Today

Languages of South Africa • The formation of the Union of South Africa occurred in 1910

and it was only then when both languages, Dutch and English were declared official. But Dutch would be replaced with Afrikaans in 1925.

SOUTH AFRICAN LANGUAGES 2001

Language Number of speakers* % of total

Afrikaans 5 983 420 13.35%

English 3 673 206 8.2%

IsiNdebele 711 825 1.59%

IsiXhosa 7 907 149 17.64%

IsiZulu 10 677 315 23.82%

Sesotho sa Leboa 4 208 974 9.39%

Sesotho 3 555 192 7.93%

Setswana 3 677 010 8.2%

SiSwati 1 194 433 2.66%

Tshivenda 1 021 761 2.28%

Xitsonga 1 992 201 4.44%

Other 217 291 0.48%

TOTAL 44 819 777 100%

Distribution of IsiZulu Speakers

-Apperared in the 16th century.

-Writing of the language began in 19th.

- Thomas Mofolo’s “Chaka” would be the first novel in IsiZulu literature.

Distribution of Afrikaans Spakers

-Its roots come from Dutch but is also

influenced by other languages such as German, French,

Malay, Portuguese and even some

African languages.

- Mainly spoken in the Cape Region.

English language in South Africa

• Used for commerce and business.• Mandatory subject in schools.• Important to build a bridge of communication between people.

• Spoke by other groups from different cultures living in South Africa.