Heritage Day: A South African love story
Thursday, 19 September 2019 08:00 AM
Articles
Heritage Day: A South African love story
This Heritage Day let us explore South Africa’s 11 official languages and where they originate from.
September marks Heritage month in South Africa. Heritage day, referred by some as Braai day, is a day marked on the calendar as a significant occasion when South Africans embrace their cultures, traditions and customs, proudly celebrating who they are and where they’re from. This year the theme for heritage month is: “Celebrating South Africa’s literary classics in the year of indigenous languages”. The theme was created with the aim to empower the international community in order to develop, promote and collectively celebrate indigenous languages.
Diverse cultures
With 11 official languages and 9 provinces (we fly to 5 provinces); diversity is our strength and is what makes us unique to the rest of the world, which is why South Africa is famously known as the rainbow nation. Heritage Day, is a time to reflect on our deep-rooted history; a time for self-love and appreciation, and a time to explore the country’s beauty by stepping out of our comfort zone and learning about a new culture, place or language - needless to say, embrace the spirit of Ubuntu (Unity).
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Ndebele is the least spoken of South Africa’s 11 official languages and confined mainly to Mpumalanga and Gauteng.
Places to see, Mpumalanga: one of Africa’s largest game reserves, Kruger National Park.
Places to see, Gauteng: Take a walk and guided tour through the fascinating 'human evolution' cave in Johannesburg at The Cradle of Humankind.
The dominant language of the Eastern Cape, Xhosa which is also the second-largest language in South Africa after Zulu.
Places to see, East London: One of the most popular landmarks in the Eastern Cape is the 'Hole in The Wall' at Coffee Bay.
The locals call it "izi Khaleni", which means "place of thunder"
Places to see, George route: The Tsitsikamma National Park is a protected area on the Garden Route, Western Cape and Eastern Cape.
Ndebele is the least spoken of South Africa’s 11 official languages and confined mainly to Mpumalanga and Gauteng.
Places to see, Mpumalanga: one of Africa’s largest game reserves, Kruger National Park
Places to see, Gauteng: Take a walk and guided tour through the fascinating human evolution in Johannesburg at The Cradle of Humankind.
The dominant language of the Eastern Cape, Xhosa is also the second-largest language in South Africa after Zulu.
Places to see, East London: One of the most popular landmarks in the Eastern Cape is the 'Hole in The Wall' at Coffee Bay.
The locals call it "izi Khaleni", which means "place of thunder"
Places to see, George route: The Tsitsikamma National Park is a scenic and protected area on the Garden Route, Western Cape and Eastern Cape.
Zulu is the most widely spoken language in South Africa, majority of Zulu speaking people originate from KwaZulu-Natal.
Places to see: iSimangaliso wetland park, St. Lucia (a world Heritage site)
English is a minority language within all nine provinces. It is the main language used in government and business, which makes it easy for tourists who visit South Africa as information signs on the road, at train stations and local areas are all in English.
Zulu is the most widely spoken language in South Africa, majority of Zulu speaking people originate from KwaZulu-Natal.
Places to see: iSimangaliso wetland park, St. Lucia (a world Heritage site)
English is a minority language within all nine provinces. It is the main language used in government and business, which makes it easy for tourists who visit South Africa as information signs on the road, at train stations and local areas are all in English.
Originally known as Sesotho sa Leboa is South Africa’s third-largest African language (after isiZulu and isiXhosa), and mainly spoken in Limpopo. The language was changed to Sepedi in the final Constitution of 1996.
Places to see, Limpopo: Mapungubwe National Park, a nature reserve and World Heritage Site.
Originally known as Sesotho sa Leboa is South Africa’s third-largest African language (after isiZulu and isiXhosa), and mainly spoken in Limpopo. The language was changed to Sepedi in the final Constitution of 1996.
Places to see, Limpopo: Mapungubwe National Park, a nature reserve and World Heritage Site.
Tswana speakers are mainly found in the North West, Gauteng, and the Northern Cape. Tswana is the language of North West and lies on the border of Botswana where the language is spoken by most of the population.
Places to see, North West: Located in an extinct volcano, is Sun City, home to the Valley of waves, also has many attractions and activities .
Tswana speakers are mainly found in the North West, Gauteng, and the Northern Cape. Tswana is the language of North West and lies on the border of Botswana where the language is spoken by most of the population.
Places to see, North West: Located in an extinct volcano, is Sun City, home to the 'Valley of waves', also has many attractions and activities.
Swati is mostly spoken in Mpumalanga, which along the Eastern border almost encircles the country of Swaziland.
Places to see, Mpumalanga: along the Panorama Route near Graskop, you’ll find Graskop Gorge lift, the first of its kind in Africa.
Xitsonga-speaking South Africans mostly live in Limpopo. Xitsonga is concentrated along South Africa’s Northeast border with the country of Mozambique, where it is also spoken.
Places to see, Limpopo: Warmbaths (Bela-Bela), Adventure with elephants (Bela-Bela)
Swati is mostly spoken in Mpumalanga, which along the Eastern border almost encircles the country of Swaziland.
Places to see, Mpumalanga: along the Panorama Route near Graskop, you’ll find Graskop Gorge lift, the first of its kind in Africa.
Xitsonga-speaking South Africans mostly live in Limpopo. Xitsonga is concentrated along South Africa’s Northeast border with the country of Mozambique, where it is also spoken.
Places to see, Limpopo: Warmbaths (Bela-Bela), Adventure with elephants (Bela-Bela)
Venda falls into the falling into the broader Sotho-Makua-Venda subfamily but is not part of the Sotho group. Most Venda speaking people live in Limpopo.
Places to see, Limpopo: breath-taking scenery of the Magoebaskloof area.
Places to see, Limpopo: The magical Lake Funduzi which visitors need permission from Venda leaders to go there which makes its allure even more powerful.
Sotho is the language of the Free State, Most Sesotho speakers originate from the Free State and Lesotho which is SA’s neighbouring country.
Places to see, Free State: Parys, Vredefort Dome ( UNESCO World heritage site). Many moons ago an asteroid hit the earth and left an usual impact called the Vrederfort crater.
Places to see, Free State : Qwa-Qwa, Basotho Cultural Village.
Afrikaans is the majority language of the Western Cape and Northern Cape. Afrikaans evolved from the 17th-century Dutch dialect first introduced to South Africa in 1652 at the Cape of Good Hope.
Places to see, Western Cape: Cape Town, Robben island the infamous maximum-security prison where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated.
Places to see, Northern Cape: Kimberly, The Big Hole mine claimed to be the deepest hole excavated by hand.
Venda falls into the falling into the broader Sotho-Makua-Venda subfamily but is not part of the Sotho group. Most Venda speaking people live in Limpopo.
Places to see, Limpopo: breath-taking scenery of the Magoebaskloof area.
Places to see, Limpopo: The magical Lake Funduzi which visitors need permission from Venda leaders to go there which makes its allure even more powerful.
Sotho is the language of the Free State, Most Sesotho speakers originate from the Free State and Lesotho which is SA’s neighbouring country.
Places to see, Free State: Parys, Vredefort Dome ( UNESCO World heritage site). Many moons ago an asteroid hit the earth and left an usual impact called the Vrederfort crater.
Places to see, Free State: Qwa-Qwa, Basotho Cultural Village.
Afrikaans is the majority language of the Western Cape and Northern Cape. Afrikaans evolved from the 17th-century Dutch dialect first introduced to South Africa in 1652 at the Cape of Good Hope.
Places to see, Western Cape: Cape Town, Robben island the infamous maximum-security prison where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated.
Places to see, Northern Cape: Kimberly, The Big Hole mine claimed to be the deepest hole excavated by hand.
So…Take a sho’tleft!
We encourage you to travel to a different and unusual location this month, and take that much needed getaway (local is always lekker!). Not only can we fly you to your dream destination around SA , but you can also ‘hire a car’ and get reasonable accommodation through our Combine & Save booking option – to create the most memorable travel experience EVER. You may even want to grab a few memorabilia along the way for your loved ones on your trip. Don’t stress about ‘over or under’ packing, get extra bags online, and be extra prepared! pack plenty more for less, and avoid airport penalties.
Try something new; travel to one of the historical landmarks or some tourist attractions and fall in love with Mzansi all over again!
