The Amazing Languages of Africa - sounds, grammar and writing systems of African languages

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Do let me know in the comments below what you would like to see in future videos.

[@mandilakhekolisile5157]

You should look up professor kwesi kwa prah's work on african languages

[@Cypher-bo3pb]

I would like to see you comparing the so called Bantu languages( Pure bantu without khoi san, Cushitic langague mix) to ancient hebrew .Best place to start is with Southern Nguni groups. Please do not use the morden Hebrew which has a lot of slavic ,yiddish and mixture of turkic languages but the ancient Hebrew using strong concordance. If you can find the link between the two languages I will surely be convinced you are true scholar. Middle and ancient scholars before the 1700's found a lot of similarities that they were convinced that the lost tribes were indeed in Africa.I will subscribe and hope to see that video soon .

[@samogwang3369]

I would like to see you tease out the West African Languages. They are supposedly Bantu languages but just about anybody who discusses Bantu languages on forums like these concentrate on Banu languages of East and Southern Africa. Also, why are they classified as Niger-Congo A? What is their fundamental difference with Niger-Congo B?

[@Anna-mc3ll]

How about Navajo?

[@القائدالجديد-ع7غ]

the Arabic it's better💪😎

[@altopatraogee6630]

Wow! Thank you for playing a part to get rid of one of the African stereotypes. Our languages are not animalistic. They are intelligent, exciting and interesting, just like any other language on other continents.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I’m very glad to have made a small contribution in that direction.

[@BeitilNabawiya]

Who considered African languages animalistic? There are 4 different languages families in Africa alone. Afro-asiatic is more advanced than European languages. They invented writing and literature.

[@listenup2882]

@@BeitilNabawiya What makes afroasiatic more advanced than any other language? Language is language. One could argue that San or Bantu languages are more advanced.

[@BeitilNabawiya]

@@listenup2882 Because they created advanced civilization and tools. They invented writing systems, religions and more.

[@KingOfAfrica90]

@@BeitilNabawiya Afro Asiatic languages are not African. They were brought by Arabs

[@allenmaa7064]

Thank you so much for this video. As an African who lives in the West I've had an uphill battle against prejudice and ignorance about African languages. I'm from East Africa and Swahili was my second language after my mother's language. In America it has often been a joke to make fun of so-called "click languages" to represent the primitivity of Africa. I always wanted to say, if it is so primitive that means you should be able to learn it in a hour.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

My huge pleasure, Allen. What is your mother's language?

[@allenmaa7064]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages both Kipare and the incredible mixed language of Mbugu - the latter is a linguistic phenomenon. A Cushitic language in a Bantu wrapper

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I love your description of Mbugu - I must check that out.

[@akiikigeeh7283]

"You should learn it in an hour" you are smart 😂😂😆😆

[@stephentaylor2119]

The more primitive the people (and I don't mean that in a derogatory way); the more complex their language appears to be. Look how English went from preserving grammatical Indo-European concepts of gender and noun cases in Old English to a much simplified form of the language as we went from sea raiding barbarians to living in cities. (I was impressed with Swahili when I taught myself from a book and a tape in how rich the language was, even more so when I discovered languages like Lumsaba that retained the original Bantu pre-prefix. The Nguni and languages around the Great lakes preserve this partially with an initial vowel. Another theory and I think more credible for the Bantu homeland would be the Great Lakes region where the aforementioned archaic features still exist. I have looked at a few languages from Cameroon, namely Fang and I was hard pressed to see it as a Bantu language. I only had a small vocabulary to study.

[@phillipmudavanhu690]

Thank you Dave, just to add in Zimbabwe, the Shona people we have 21 articles. Each gives an even deeper expression of character. For example a boy is called mukomana, the plural is vakomana, a small boy is kakomana, a big boy is zigomana, a group of small boys is twukomana, a bad boy is chimukomana. I could go through all the 21 and each gives a specific attribute and character to the noun.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Ndatenda Philip. Thanks so much for sharing those examples - fascinating!

[@coffeecookies286]

Thank you for sharing and I want to learn more😊

[@Xaxameti]

Mune shuwa? 21? 😯

[@saulgoodmanKAZAKH]

Is that why the people of Botswana are called Batswana in plural and Motswana in singular?

[@abdiahmed3]

As a Somali speaker who's learning Swahili and Arabic this is spot on man, great job Thank you! Or as we would say in Somail, Waad mahadsantahay!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you Abdi!

[@nuuhali2092]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Can you talk about Somali more as its fascinating language. It's easy any speak and read.

[@abdirahimmussa2708]

@@nuuhali2092 somali language is hard bro

[@midoally646]

I’ve often come across statements like “ Somali is so heard to master having probably the least foreign speakers anywhere is a testament to it“ what do you think Dave?

[@hiruthseyoum5969]

All history/ language of Africa is your inheritance no matter which part of Africa you come from. Pyramids in Somali, Ethiopia, Sudan; are pre-Egypt. Our ancestors have left their fingerprints to tell their legacies and experiences. Only When we learn of our beginning we can map our present and future. The facts are waiting to be discovered. By the way, instead of starting to learn Swahili/Arabic (top to bottom) learn Ethiopian alphabet first- the oldest from which all other alphabets are copied from . This starting point Serves like GPS to walk through to the present. Arabic/Swahili are derivative languages and without alphabet of their own.

[@elnatanbubu9759]

እሰብራለህ = I break ትሰብራለህ(ወ) = you break (m) ትሰብሪያለሽ(ሴ) = you break (f) ይሰብራል = he breaks ትሰብራለች = She breaks እንሰብራለን =We break ትሰብራላችሁ(ብዙ)= you break (plu) ይሰብራሉ = they break These is the alphabet in Ethiopia and Eritrea . The conjugation of verb break. If i can help a little.

[@elashow236]

U sure?

[@elnatanbubu9759]

@@elashow236 100% sure.

[@bircruz555]

Good job. Only one little error. The first line entry should be spelled እሰብራለሁ, not እሰብራለህ (That word does not exist). You can easily correct it.

[@elnatanbubu9759]

@@bircruz555 tnx bro/sis

[@Lepua2009]

This list have a huge tense error, because in amharic there is no present tense only perfect and imperfect tenses and those are imperfect tenses translated as future tenses in English So instead of translating them as I break or he break they must be translated as I will break he will break etc

[@Tijaxtolan]

Beautiful, I like it when people promote the many faces of Africa Not only the pitiful one the media overexplodes

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you! I made a conscious effort to avoid the stereotypes.

[@Crd-eo3uc]

WHY do you have so few views in such a masterpiece?

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I don’t know... do feel free to share widely!

[@Daggilus]

I was thinking the same.

[@nurseae4586]

We have to be the change? Share,discuss,beg,plead,pray.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

We're getting there! There was a spike in viewers on 8th February 2021 which propelled it to new heights.

[@danielkaranja7978]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages You clearly invested a lot of time to produce this episode. Very impressive.

[@andrewfraser6064]

What a brilliant video. Your enthusiasm is contagious! I'm from a Scottish Highland family, my Mum a Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) speaker. Family left to live in South West Africa (now Namibia) when I was 2. All my friends were Khoisan kids. Then moved to South Africa. At school, I learned Afrikaans, Latin, isiXhosa, French and Nederlands. I went to university, and studied Sports Science and isiXhosa. I eventually ended up being a high school teacher, where I taught a few subjects including isiXhosa (to both mother tongue speakers and to new learners of the language, which was Nelson Mandela's home language, by the way). Am now back in Scotland, currently learning Gàidhlig. And Scots and Doric ! So your video was an absolute delight. Uyathetha isiXhosa kakuhle, Dave :-)

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow, what a fascinating story Andrew. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. Have you seen the one I did about Scots?

[@andrewfraser6064]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Yes, I sure did. It was highly interesting and extremely well researched (giving a great historical background). And, I hasten to add, superbly presented in a very engaging, engrossing, varied and humorous way. You did it in a way that highlighted the intricate differences between English and Scots. And so educational, too. I thoroughly enjoyed that video. You've got a fan in me !

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad to hear it!

[@colinmacdonald5732]

My Grandfather picked up Gaelic growing up by Loch Ness, then French, finally Swahili during WW1 when stationed in Kenya.

[@koketsomokone2975]

Absolutely spot on! Bantu languages are fun because you can just move from one language to the other by expanding your vocabulary. I am moTswana, I learned isiZulu relatively smoothly by learning Zulu words with a few grammatical adjustments. Same thing with kiSwahili, although it incorporates non-bantu words and stuff. Totally fascinating! Thank you!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Koketso. I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the video. It’s fascinating to here about your experiences with Bantu languages. It must be fun exploring the similarities and differences and seeing the patterns emerge.

[@גלצופר]

Koketso Mokone how many Bantu languages can you speak?

[@samutykuntathebantu8402]

@@גלצופר swahili has hebres words too. Wewe ni myahudi?

[@גלצופר]

@@samutykuntathebantu8402 like what?

[@samutykuntathebantu8402]

@@גלצופר bayit it means house in my local language same to you. Yahudi, Elohim... etc

[@MegaRanjee]

Yeah I am from Madagascar. 😍 I wish you would have spoken more about my native language "malagasy". ☺️

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Next time!

[@elizabetht1382]

Love, love, love, LOVE this video! Everything in congruence with what I as a Zambian know of my people's history too. Language is culture and I'm so glad that a non-African has researched this so well, treated this subject with respect and interest, and has shared it. So grateful! Many thanks!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Oh wow. Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Elizabeth. I had the privilege of visiting Zambia once and enjoyed it immensely.

[@mahamatzene1554]

I am from Africa and surprised to know some of those strangest languages are spoken in Africa. Africa is very diverse.

[@listenup2882]

What's strange about the languages?

[@jakes2305]

Fantastic video. I would love to see next: 1)a similar exploration of the indigenous languages of North America, and 2) an exploration of tonal languages around the world (including the indigenous Mexican languages that have up to 12 or 15 tones!)

[@bernadettemaguire2055]

Spend 20 minutes watching this AMAZING trip around the languages of Africa. Your tour guide is the brilliant Dave Huxtable. You won’t regret it!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@CharlieDmus]

Wow! I had no idea it was possible to summarise the language diversity of Africa like that. And your grasp of the phonology is impressive. I'm Ugandan, but grew up in South Africa so I can definitely confirm what you said about bantu languages. I'm familiar with luganda, lusoga, kikuyu, swahili, xhosa, zulu, sotho, tswana, afrikaans and French. So this was a very nice strole through comparative linguistics.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow, thank you so much for your comments, Charles. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

[@listenup2882]

Afrikaans isn't an African language though.

[@loreman7267]

​@listenup2882 Yes it is. The Dutch can't understand it.

[@thecaveofthedead]

it is in that it evolved in Africa among enslaved people of both African and Asian descent and contains African words. In the same way Nigerian Pidgin - Naija - is also an African language even if it's _based_ heavily on English.@@listenup2882

[@fullmetaltheorist]

Dutch and Afrikaans are very similar. Although, the Dutch have a very weird way of speaking. Dutch sounds like an American trying to speak Afrikaans.​@@loreman7267

[@damc8415]

Doctor Huxtable, you look so different from when you were on "The Cosby Show."

[@rjendall2711]

A fascinating and fun insight into the mind-boggling world of languages in Africa. Congratulations on your practical phonetic skills - some very challenging sounds executed with great attention to detail.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks Richard! I had fun, especially with !xo

[@planeurs]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages This video should come with a duty-of-care warning "Please do not attempt to produce those sounds with mash potatoes in your mouth"

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

@@planeurs Is that from personal experience?

[@matteosposato9448]

What a contagious enthusiasm and humor, that however are only the spice to some interesting content!

[@hemsoncrispin]

As someone who of English/Welsh descent who lives in an IsiZulu environment, I really appreciate the thoughtful way you speak about these fascinating languages and do not use stereotyped terms like 'click languages'. Something I would add is my experience of listening to a friend who grew up in a rural area speaking IsiZulu on the phone - just remarkably expressive, using the full range of register, volume and the variety of consonants.

[@structuralmodelingmadesim1364]

One of the best presentations about language. Am Bantu from Kenya and I would say on Bantu you were spot on. It looks so simple to us didn't know it could be so complex.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks Phares, I'm so glad you think so.

[@nimcosuhaamqoje3809]

Thnks u 🙏 iam from somali cush 🇸🇴🇩🇯 🇪🇹🇰🇪 Horn of africa 🥰🥰

[@ube4me114]

What is different between Ethiopian 🇪🇹 and Somalia 🇸🇴? Because you are using the word Cush instead to mention your nationality

[@altopatraogee6630]

Im from Zimbabwe and i speak shona. But one time on a road trip through Mozambique, we passed through an area in the Sofala Province far from Zim, were i could almost understand everything the locals there were saying. And they didnt even know that an extremely similar language is also spoken in my Zimbabwe. Twas exciting.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

How fascinating! It must have a been a real surprise. Thanks for sharing the story.

[@sebtube1285]

it is Ethiopia language በጣም ተመችቶኛል ጥሩ ጥናት እንዳደርክ ያሳያል።እንደዚህ አይነት ሌሎች ቪዲዮችን እንደምትሰራ ተስፋ አደርጋለሁ thanks

[@bekaluendrias5282]

ባክሽ አታሽቃብጪ😂

[@stevenschilizzi4104]

Fantastic! We know so little about all this and yet it’s really amazing. Thanks for a brilliant though all too short summary!

[@bellamcguinness9044]

Really loved this, it was presented in an accessible, fun way and insightful, with amazing attention to detail. It shows an awesome passion and talent. Thanks for the share!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you Bella!

[@rodaguirre1016]

Very interesting. You know your subject well Dave.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@RA-qq8nf]

Am quite fascinated actually and am thinking to start learning about linguistics!

[@KendrixTermina]

Those bantu noun classes must be fun for poetry. Or for making up sci fi/fantasy words

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Definitely!

[@bornforthegreatestpurpose9221]

Poetry in Kiswahili is called USHAIRI Poem is called SHAIRI

[@nkosiemahlangu1158]

You did a great job. Ngikushayel' ihlombe 👏🏾

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Enkosi kakhulu! I’m grateful that you think so.

[@ETBeMore]

Amharic speaker here... interesting to learn more about other African languages

[@judyem.c5753]

This great! Great to get more insight of the many languages of African. As a luo; never heard that is part of a miscellaneous of cushite and bantu language group. I know i can hear some sound and word use among the nile Nilotic group. They definitely stand alone and unique to themselves.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Fantastic. Thanks so much for commenting.

[@shifanabukeera86]

Thank you for your interest in the African languages and Africa as a whole, Its not tgat easy to take on such a subject and present it so well.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks Shifa. It's very encouraging to know that you think it did it OK.

[@tael9248]

It is really pleasing to see how enthusiastic you are about languages! Thank you for this video, I learned quite a lot, and just had a good time :)

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you so much Luton. I’m very glad you enjoyed it.

[@johnlocal4535]

I really enjoyed this Dave. Absolutely compelling. Loving your phonetic skills.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks John!

[@jairbonilla7519]

I like this type of videos, well done

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks Jair. What should I do next?

[@touchstoneaf]

Language families fascinate me because of what you can pick up and understand of the structure and all of that even if the language is vastly different. Having learned a Bantu language (chiShona) and a little bit of another (Ndbele), I was just nodding along with the Swahili words and others thinking, oh yeah of course, totally makes sense, I get it.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

That must be fantastic.

[@andrewthmas]

Its interesting to see the parallels in my language Luganda with the many of other languages of our brothers and sisters across sub saharan Africa.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I'm so glad you found it interesting.

[@mysteriousDSF]

I've been learning Swahili for a year and I haven't yet found a better explanation of the noun classes, thank you!

[@teacherlwazi7414]

This has an incredible amount of depth. The research is excellent and accurately represented Dave.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you Lwazi. So glad you appreciated it.

[@iMacxXuserXx485]

My favorite parts were learning about the noun classes, learning about that very smart writing system for Ge'ez.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you. Yes, I find those fascinating too! Thank you for the idea about Slavic languages. I speak Russian.

[@tamerintube6313]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages i can speak Ge,ez actually Ge,ze language Angeles language and magical !

[@tomahawk5357]

Pulaar of Senegal got 21 noun classes.

[@Draculia]

I grew up in East Africa and I must say this is so cool to see somebody explore African languages and I wish National geographic or Discovery Channel would show this to a bigger audience

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Cesar. Yes, that would be my dream job.

[@Draculia]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages love your videos, they inspire me to explore beyond ny horizons and i pray they give u a show deserving of your talents.

[@Daggilus]

Wow! I thought I already knew every odd grammr in human languages. But the Bantu word system blew my mind! Thank you for making me learn such an amazing thing!

[@maya-pena-lobel]

I have watched a LOT of linguistics videos on KZbin but this is by far the most interesting one I've seen!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow. Thank you Maya. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

[@mclevelandkent]

I'm from. Uganda learning kiswahili love Swahili so much this 8s one 9f my favorite vids

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow! So kind of you to say so!

[@thapelomasuhla2953]

Lesotho is a country Mosotho is a person Basotho are people Sesotho is a language

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks Thapelo. Are you a Mosotho?

[@thapelomasuhla2953]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Of course

[@flavinmkabicyp]

And you speak sesotho.

[@thapelomasuhla2953]

@@flavinmkabicyp Yep. I speak Sesotho.

[@ciceroalexandar6184]

How that goes for Somalia?

[@ElimanGibba]

Fascinating, informative & enlightening. My first job after graduating graduated June 1984 ..not so good grades ) was working for the US Peace Corps & ( as a consultant /instructor for British Volunteers Overseas ) as a Language & Cross Cultural Instructor in Gambia, then Senegal . I love languages, all of them . I listen keenly as if they are speaking to me !

[@Makhinyembezi]

What a great teacher , keep it up

[@dubagentselekions8221]

South African New to your channel, great staff very clear and informative. I speak Sepedi, Sotho, seTswana, Ndebele, Tsonga, Afrikaans, Khmer, Zulu, Korean, Flemish, patwa....and many more

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you! What an impressive list of languages. There was a certain pattern emerging until I got to Khmer. How did you come to learn that?

[@msoptimistic4365]

Dissapointed no mention of the Iraqw language of tanzania

[@carlsanchious8192]

Such a wonderful subject matter in which to include in the commemeration of Black history month. A broad and intermediate level as it is....it does in this context allow one to examine the different groups of language families facilitating the understanding of regional commonalities, grammatical rules and phonetic structures. It's beautiful to see someone immerse himself in such a monumental undertaking for the purpose of exposing information not before put in the grasps of the general public.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@Zero-hl2zy]

Only God knows Why the world has so much different languages l really enjoy it. Thanks for sharing 🇬🇭

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks for watching

[@acanpc333]

Super cool video!! Thank you for making this. I really appreciate the in-depth look at how Bantu grammar works with the example of Swahili. I have loved languages since I was a little kid and in grade 3 I spoke Swahili for show and tall LOL. For fun I listen to the Bible app with different audio versions, including lots of different African languages just to hear them because I love the sound diversity. Mankanya, Mwani, Tamasheq, Senoufo. So cool! I appreciate your knowledge and passion!

[@acanpc333]

Would love to know more about “Nilo-Saharan” languages. And Berber languages!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you so much for your kind words! How cool that you did a show and tell on Swahili.

[@iMacxXuserXx485]

This was a lot of fun! I think more videos like this would be great. I am interested in knowing more about the Slavic language family and the Indo-Aryan language families. I am thinking of learning a Slavic language (probably Czech) and Bengali. It's cool that you brought up Malagasy. I have been learning Tagalog, and I was so fascinated that there is a language in Africa that is connected to the languages of the Philippines.

[@ChefRafi]

Great coverage of such a diverse and fascinating topic! One of my favorite things about these languages is their rich proverb lore. 👍

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you! What’s your favorite proverb?

[@ChefRafi]

Dave Huxtable, Inc That’s a difficult question. We filmed videos in over 100 languages and for most of them we chose our favorite Proverbs for each one (in their original languages of course). The African proverbs are the most colorful.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Sounds fascinating. I’ll check those out.

[@agerendries4568]

Thank you for share great video I am Ethiopian keep more study amazing African language

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you, I will

[@rachelmidwinter6810]

Wow! Your knowledge of African languages is so impressive! I’ve been trying to learn Shona for the past year and have mastered quite a bit of grammar but mostly verbs and tenses, prepositions, plurals etc. I’m getting there with all the noun groups...... I’ve cautiously looked at other Bantu languages and have started to spot similarities so it’s great to watch this and see my suspicions confirmed. If I ever properly get my head around Shona I’ll take a look at Luganda next as I have friends in both Zim and Uganda. Wish I had as extensive knowledge as you. I can manage French and a little Italian and Spanish but I wanted to try a whole different language and Shona is definitely giving me a good linguistic workout!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Rachel. How fascinating! Do you get to practise your Shona regularly? It will be great once you have enough of a grounding to start to explore related languages.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Stephanie. It is harrowing to hear about cultural genocide and attempts to eradicate people's languages. I'm sorry that I I was unaware of the extent of this in North Africa or that it was so recent. I'm afraid I assumed it had all happened long ago. Thank you for drawing this to my attention.

[@rachelmidwinter6810]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Hi Dave, thanks for your reply. I don’t get to practice Shona as much as I’d like, especially speaking it. I have friends in Zim and I message them so strangely my reading and writing are better than my spoken language. I’ve made very good use of Spotify to listen to and learn songs. I find these very helpful as they have repetition and rhythm which help with learning. More and more I can listen to a song and tell a bit of what it’s about. If I’m able to find the lyrics online I try to translate them. I like the structure of grammar so I use a textbook I got from Amazon and I also set myself additional exercises which I check with Google translate..... not always infallible but generally good for every day stuff. I desperately want more opportunities to speak the language but the current lockdown situation makes it hard to even meet people locally, let alone get anywhere near to Zimbabwe.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

@@rachelmidwinter6810 I admire your commitment! It's interesting how songs work. There's something about music and rhyme that makes things stick in our minds, so songs are great for language learning. I also find people can imitate pronunciation better based on songs. I notice there are some Shona teachers on Italki,com Have you ever tried that?

[@rachelmidwinter6810]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Thanks for the tip Dave. Definitely something I’m going to follow up on. I work in a Primary school so things are a little hectic right now so I’ll do my research but not make any commitment until I know I have the time (and energy) to spare. Meanwhile I’m working my way through your videos 👍

[@gideonmoffat5208]

Thanks

[@jacksonp2397]

I'd love for you to make more videos like this!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks Jackson. There will be more!

[@prisoner_of_hope8386]

This is such a fantastic video!! Thank you for all this information. Your passion and absolute love for the subject matter just shines through!!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow thank you Natalie. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

[@Lisa224224]

wow this was so interesting and entertaining at the same time! your german skills are so impressive, you sound like a native!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks Lisa - and good to hear that my German is not too rusty!

[@MomentofCorrection]

Fascinating research Dave. I get your limitations since there's a lot of uncharted territories in African languages. I'm Somali Canadian and I speak Kiswahili and Arabic as well.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@ridwaankhan7578]

Great video, needs more views honestly. 😂 South African here. I only speak English and Afrikaans though.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank Ridwaan. Time to learn more?

[@ridwaankhan7578]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Definitely, currently learning Portuguese, would like to learn Zulu.

[@altopatraogee6630]

Maan the Afrikaanar English Accent is the dopest! The one time i heard it in person i was blown away. Its soo gritty, deep sensing and commanding. Really incredible. At that time i was travelling with sm1 from 'Latin' europe who told me that the english he loved the most was south african english😅

[@thilohesse8883]

Absolutely fascinating and wonderful. Thanks for posting!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you Thilo!

[@nicolecollier2028]

Very interesting! I leaned so much. Very well done

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks Nicole. Any ideas for my next video?

[@camerons.7164]

I could have watched this for hours! Phenomenal

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow. Thanks for your lovely comment, Cameron. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

[@planeurs]

You never cease to amaze me, Dave...

[@mohamedatismail]

I write from Zanzibar. I am a Swahili - born, bred and dyed-in-the-wool. Mine is a qualified "like". It is for the exercise and the presentation which includes your pleasant, almost humorous, demeanour. But I have happened to stumble upon your video at an ungodly hour and thus shall not be commenting any further for now. I shall be back. Soon.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Mohamed. Have you had the chance to rewatch at a more convenient time of day yet?

[@mohamedatismail]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Hi. Sorry I am mostly on my farm in the daytime and we don't have a good connection there. You shall hear further from me soon, I promise. ...au revoir.

[@sunnya4310]

I liked this video. I wish you talked about the West African languages. West Africa is the most linguistically diverse region of Africa home to half of its 2,000+ languages. I find it fascinating that the Bantu languages have strong similarities over a large geographic area. This is in comparison to the West African Niger-Congo languages that can have many divergent languages over a small geographical area.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you Sunny. The language diversity of West Africa warrants a video of its own. I hope to make it one day.

[@czas4]

I'll also love to see that! 🙌

[@MaddoxKillgore]

Not really Kenya has the nilotic, cushitic and bantu languages. These are very different classes, so without the many tribes like Congo, Kenyan languages are more diverse.

[@oluwadamilola6233]

@@MaddoxKillgore Nigeria has native Afro Asiatic,Nilo Saharan,Niger Congo A and even Bantu. So nope

[@rimun5235]

@@oluwadamilola6233 You’ll find the same groups of languages on the East and west although, you won’t find languages like Amharic in Nigeria. However, I think these large broad groups when it comes to African language don’t make sense. Some lanaguages grouped under the same group are not even remotely close to each other.

[@khamisjuma5046]

Inapendeza sana mzuri.sana 👍🇹🇿

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Asante sana!

[@khamisjuma5046]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages karibu kwetu. Tanzania and zanzibar tuna kushukuru sana very much

[@dreamingoffluency1519]

This was amazing! I just want to know oh so much more about the languages of Africa :D You seem to have a lot of knowledge and would be so awesome to see more of what's up in your brain.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks so much! There is definitely more to come.

[@dreamingoffluency1519]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Can't wait! :)

[@rimnimukherjee6400]

Greetings from an Indian! I found the video really helpful and thoroughly enjoyed your enthusiasm and love for the diversity of languages.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Greetings Rimni! Thanks so much. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@NobbiMD]

I just ran across your channel and watched this video. Fascinating! I love languages. Unfortunately I do not speak any of the African continental languages (Except a few words in Arabic and Twi, as well as food item in Amharic and Tigrinya.) I also don’t count my somewhat understanding Afrikaans. I am impressed by your ability to reproduce all these phones. From watching other language videos and participating in a few (Ecolinguist and Bahador Alast), I already knew about the Sprachbund concept and thought of it right before you brought it up. Anyway, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Nobbi. So glad you enjoyed it.

[@diegonochebuena2416]

I keep coming back to this video. Truly amazing work!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Lovely of you to say so Diego.

[@boss8079]

Wow your Amharic is great kind of sounds like Russian too

[@Hehehoohoo-j3d]

Amazing video

[@elliotgordon4795]

Fascinating video thank you, great stuff!

[@selamawittato4773]

Absolutely interesting እናመሰግናለን Asante sana!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you too!

[@hosannahyonatan6608]

Great video 👍🏾 from Ethiopia 🇪🇹

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@Xaxameti]

Dave, this video is AMAZING!! Love it! I am from Zimbabwe but I am from Tsonga ethnic group and our languages share this whistling sound that is found in Shona, except it's the unvoiced version. So in Shona you have the voice version, eg the chi-zvi. all -> chinhu(thing) zvinhu(things), whereas in Xitsonga we have xilo(thing) swilo(things). The sw of Xitsonga is the unvoiced equivalent of the voiced zv of Shona. (x = sh sound in Xitsonga) Also, to your example using Tsvangirai's name, the voiced equivalent is spelled dzv eg. dzvara(plant seeds). Lastly, I love the tlh/tl sounds you hear in Xitsonga and the Sotho languages. I think Setswana sounds so cool with its tls and ts's. Anyway, great video Dave! Ni nga swi rhandza loko mi endla ti video tin'wani henhla ka tindzimi 👍🏽

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I'm so glad you liked it. Thank you for the fascinating information about Tsonga. Inkomu! Ndzi ta endla tivhidiyo tin’wana leti vulavulaka hi tindzimi.

[@Getaneh188]

I am fluent both in Amharic and English. But when I speak Amharic, I feel more comfortable and eloquent. There are so many vocabularies in Amharic that aren't available in English.

[@wehavehistoryyoudont9189]

I know but many simple English word that is impossible to translate to amharic but other languages do. Translate this Second ሁለተኛ Two Second.....

[@Getaneh188]

@@wehavehistoryyoudont9189 I am confused what you are trying to say.

[@wehavehistoryyoudont9189]

There are also simple English words never exist in amharic

[@Getaneh188]

@@wehavehistoryyoudont9189 example ?

[@chuasmare22]

@@Getaneh188 computer, internet, modem, network. They are mostly computer related

[@ЕлишаКриштоп]

Your videos are a jewel in this sea of content! It's nice to see a man so invested, so passionate about what he does. Please keep on making new videos, there are interested people like who enjoy them immensly!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow. Thank you so much for your encouragement!

[@Andrew-mj5rf]

Excellent video. Although to be honest I can't see a problem with calling Khoi-san languages click languages. Languages that use tones are called tonal languages and that's not a problem. The reference to the use of th in English is used here in France and I find it quite appropriate as none of my French or foreign colleagues have it in their languages. Some of my colleagues asked me how to say the two forms of th and there's nothing wrong with that.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Andrew. Glad you liked it. I can see your point about the term ‘click language’.

[@sueffun]

Nkosi is a Nguni word for King, Chief or Lord. The African languages are fascinating but really hard to learn especially the writing. Many South Africans are polyglots as they speak several African languages, English and Afrikaans which always amazed me. In the gold mines in Johannesburg they developed a language called Fanagalo a vernacular, based on Zulu with English and Afrikaans influences. Do look up the “ click song” sung by Miriam Makeba it’s pretty amazing.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I love all the things you mention. It was the lyrics to the Miriam Makeba song that the Xhosa teacher was teaching me.

[@sueffun]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages I sent a link of this video to my hubby as he loves language and even whilst reading will stop and check what a word means. He is fluent in German, English and Afrikaans, fully immersed himself in each language from very young. He went to a German primary school, English high school and Afrikaans university. I only speak English sadly.

[@kaneda5438]

i fell from my chair when you spoke german. you sound like a 100% german.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow, thank you!

[@prisoner_of_hope8386]

Das stimmt!🙂

[@Ketumak]

Thanks, Dave. An interesting topic, well presented.I think I'd have added something on how vowel length, tone and nasality can all be phonemic in Africa. I'm impressed by the way you can switch between languages and accents of English so easily!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

That’s a point. Glad you liked it.

[@samyrandome425]

Wow your french accent is impressive.. also that small bit was hilarious lol

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@gastonmartinez6316]

I am very pleased with what KZbin has given me as a suggestion! Your material is amazing I have just showed this video to people I know that are also interested in languages because you totally deserve more followers Keep up the good work!!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow, thank you! Somehow I missed your comment till now.

[@bigdrip.4055]

I was waiting for the Cushitic languages but unfortunately you didn’t talk about them. Hope you are planning to talk about them in another video.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Yes, I recognise that's a big omission and I will get round to talking about them at some point. 非洲万岁！

[@learnurduwithsara1068]

Wao this is such a comprehensive video. I have been searching for a detailed video for so long.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@Alexis-ed8km]

It's so sad that my Ancestors were taken away from this wonderful place. Our identity was stripped from us.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Yes Nadine. Tragic indeed.

[@mbwiloublog3874]

Thank you for your content! It is so refreshing!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

[@jacksonp2397]

I'm revisiting this video just because its so fun to watch lol. It would have been really interesting if you had gone more into the Nilotic languages! Dinka is wild, with a 4-way tone/length distinction: short-low, long-low, long-high, overlong-low; as well as a breathy version of every all 7 vowel qualities except /u/. Wild! It has 7 places of articulation with a voiced/unvoiced contrast of plosives in each, yet only one fricative,,,, the voiced velar fricative contrasted with /g/!!!! Lengthening the vowel or other ablaut can indicate any of these the things: Plural Singular Objective Case Locative Case Some words have singukar as the "unmarked" form, while others have plural as the "unmarked" form, yet they undergo similar/analogous grammatical change! /pàl/ - knife /pà:l/ - kniveS /cìn/ - handS /cì:n/ - hand Breathy vowels are marked by diareses, while overlong vowels are represented by a tripling the vowel, making the trigraph possible and I love it. Happy belated Noam Chomsky Day!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Sounds fascinating! Yes, I'm sorry I missed that one.

[@indi__]

coming back to say that this is a criminally underrated video. first watched it when it had like 30k views or something. dave, you're a gem!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you! I don’t know why I didn’t see this comment at the time.

[@scottieglot]

Thanks for sharing! This was well fascinating!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks ScottieGlot! My pleasure.

[@gurhanweyrah3930]

The noun system in Swahili that can take up to 19 forms is called”Ngeli”. It is really fascinating. It caught by surprise, when I started learning the language in 2010 at the age of 16 after moving to Kenya 🇰🇪. Now I speak the language fluently

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks for sharing that Gurhan. What is your first language?

[@gurhanweyrah3930]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages I was born in Somali region of Ethiopia 🇪🇹 so my first language is Somali, I learnt Arabic as my second language. English as 3rd language and Swahili as my 4th language. I am working on my French at the moment. I think my knowledge of Arabic as my second language had a big part in quickly learning Swahili because I used try to twist every new Swahili word to some form of Arabic. It worked about 50% of the time and when it didn’t work I knew I was dealing with a word of Bantu origin.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

@@gurhanweyrah3930 Bon courage avec le français !

[@bantuqueen1406]

Bantu in the house. When you dig deeper sir you will find out the Bantus have a unique genetic signature. The fact that they speak languages similar to each other and their unique DNA makes them have a common ancestor!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks for that. How fascinating! I suppose that makes sense, given the migrations.

[@wincute4306]

Am a bantu but can speak so many languages

[@Fuego958]

Muy bello su acento en español. Queda muy claro su pasión y su gran talento por aprender las lenguas por su muy amplio vocabulario en diversos idiomas y su habilidad pronunciarlos. Me inspiró Ud. seguir mis propios estudios en español, mi segundo idioma, y explorar unos cuantos nuevos. Saludos

[@wendyarnold6803]

Really interesting, you polyglot!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad you thought so Wendy.

[@jeromejean-charles6163]

Thank you so much for showing me such a wonderous orthogonality in the ge'ez alphabet.

[@hiruthseyoum5969]

Most people don’t know there is written African literature. But there is. Please do video on African/ ancient writings/alphabet of approx. 7000 years old and still used in Ethiopia today. Swahili is a mixture of words from French, Arabic, local dialect, etc…. and without alphabet and grammar. Thank you for sharing 🙏🙏💕from Ethiopia

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

My pleasure.

[@hiruthseyoum5969]

Thank you Dave. Look forward. I’m Self claimed Egyptologist. Ethiopia is the mother of Egypt. I’m a researcher discovering new secrets everyday. One major problem today is availability of information/ knowledge of ancient history- the glorious, remarkable past of Africa/ Ethiopia and this is due to “disconnect”.. 🙏🙏😇from Ethiopia እግዚአብሔር: ይባርክህ; ተባረክ::

[@anitafaith1310]

No grammar?!!!

[@cebilenkosi4459]

16:30 "Nkosi" is a Nguni word for “king”, “chief“ and ”lord”, It's a common name and surname among Nguni people.