General Information. In the age of Apartheid, schools for blacks were subject to judgment through inadequate funding and so forth. Theoretically we both speak English, however our dialect and interpretation differs. South Africa is one of the richest countries in Africa. Johannesburg, the largest urban area in the country and a centre of commerce, lies at the heart of the populous Gauteng province. People have survived extreme racism. It also hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup. South African food is mostly meat-based and has spawned the South African social gathering known as a braai, or barbecue. Porto and Blackburn Rovers), Aaron Mokoena (Ajax Amsterdam, Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth), Delron Buckley (Borussia Dortmund) and Steven Pienaar (Ajax Amsterdam and Everton). Winters in this region are cold, although snow is rare. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Each province uses English, Afrikaans and the most predominant African language in their province for official documents. Birthdate: October 31, 1972 Birthplace: Cape Town, South Africa Height: 1.75 mts Weight: 75 kgs Position: Forward International: 46 caps, 19 goals (as of August 25, 2000) World Cups: 1 (1998) Previous Clubs: Cape Town Spurs, Colorado Rapids, New York Metrostars Transfer Fee: - Out of favour with previous coaches, Bartlett is the focus of … South Africa is next to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland. Njesuthi in the Drakensberg at 3,408 m (11,181 ft) is the highest part in South Africa. South Africa spends more on its military than any of its neighboring countries do. The Boer Republics were established when Dutch settlers moved north in the Great Trek. Food is not the only thing, music and dance is there too. East of the Highveld, beyond the eastern escarpment, the Lowveld reaches towards the Indian Ocean. South Africa, the southernmost country on the African continent, renowned for its varied topography, great natural beauty, and cultural diversity, all of which have made the country a favoured destination for travelers since the legal ending of apartheid (Afrikaans: “apartness,” or racial separation) in 1994. It is spoken by 372 million native and about a billion non-native speakers. English was the language of power during the 19th century, and was imposed in 1822 as the official language of the Cape Colony, replacing Dutch, the cause of great resentment among citizens of Dutch descent–a resentment which was later intensified and hardened among Afrikaners by the South African War of 1899-190… South Africa is also well known for their cricket team. It may be suggested that there is no single South African culture because of its ethnic diversity. These were two Boer Republics. Indian South African English (ISAE) is a sub-variety that developed among the descendants of Indian immigrants to South Africa. In the South African context, English has been both a highly influential language, and a language influenced, in different ways and to different degrees, by processes of adaptation within the country's various communities. The southwest has a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean with mild, moderately wet winters and hot, dry summers. South Africa's immensely varied terrain supports a rich diversity of animals, birds, and plant-life and offers an incomparable range of experiences. They were hoping to make money. They have very advanced weapons as a result. It is divided between First World and Third World standards. There are many numbers of baobab trees in this area, near the northern end of Kruger National Park.[11]. [20][21][22] A series of anti-immigrant riots happened in South Africa beginning on 11 May 2008.[23][24]. The eastern coastline however, is well-watered, which makes a climate kind of like the tropics. The provinces are in turn divided into 52 districts: 8 metropolitan and 44 district municipalities. South African English is riddled with many 'South Africanisms' drawn from 11 official languages. According to the 2001 national census, Christians accounted for 79.7% of the population. At that time, the British had the Cape. Gold was found in 1884. Have you heard about South Africa? Some of them are Lucas Radebe and Philemon Masinga (both were of Leeds United), Quinton Fortune (Atletico Madrid and Manchester United), Benni McCarthy (Ajax Amsterdam, F.C. South Africa’s coastlines border the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Tsonga, Swazi, and Venda are some of its official languages. #southafrica #countryinformation #firstworldpeoples South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religions. About fifty-seven million people live there. Further east on the south coast, rainfall falls more evenly throughout the year, making a green landscape. Updates? [12] The average South African household income went down a lot between 1995 and 2000. It has mostly high temperatures, and is also the location of subtropical agriculture. It had the national team, 'Bafana Bafana,' going on to win the tournament. English is the language of the cities, of commerce and banking, of government and official documents. The CIA thinks that in 2009 South Africa's population started to grow again, at a rate of 0.281%. Location South Africa is located in Africa, by the most southern point. In 2000 the average white family was earning six times more than the average black household. Instruction can take place in Afrikaans as well. The last census was held in 2001 and the next will be in 2011. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. An app developed in South Africa calculates the number of cows to pay for a bride's dowry. Many rare animals such as lions, cheetahs, zebras and giraffes live in South Africa. ), counting immigration. In 2010, South Africa became the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup. The majority of the 1,600 private schools in South Africa are located in Gauteng and the Western Cape. South Africa is the only Western country of Africa. He called it this because the cape gave the Portuguese a new chance to find a sea route to India. From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Its official currency is South African rand (ZAR). Other sports that are popular are swimming, athletics, golf, boxing, tennis and netball. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck colonized the Cape. In 1795, Great Britain took the Cape from the Dutch East India Company, to stop France from taking it. The area is known by South Africans and Lowveld. de Klerk (1989–94) began to repeal apartheid laws. They won this Second Boer War in 1902. For a discussion of Church membership statistics in South Africa please refer to Forster, D. "God's mission in our context, healing and transforming responses" in Forster, D and Bentley, W. Chapter 1, Article 6 of the South African Constitution, "South Africa - Report for Selected Countries and Subjects", "Post-Apartheid South Africa: the First Ten Years - Unemployment and the Labor Market", "Black middle class boosts car sales in South Africa: Mail & Guardian Online", "Economic Assessment of South Africa 2008", "Anti-immigrant violence spreads in South Africa, with attacks reported in Cape Town", "Immigrants Fleeing Fury of South African Mobs", "South Africa - Section I. Informal jobs went up. Because of this varied topography and oceanic influence, different parts of South Africa have different climates. Most of them also participate in the Indian Premier League. 15.1% had no religious affiliation, 2.3% were other and 1.4% were unspecified.[28][29]. South Africa also shares borders with Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe in the North, and Mozambique in the East. Muslims accounted for 1.5% of the population, Hinduism about 1.3%, and Judaism 0.2%. The king of Portugal changed it to "Cape of Good Hope". Its capital is Pretoria and largest city is Johannesburg. They are right now the world's number one in test match cricket. Since then South Africa’s everyday English has gradually absorbed many words from African languages. He died in 2013 at the age of 95. South Africa is one of the most developed countries in Africa with an amazing population of 50.59 million people making up slightly more than 5% of the total population of Africa. Omissions? The country has three capitals for different purposes. As of 2008, it was ranked 25th in the world in terms of GDP.Advanced development is significantly localised around the main cities. Economy South Africa is a well-developed middle-income country. In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias found what he called the "Cape of Storms". It followed the 1995 Rugby World Cup by hosting the 1996 African Cup of Nations. The British gave it back in 1803 but then annexed the Cape in 1807 when the Dutch East India Company went bankrupt. But with slang, accents and history in the mix, it’s not always easy to understand or be understood when speaking English in Africa. It makes up about a fifth of the … [18], Even though the population of South Africa has grown in the past decade[17][19] (mostly because of immigration), the country had an yearly population growth rate of −0.501% in 2008 (CIA est. For a long time in the past centuries South Africa was governed by whites, although about 80 % of the population are blacks. The wind can sometimes be severe when passing around the Cape of Good Hope mostly gets bad for sailors, making many shipwrecks. The Republic of South Africa is a country in the southern region of Africa. South Africa hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup at their first try. [13] The action policies have seen a rise in black economic wealth. This region is also mostly known for its wind, which blows almost all year. The biggest city of South Africa is Johannesburg. South Africa has a whopping 11 official languages. LOCALITATION Population :44,8 million 3. It is located in the northeast, located about four hours from Johannesburg. South Africa encloses two landlocked African countries which are eSwatini (formerly called Swaziland) and Lesotho. Take advantage of our Presidents' Day bonus! Most South African blacks still have poor lives. Well, there are about 5 million people there who speak English as a first language, close to 10% of the population. The back of South Africa is a big and flat. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. It then turns into the lower lying Bushveld, an area of mixed dry forest and a lot of wildlife. South Africa has also made many world class rugby players. Charles H. Stillé Professor Emeritus of History, Yale University; Director, Yale Southern African Research Program, 1977–94. Johannesburg, in the center of the Highveld, is at 1,740 m (5,709 ft) and gets a yearly rainfall of 740 mm (29.9 in). Translations in context of "to south africa" in English-Italian from Reverso Context: I've always fancied a trip to South Africa. South Africa is ranked sixth out of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries,[10] with more than 20,000 different kinds of plants, or about 10% of all the known species of plants on Earth, making it very rich in plant biodiversity. [17] The 2009 middle-year estimated figures for the other categories were Black African at 79.3%, White at 9.1%, Colored at 9.0%, and Asian at 2.6%. This is because blacks have become urbanised and Westernised, much parts of traditional culture have fallen. English is one of these, and everywhere you go, you can expect to find people who speak and understand it. See authoritative translations of South Africa in Spanish with example sentences and audio pronunciations. Upon formation, the country was named the Union of South Africa in English and Unie van Zuid-Afrika in Dutch, reflecting its origin from the unification of four formerly separate British colonies.Since 1961, the long formal name in English has been the "Republic of South Africa" … The first European people to come to South Africa were Portuguese explorers. South Africa was only allowed to participate from 1995 since the end of Apartheid. It has some of the best vineyards lying in valleys around Stellenbosch, Franschoek, Paarl and Barrydale. Because the English spoken in South Africa is derived from the British Settlers who immigrated to the country en mass in the 1820s, schools teach the language based on the British grammatical system. Visas for South Africa At the time of writing (Aug '09), travellers with British passports (as well as US citizens) do not need visas when travelling to South Africa. There are smaller but still important groups of speakers of Khoisan languages who are not in the eleven official languages, but are one of the eight other officially recognized languages. Famous current cricket players are Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy and more. The national team has competed in three World Cups. Both of them were a great success. Eventually forced to confront the untenable nature of ethnic separatism in a multicultural land, the South African government of F.W. The rest of the economy is closer to that of poor nations, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Overall unemployment got worse. Approximately 64% of native English speakers are in the United States, 16.6% in the United Kingdom, 5.3% in Canada, 4.7% in Australia, 1.3% in South Africa, 1.3% in Ireland, 1.3% in New … South Africa has a mostly temperate climate. It is among these people, however, that cultural traditions live most strongly. The park is located in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo and on the outskirts of Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the Kingdom of Swaziland. From the east, the land quickly rises over mountains towards the back plateau known as the Highveld. When I say self-expression I don’t mean people saying something about themselves. South African Language: ENGLISH. It has an area of 1,219,090 square km. Durban, a port on the Indian Ocean, is a major industrial centre. Plants become even more less common towards the northwest. During 1995–2003, the number of older jobs went down. No, not the south of Africa, South Africa, a country located at the very southern tip of the continent. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. This is because of low rainfall. Today South Africa enjoys a relatively stable mixed economy that draws on its fertile agricultural lands, abundant mineral resources, tourist attractions, and highly evolved intellectual capital. The President makes his speeches in English and at any hotel, the service staff will speak English. South Africa has about 30,000 schools, with 26,000 of them receiving public funding. Income inequality is about the same as Brazil. The Republic of South Africa is a country in the southern region of Africa. Approximately 9,800 Roma gypsies live in South Africa. Bordering countries and oceans : - Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabve , and Mozambique - Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean . As this transition attests, the country has made remarkable progress in establishing social equity in a short period of time. South Africa is home to an estimated 5 million illegal immigrants, counting about 3 million Zimbabweans. Inspired by a social media discussion, we wanted to share some of our top observations. Here are the slang words you have to know. The main schools span the first seven years of schooling. South Africa has 11 official languages, including Zulu, Afrikaans, Xhosa and English. South Africa 2. The former South African possession of Walvis Bay, on the Atlantic coast some 400 miles (600 km) north of the Orange River, became part of Namibia in 1994. There are more than a dozen African countries where English is an official language. Of South Africa’s almost 55 million population (Stats SA July 2015 estimate), around 80% is African, about 9% is white and just under 9% is mixed race. Africa is the second largest continent in the world. About fifty-seven million people live there. The National Park is the largest nature and wildlife reserve in Africa. There were very few native people living in the Cape. The British had brought many more soldiers the second time. Average elevation is higher towards the north (towards the equator) and further inland. Where is Serengeti National Park? They won the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. The district municipalities are further divided into 226 local municipalities. The Boers had no chance of winning. Urban blacks normally speak English or Afrikaans in addition to their native tongue. If you enjoy learning these words, keep the local language learning going with FluentU. List of English speaking countries in West Africa. There are other sports like basketball, surfing and skateboarding that are becoming more liked. Members of middle class, who are mostly white but whose ranks are growing numbers of black, colored and Indian people,[27] have lifestyles similar in many ways to that of people found in Western Europe, North America and Australasia. FC Zurich & South Africa. and the 2007 World Twenty20 Championship. Most parents in South Africa must pay for their child’s schooling. Soccer is the most liked among youth. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Even though South Africa is thought as semi-arid, there is a difference in climate as well as topography. It bid for the right to stage the 2004 Olympic Games, but finished third to Athens. The continent of Africa is divided into five regions namely, Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern, and Central Africa. It’s a preparation guide to a new culture. South Africa has also developed into a big wine maker. Lesotho, an independent country, is an enclave in the eastern part of the republic, entirely surrounded by South African territory. He started the camp for the Dutch East India Company. The Apartheid policy, in effect from 1948 to 1991, prevented Indian children from publicly interacting with people of English heritage. South Africa’s remoteness—it lies thousands of miles distant from major African cities such as Lagos and Cairo and more than 6,000 miles (10,000 km) away from most of Europe, North America, and eastern Asia, where its major trading partners are located—helped reinforce the official system of apartheid for a large part of the 20th century. Religious Demography", Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_Africa&oldid=7238509, States and territories established in the 20th century, Articles containing Afrikaans-language text, Articles containing Northern Sotho-language text, Articles containing Southern Ndebele-language text, Pages using collapsible list with both background and text-align in titlestyle, Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. [12], South Africa is a nation of about 50 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. Both countries are ruled by kings and the people there are very poor. These people are the descendants of white settlers, their slaves and Africans, and they typically speak Afrikaans and English. This article on English colloquialisms within Britain should be considered a must read for all South Africans relocating to the UK. The grass and thorn savanna turns slowly into a bush savanna towards the north-east of the country, with more thick growth. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. It means our people have been creative about their lives. Unemployment is very high. As for racial inequality, Statistics South Africa said that in 1995 the average white household earned four times as much as the average black household. The apartheid regime was disdained and even vehemently opposed by much of the world community, and by the mid-1980s South Africa found itself among the world’s pariah states, the subject of economic and cultural boycotts that affected almost every aspect of life. South African society at the start of the 21st century continued to face steep challenges: rising crime rates, ethnic tensions, great disparities in housing and educational opportunities, and the AIDS pandemic. The current president is Cyril Ramaphosa. Namibia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, and Nigeria. Find out by taking this quiz about Africa. Tourists flock to South Africa for its natural beauty, wildlife and sunshine. Greater political equality and economic stability, however, do not necessarily mean social tranquility. South African National Commission for UNESCO 222 Struben Street 0001 Pretoria South Africa Phone: +(27-12) 357 3486 (SG) Ms Tabisa Govuza, Secretary: +(27-12) 357 3498 Fax: - There are 11 officially recognised languages, most of them indigenous to South Africa. South Africa is one of the most diverse and interesting countries in the world. While English is third most-spoken language, South Africans have put their own unique twist on it and throw in a mix of Afrikaans and Zulu words for good measure. North of the Vaal River, the Highveld becomes better watered and does not get subtropical heat. The most common biome in South Africa is the grassland, mostly on the Highveld. The country possesses two small subantarctic islands, Prince Edward and Marion, situated in the Indian Ocean about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southeast of Cape Town. South African Tourism is the tourism marketing arm of the South African government. English is one of South Africa's 11 official languages and is very widely spoken; other official languages include Afrikaans, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana and Zulu.