Despite the 11 official languages in South Africa the English language is the most evolving as it is understood by the various communities and also facilitates the communication between them. Although Afrikaans represented the official language during the apartheid era the influence declined in the late 20th century. For many South Africans, especially blacks, the Afrikaans language is strongly associated with the regime. However, Afrikaans has not completely lost its importance. South Africa travelers will notice many bilingual street signs, menus and place names when visiting South Africa. In addition many South Africans are able to communicate with each other in both languages.

In South Africa there are 11 official languages:

• Zulu
• Xhosa
• Afrikaans
• sepedi
• English
• Setswana
• seSotho
• xiTsonga
• siSwati
• tshiVenda
• isiNdebele