Heritage Day is own to South Africa.

“On this day, South Africans across the spectrum are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of a nation that belongs to all its people,” according to Wikipedia.

But as a very diverse land with a lot of cultures, why not celebrate another heritage too?

We have 11 official languages, how many can you speak?

Maybe learn another language or the different greetings.

For example, Limpopo boast with five of the 11 languages namely Tsonga, Sotho, Venda, Afrikaans and english.

Did you know that Afrikaans was considered a Dutch dialect in South Africa until the early 20th century.

It became recognised as a distinct language under South African law, alongside Standard Dutch, which it eventually replaced as an official language, said on Wikipedia.

Or that the Venda language is related to Niger and Congo languages.

Well over 650 000 of Tshivenda speakers live in the northern parts of South Africa’s Limpopo Province, this according to the website Buzz South Africa.

In the Northern Sotho language which is widely spoken in Limpopo, there are about 28 dialects of Sesotho including Khelobedu, Sepedi, Sepulana and Setlokwa.

The website further states that the Tsongas are a mixture of diverse populations, including the Shangaan, Tongas, Thongas and several other less significant ethnic groups.

Sometimes it also includes the local Tswa and Ronga people of Mozambique.

“English is without a doubt the actual universal language. It is the world’s second largest native language, the official language in 70 countries, and English-speaking countries are responsible for about 40% of world’s total GNP,” according to the website Omniglot.

That is only a few facts of only five languages from the 11 languages, imagine how much there is to learn?

So go ahead, do a little research this coming Monday and maybe get to know your neighbour better.

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