In South Africa there are 11 official languages. The two major Black languages are Zulu and Xhosa.

English is the official communication language and is taught throughout the education system, though Afrikaans is still the lingua franca amongst many of the people.

The main ethnic languages fall into the Bantu and Khoisan language groups. Most black South Africans will also speak one or more African languages, whilst many white South Africans (especially those in the commercial farming communities) regard Afrikaans their first language.

The English speaking tourist will experience no difficulties, neither the Dutch nor Flemish speakers. Most of the larger institutions and operators cater for German, French and Japanese groups.