South Africa’s second-largest language, Xhosa is spoken by 17.6% of all South Africans, or 7 907 149 people. It’s also the second largest on the African continent, behind the Egyptian city of Cairo. It is a regional language, with a third of its speakers living in the Eastern Cape, where it is the language of 83.4% of the provincial population. South Africa History, Language and Culture History of South Africa. South Africa’s largest city. Afrikaans language, West Germanic language of South Africa, developed from 17th-century Dutch, sometimes called Netherlandic, by the descendants of European (Dutch, German, and French) colonists, indigenous Khoisan peoples, and African and Asian slaves in the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope. South Africa is the Rainbow Nation, a title that captures the country's cultural and ethnic diversity.The population of South Africa is one of the most complex and diverse in the world. Here are 10 interesting facts about Johannesburg that you need to know. In 1487, Bartolomeo Dias of Portugal became the first European to lay eyes on South Africa. A little over a century later, the Dutch East India Company set up a refreshment station at the Cape for ships and slaves toing and froing from Asia. Of the 51.7 million South Africans, over 41 million are black, 4.5 million are white, 4.6 … The country has 11 official languages, and many more unofficial languages. Many different peoples make up South Africa, each with their own language and history. Languages Of South Africa. South Africa is a diverse nation with a population of over 55 million comprising of people different languages, origins, cultures, and religious practices.