IMPORTANCE OF XHOSA LANGUAGE

Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa and is a member of the Bantu / Nguni family of languages. It is spoken by about 7.9 million people mainly in Eastern Cape Province, Orange Free State, Ciskei and Transkei in South Africa, and also spoken in Botswana and Lesotho. Xhosa is closely related to Zulu, Swati and Ndebele and more or less mutually intelligible with them. Xhosa is characterized by respectful forms of address for elders and in-laws. The language is also rich in idioms. To have isandla esishushu (a warm hand), this means to be generous.  

Xhosa consists of many words with click consonants that have been borrowed from Khoisan words. The "X" in Xhosa represents a type of click made by the tongue on the side of the mouth. Sometimes English speaking struggle to pronounce Xhosa words which is a big challenge that they are facing with. I think Xhosa government has to do something about that so that English speaking people can be able to interact with Xhosa speaking people.     

Names in Xhosa often express the values or opinions of the community. Common personal names include

Ø  Thamsanqa (good fortune)

Ø  Nomsa (mother of kindness)

Ø  Isiduko (clan or lineage) names.