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Radio in all 11 official South African languages

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South Africa is one of very few countries running full-day national radio in eleven languages. Here is what exists, language by language.

Most countries broadcast in one or two languages and subtitle the rest. South Africa runs full national radio services in all eleven official languages, seven days a week, and has done for decades. For listeners abroad, and for anyone trying to keep up a language they no longer speak daily, that is the most valuable thing on the South African dial.

Below is what exists for each language. Browse them all on the languages index.

isiZulu

The largest home language in the country, and the SABC's Ukhozi FM is the service built for it — one of the most listened-to radio stations on the continent. KwaZulu-Natal's commercial and community sector adds a great deal more. See isiZulu stations.

isiXhosa

Umhlobo Wenene FM, broadcasting from East London, is the national isiXhosa service, with roots going back to 1960. The Eastern Cape community sector carries a lot of the rest. See isiXhosa stations.

Afrikaans

Afrikaans has the deepest commercial and community coverage of any language after English: the SABC's RSG nationally, plus regional and town stations across the Western Cape, the Northern Cape, the Free State and Gauteng. See Afrikaans stations.

Sepedi

Thobela FM serves Sepedi speakers, with its strongest footprint across Limpopo. See Sepedi stations.

Setswana

Motsweding FM broadcasts from Mmabatho in the North West and reaches into the Northern Cape, Gauteng and the Free State. See Setswana stations.

Sesotho

Lesedi FM is the national Sesotho service, centred on the Free State. See Sesotho stations.

Xitsonga

Munghana Lonene FM — the name translates as "my true friend" — covers Gauteng, Limpopo and eastern Mpumalanga. See Xitsonga stations.

Tshivenda

Phalaphala FM is the Tshivenda service, concentrated in the Vhembe area of Limpopo. Tshivenda is one of the smaller official languages by number of speakers, which makes a full-day radio service in it genuinely unusual. See Tshivenda stations.

siSwati

Ligwalagwala FM broadcasts to Mpumalanga in siSwati, with transmitters reaching Limpopo and Gauteng. See siSwati stations.

isiNdebele

Ikwekwezi FM describes itself as the only national radio service dedicated to isiNdebele speakers, transmitting across Mpumalanga, Gauteng and parts of Limpopo. See isiNdebele stations.

English

English carries the metro talk stations, most of the commercial music brands and a large part of the community sector. See English stations.

And the languages that are not on the official list

The SABC also runs X-K FM for the !Xun and Khwe San communities at Platfontein outside Kimberley — as far as we know the only broadcaster in the world using those languages on air. Elsewhere, community stations serve Portuguese, Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil and Arabic-speaking listeners, particularly around Durban and Cape Town.

Why this matters for listeners abroad

Language is the main reason the South African diaspora streams radio rather than podcasts. A news bulletin in your own language, read the way people at home read it, does something a translated article does not. Almost none of these streams are geo-blocked — see our guide to listening from abroad.

More guides

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Other radio websites

Listening from a neighbouring country? These are the official broadcasters' own sites.