Explore Languages

Six languages. A shared commitment.

Our focus for deeper learning. Featured status is a commitment, not a claim of complete content.

Flagship languages

⁨6⁩

East AfricaStarter

Swahili

Latin; regional spelling conventions documented by sources.

Kiswahili grew among East African coastal communities and spread through trade and everyday exchange. It connects Swahili communities with learners and speakers across East Africa.

Draft — awaiting native-speaker reviewInalco

⁨0⁩/64⁨0⁩ / ⁨64⁩ published lessons

⁨23,469⁩Available dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary · ⁨7⁩ populated vocabulary lessons · ⁨71⁩ vocabulary words

Language leadSeeking a language lead

West AfricaStarter

Yoruba

Latin with tone marks and underdots: ẹ, ọ, ṣ.

Yorùbá is spoken by Yoruba communities in Nigeria, Benin and Togo. Its written tradition was shaped in the nineteenth century by Yoruba scholars, including Samuel Ajayi Crowther; regional varieties remain important.

Draft — awaiting native-speaker reviewUniversity of Georgia

⁨0⁩/64⁨0⁩ / ⁨64⁩ published lessons

⁨5,263⁩Available dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary · ⁨7⁩ populated vocabulary lessons · ⁨70⁩ vocabulary words

Language leadSeeking a language lead

East AfricaStarter

Amharic

Ethiopic Fidel; documented alternative letters are preserved.

Amharic is spoken by Amhara communities and used more widely across Ethiopia. Its everyday and literary history includes the medieval adaptation of the Ethiopic writing tradition of Geʽez.

Draft — awaiting native-speaker reviewInalco — Serge Dewel DLIFLC

⁨0⁩/64⁨0⁩ / ⁨64⁩ published lessons

⁨2,718⁩Available dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary · ⁨6⁩ populated vocabulary lessons · ⁨66⁩ vocabulary words

Language leadSeeking a language lead

West AfricaStarter

Hausa

Latin Boko and Arabic Ajami; ordinary writing often omits tone and vowel length.

Hausa is rooted in Hausa-speaking communities of northern Nigeria and Niger. Trade, scholarship and migration carried it across West Africa; its literary history includes both Ajami and Latin writing.

Draft — awaiting native-speaker reviewSOAS

⁨0⁩/64⁨0⁩ / ⁨64⁩ published lessons

⁨5,603⁩Available dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary · ⁨6⁩ populated vocabulary lessons · ⁨62⁩ vocabulary words

Language leadSeeking a language lead

West AfricaStarter

Manding

Manding varietyBambaraJula / DioulaManinka / Malinké

Latin and N’ko; retain ɛ, ɔ and source-specific tone conventions.

Bamanankan belongs to the Manding continuum associated with the history of the Mali Empire. The Bamana communities and the kingdoms of Ségou and Kaarta shaped its development; it is now widely used across Mali.

Draft — awaiting native-speaker reviewInalco

Bambara, Jula and Maninka are mutually intelligible eastern varieties of the Manding continuum. Familiarity and local differences matter. Dictionaries and review remain separate for each variety.

⁨0⁩/64⁨0⁩ / ⁨64⁩ published lessons

⁨7,374⁩Available dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary · ⁨11⁩ populated vocabulary lessons · ⁨116⁩ vocabulary words

Language leadSeeking a language lead

Southern AfricaStarter

Zulu

Latin; noun-class prefixes, clicks and tone need speaker guidance.

isiZulu is a Nguni language of Zulu-speaking communities in southern Africa. Its rich oral traditions were joined by print literature in the nineteenth century and by Zulu newspapers and novels in the twentieth.

Draft — awaiting native-speaker reviewSouth African History Online

⁨0⁩/64⁨0⁩ / ⁨64⁩ published lessons

⁨4,074⁩Available dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary · ⁨7⁩ populated vocabulary lessons · ⁨70⁩ vocabulary words

Language leadSeeking a language lead

Published lessons are counted separately from vocabulary lessons and study roadmaps. Drafts and unreviewed material never increase the tier. Dictionary counts are edition entries across EN/FR/ES/PT, not unique words. Showing the published source snapshot; checking community updates.

Growing collection

⁨37⁩

⁨37⁩ more language entries, grouped by region. Every community has a place here.

West Africa⁨8⁩

Guide

Igbo

Latin with diacritics · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Starter

Fula

Latin; Adlam; Arabic · ⁨⁨2,858⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Wolof

Latin; Arabic (Wolofal) · ⁨⁨2,090⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Akan

Latin · ⁨⁨1,898⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Guide

Twi

Latin · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Starter

Ewe

Latin · ⁨⁨891⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Starter vocabulary + dictionary

Guide

Baoulé

Latin · ⁨⁨801⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide + small dictionary — help us build it

Guide

Fon

Latin with diacritics · ⁨⁨852⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide + small dictionary — help us build it

East Africa⁨8⁩

Starter

Oromo

Latin (Qubee) · ⁨⁨1,524⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Somali

Latin; other historical scripts · ⁨⁨1,353⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Guide

Kinyarwanda

Latin · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Guide

Kirundi

Latin · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Guide

Luganda

Latin · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Starter

Tigrinya

Ethiopic (Fidel) · ⁨⁨1,216⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Starter vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Kikuyu

Latin with diacritics · ⁨⁨1,720⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Guide

Dholuo

Latin · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Central Africa⁨3⁩

Starter

Lingala

Latin · ⁨⁨6,294⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Guide

Kongo

Latin · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Guide

Sango

Latin with tone marks · ⁨⁨863⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide + small dictionary — help us build it

North Africa⁨6⁩

Starter

Arabic

Arabic · ⁨⁨46,225⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Guide

Kabyle

Latin; Tifinagh also used · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Starter

Tachelhit

Tifinagh; Latin; Arabic · ⁨⁨3,589⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Tarifit

Latin; Tifinagh; Arabic · ⁨⁨2,268⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Moroccan Arabic

Arabic; Latin in informal use · ⁨⁨2,799⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Egyptian Arabic

Arabic; informal Latin transliteration · ⁨⁨1,600⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Southern Africa⁨10⁩

Starter

Xhosa

Latin · ⁨⁨3,696⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Shona

Latin · ⁨⁨691⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Starter vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Chichewa / Nyanja

Latin · ⁨⁨2,202⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Starter

Sesotho

Latin · ⁨⁨922⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Starter vocabulary + dictionary

Guide

Setswana

Latin · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Guide

Sepedi / Northern Sotho

Latin · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Guide

Tsonga

Latin · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Starter

Swati

Latin · ⁨⁨1,848⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Guide

Venda

Latin with diacritics · ⁨⁨0⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Guide only — help us build it

Starter

Afrikaans

Latin · ⁨⁨14,699⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Indian Ocean⁨1⁩

Starter

Malagasy

Latin · ⁨⁨28,440⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Diaspora⁨1⁩

Starter

Haitian Creole

Latin · ⁨⁨4,927⁩⁩ dictionary entries

Vocabulary + dictionary

Languages cross borders. Country lists are examples of where languages are used, and do not define who belongs to them.

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