South Africa

~Location and Origin~

SouthAfrica

SouthAfrica

~Natural Resources~

~A Few Facts ~

Republic of South Africa

Capital: Pretoria Cape Town Bloemfontein

Twice the size of Texas

Population ~47 million

~The Rainbow Nation~ A country of many

diverse people, cultures, origins, and languages

11 official languages

Various ethnic groups

A variety of religions

~Languages~ 11 official languages

English Hello Afrikaans Hallo Zulu Sawubona (Sah woo bo nah) Xhosa Molo (Moh low) Ndebele Lotjhani (Lo tchar nee) Sesotho Dumela (Doo meh lah) Tsonga Avuxeni (Ah vuh cheh

nee) Venda Ndaa/Aa (Uhn dah/Aa)

“Bantu” languages are

spoken by Bantu groups.

There are 9 Bantu

languages.

~The Bantu Community~

Ndebele

San or Bushmen

Xhosa

~Ethnicity and Religion~

Black African ~79% White ~9.6% Colored ~8.9% Indian/Asian ~2.5%

Most South Africans are Christian followed by Muslim, Hindu, and other indigenous beliefs

~Economic Conditions/Housing~

~Family Structure~

Extended family vs. Nuclear family/Traditional vs. Contemporary

Average household is 3-4 people but sometimes more due to the prevalence of AIDS

Parents’ roles are about equal, though the father has traditionally had high authority over the daughter

Girls are expected to help out with the housework

Divorce rate is high

~Sports and National Pastimes~ Soccer Rugby Cricket Marathon running Golf

~National Holidays~

Freedom Day April 27 (1994)

Human Rights Day March 21

Youth Day June 16

National Women’s Day August 9

~Education in South Africa~ “Children are the rock on which our

future will be built.” – Nelson Mandela (2006) “Up until 1994 education was not as freely

available because of Apartheid; now it’s like gold.” – Joy (2010)

~Education Continued~ Schooling in South Africa begins at the age of 3 or 4 with grade R; 1st

grade (ages 5-6); 9th grade (ages 13-14); HS 3 yrs choose subjects; after 12th grade a test is taken for admittance into college

Literate population is 86.4% compared to 99% in the U.S. 5.4% of the nation’s GDP is spent on education – basically the same as

in the U.S. Difference: number of languages spoken by school-aged students

2-3 in South Africa as opposed to 1 possibly 2 here in the U.S. Possible career paths in South Africa: Finance, IT, hospitality, tourism,

industrial

~Facts and Stats of Foreign-Born in U.S.~ Population of South African immigrants ~63,560 Median age is 36 ½ Languages spoken at home (ages 5 and up)

English only Language other than English Other Indo-European languages

Enrollment in school (ages 3 and up) = 15,075 Largest enrollment is college and/or grad school

Educational attainment for those 25 years and up Majority has earned a Bachelor’s Degree followed by a

Master’s

~Cultural Do’s and Taboos~

Greetings are leisurely and include time for sharing pleasantries. Asking, “Hello, how are you?” is customary.

Many different greeting styles depending upon the ethnic heritage of the person with whom you are meeting Handshake is common while maintaining eye contact and smiling Rather than shake hands, some women simply nod their head. If a woman

extends her hand then a handshake is appropriate. If a man knows a woman well he might kiss her on the cheek rather than shake

her hand. Dress is casual and conservative (depending upon the situation); Muslim

women cover their heads with scarves and it is customary to do the same if you visit a Mosque.

The term “colored” is widely used to describe South Africans who are of mixed origins and ethnicities and is not seen as offensive.

When giving or receiving something, some South Africans will touch the bottom of the arm being held out with their other hand to signify respect; you do not need to do this too but just appreciate it.

~Resources~ Books:

Battersby, J.D. and Cohen, D.E. (2009) Nelson Mandela: A Life in Photographs Sterling Holt-Biddle, D. (2007) Culture Smart: The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture – South Africa

Kuperard Oluonye, M. (2009) Country Explorers: South Africa Lerner Publications, Co. Ryan, P. (2008) Welcome to South Africa The Child’s Word Seidman, D. (2009) Teens in South Africa Compass Point Books

Internet Sites: CIA World Factbook

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html

Global Perspectives on Human Language: The South African Context by Kahdeidra Martin http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.stanford.edu/~jbaugh/saw/studentphoto/Lizet/

DSC00125.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.stanford.edu/~jbaugh/saw/Kahdeidra-Multilingualism.html&usg South Africa: Guide to Language, Culture, Customs, and Etiquette

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/south-africa-country-profile.html U.S. Census Information: Table FBP-1. Profile of Selected Demographic and Social Characteristics:

2000 http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/stp-159/STP-159-south_africa.pdf

Interviews/Personal Accounts: Joy (Internet/networking) Melissa Bushnick (cousin)

Pictures/Multimedia: Google Images

http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi TeacherTube.com

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=93276&title=South_Africa&ref

Ngiyabonga