Editing Africa (section)

=== Languages ===

Africa is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world. The continent contains between 1,250 and 3,000 native languages, depending on classification. Major language families include Niger-Congo, Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, and Khoisan groupings, along with Austronesian languages in Madagascar and Indo-European languages introduced through colonialism and settlement.

Widely spoken African languages include Arabic, Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, Zulu, Xhosa, Shona, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Fulfulde, Wolof, Bambara, Lingala, Kikongo, Akan, Tigrinya, Berber languages, Malagasy, and many others.

European languages such as English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Afrikaans are used in administration, education, media, law, and international communication in several countries. Their distribution reflects colonial history and later state policy.

The [[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]] used Spanish, German, and Dutch in its central institutions, with German especially common in administrative and security terminology. In African territories under Tanoan influence, local languages continued in everyday life, while Tanoan administrative language appeared in documents, orders, camp records, and command structures.