Gospel of John in Zulu (Africa - Afrique - South Africa) Zulu (Zulu: isiZulu) is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority (over 95%) of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa (24% of the population) as well as being understood by over 50% of the population (Ethnologue 2005). It became one of South Africa's eleven official languages in 1994. Like many other Bantu languages, it is written using the Latin alphabet. For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulu_language ----------------- Much like the Xhosa, San and Khoi languages, (the sounds are unique to Southern and Eastern Africa except for the Australian Aborigine Damin ceremonial language) despite the extinction of many San and Khoi languages. Zulu, like all indigenous Southern African languages, was an oral language until contact with missionaries from Europe, who documented the language using the Latin alphabet. The first grammar book of the Zulu language was published in Norway in 1850 by the Norwegian missionary Hans Schreuder. For more information on Hans Schreuder: a) THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF MISSIONS (googlebooks – VOL II [ed. by Bliss - 1891] p. 185) b) Foreign missions of the Protestant churches [1900 – NY] By Stephen Livingstone Baldwin – (Googlebooks) – p. 142 c) Grammatik for zulu sproger By Hans Paludan Smith Schreuder (1850) [Googlebooks] -------- For more information about South Africa and Society in the 1800s, the standard works (available here also) include - A popular account of missionary travels and researches in South Africa (1861) by Livingstone, David, 1813-1873 - John Mackenzie, South African missionary and statesman (1902) - Memoir of Rev. James C. Bryant, late missionary of Am.B.C.F. Missions to South Africa ([1854]) - The story of my mission in south-eastern Africa (1860) ( Note to those comparing editions: The first larger written document in Zulu was a Bible translation that appeared officially in 1883. Please note this 1903 edition predates the changeover to the RV (by W & H) by the BFBS which occurred in 1904). .