Five Languages in One Anthem — Epoche A1
South Africa's national anthem uses five languages, one after the other. Here is the order: isiXhosa and isiZulu — "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika", which means "God bless Africa" Sesotho — the same prayer continues Afrikaans — from the old anthem, about the land: the sky, the hills English — a call to come together and stand united So the song changes language four times. Nobody sings all of it in their own language. Everybody sings some lines in a neighbour's language. That is the point: you must open your mouth for someone else's words. In this country, that is not a small thing.