Learning Xhosa? Here Are The Best Books To Use

What are the best books for learning the Xhosa language?

I love Xhosa (the click sounds are fascinating!).

It's an incredible language that's becoming more and more popular, especially after the release of Black Panther (there were scenes in the movie where Xhosa was spoken). The language is used all over South Africa and parts of neighboring countries.

If you're looking for quality books to learn Xhosa, you're in luck!

There are some great books available. 😊

Today I'll share my personal favorites with you (ones I love).

Shoot me a message and let me know if there’s a book I've missed that should be here so I can update my list.

1. Speak Xhosa With Us

Author: Tessa Dowling

I love this book (+ audio). 😍

It goes from introductory all the way up to early advanced level. This is done systematically through the language and grammar.

Speak Xhosa With Us has outstanding exercises and illustrations, and is useful either at home or for university.

There's also an audio CD and/or software version of the book.

I highly recommend this one to any passionate student of Xhosa.

2. Complete Xhosa: A Teach Yourself Guide

Authors: Beverley Kirsch & Silvia Skorge

You (mostly) can't go wrong with Teach Yourself.

This edition features 24 topics/chapters that cover loads of useful situational Xhosa dialogues. The many cultural notes are a nice touch too.

Every serious Xhosa student should own a copy of TY's Complete Xhosa.

3. The English-Afrikaans-Xhosa-Zulu Aid

Author: Isabel Uys

What a super useful (and cheap) resource this is for Xhosa!

Well, actually it's more than just Xhosa as the name suggests. It covers 4 different languages (English, Afrikaans, Zulu and Xhosa).

The book offers an impressive 51 topics for vocabulary and 27 topics for phrases.

Highly recommend.

4. Xhosa Crash Course

Publisher: Language/30

Okay, so technically this one isn't a "book".

It's an audio crash course for Xhosa with an accompanying PDF booklet.

But as it stands, this is one of the most useful audio products available and one you will get loads of use out of.

I personally find it useful to just listen and repeat the phrases constantly while doing mundane tasks (e.g. cleaning). They really get stuck in your head.

It doesn't really belong on a Xhosa book list admittedly but it's just too good to leave out. 😊

Summary: There really are so many good books for learning Xhosa

This list could have been so much longer with other Xhosa books but the ones I've listed are definitely the best available.

Xhosa is rising in popularity (especially after the movie Black Panther was released).

For this reason, people all around the world are asking for more resources to learn the Xhosa language (and for African descendants to reconnect with their roots).

Make sure to subscribe for more updates about Xhosa and other closely related languages in future.

Which other Xhosa resources would you add here?

Are there useful books or resources for Xhosa that I should add to this list?

Enkosi! 😊