11 official languages

In South Africa there are 11 official language. When you add to that the many languages represented by ex-patriots from around the world I am amazed we can actually get anything communicated in this country sometimes. Not because we don't understand the words, but because the phrasing is different or the meaning behind the words can sometimes be drastically different.

Today I heard a new version of a phrase I've known my whole life. During a prayer meeting a first language French man explained that God is doing some things in his life and he was having a hard time expressing himself. Then he said, "I've given my tongue to the cat." Took me a second to figure out what he meant.

The 11 Official languages: Afrikaans, English, IsiNdebele, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, SiSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga. You can add in to this Portuguese, Shongan, Greek, French, and the language spoken by our Indian friends (which I'm embarrassed to admit I don't know and will have to find out right away) and you've got most of the languages you might hear in a day in SA!