South Africa: 5 Things You Didn't Know
South Africa:
5 Things You Didn't Know
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Click here to sign up for AskMen's World Cup newsletter.For about a month this summer, the 50 million or so inhabitants of the Republic of South Africa will play hosts to the globe's biggest sporting event, the World Cup. This culturally and ethnically diverse nation — fittingly known as the Rainbow Nation — is less than two decades separated from its apartheid past, during which time racism and discrimination were written into the country’s legislation. While crime and unemployment remain high, many can't help but regard the country’s selection as the stage for earth's premier sporting event as an indication that the new, post-apartheid South Africa is on the path to a bright future.
As it prepares to host the ultimate celebration of The Beautiful Game, we present five things you didn't know about South Africa.
1- South Africa has 11 official languages
The first thing you didn't know about South Africa is that it has 11 more official languages than the United States.isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sesotho sa Leboa, English, and Setswana are the most widely spoken languages in South Africa, with siSwati, isiNdebele, Sesotho, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga rounding out the 11 official languages. isiZulu, a Bantu language that uses the Latin alphabet, is the language of the Zulu people and the mother tongue to about one quarter of the country's population. About half the country can understand it.
On top of 11 official languages, South Africa also has three capital cities: Pretoria is the executive capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital.
2- The symbol of South African football is probably not South African
In the event you don't know what the vuvuzela is, you will — just listen to one World Cup match, you don't even need to watch it.The vuvuzela is considered the trademark trumpet and symbol of South African football. Fans have become notorious for blowing these things at matches. At about a yard long, they're made of plastic, and, when blown incessantly, sound like an elephant on crack. They are by far the most controversial aspect of the 2010 World Cup, originally the subject of a FIFA ban. While the official state line is that the vuvuzela is a descendant of the kudu horn, which called villagers to meetings long ago, few accept this tenuous lineage. Rather, the horn seems to have its origins in the United States.
Whatever the case, nobody describes the vuvuzela better than Boogieblast, the company best known for making the horns: "You only hate them if you don't have one."
Read on for three more things you didn't know about South Africa...
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Football
Soccer
Sportsmanship