ABSTRACT
South Africa, as the name implies, is located at the southernmost point of Africa, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. It is a country that is highly diverse, both geographically and culturally. More than three quarters of its 43 million inhabitants are Black, descended from the indigenous African population, while 11% are White, 9% are "colored," that is, mixed race, and the rest are of Asian descent. There are 11 official languages, mostly indigenous. Although the majority of South Africans speak one of the local languages, English is the dominant language of commerce, government, and the media ("South Africa: The official. . .," 2003).
