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Which language families are spoken by Black peoples in Southern Africa?

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Southern Africa Sand dunes and vegetation at Sossusvlei in the Namib desert, Namibia.

The Black population in Southern Africa is linguistically diverse, primarily speaking languages belonging to the Niger-Congo family, specifically the Bantu languages branch.12

These Bantu-speaking peoples are categorized into several major linguistic groups, including:

Nguni: This group includes speakers of Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, and Swati.3
Sotho-Tswana: This category encompasses speakers of Sotho, Pedi, and Tswana.3
Tsonga and Venda: These represent distinct linguistic groups, with Tsonga (or Shangaan) and Venda speakers concentrated in specific northern provinces.3

Additionally, some languages in the region are associated with the Khoisan languages, a unique group known for their use of click consonants. While these click sounds are a defining feature of Khoisan languages, they have also been incorporated into several Bantu languages through long-term cultural and linguistic contact.4