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THERE are 11 official languages in South Africa, all of which are
spoken in Johannesburg. By far the most widely spread languages,
however, are English and Afrikaans, and English is understood just
about anywhere. Afrikaans is similar to Dutch and Flemish. For the
record, the official languages are English, Afrikaans, Ndebele,
Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and
Zulu.
South Africans speak British as opposed to American English, but
the local variety has been influenced by Afrikaans and some
colloquialisms will require translation.
Johannesburg has a population of about 2,5-million people, in a
country of 46,5-million. The city is recognised as the financial
capital of South Africa and is home to many big businesses. The
national capital, Pretoria, is 35-45 minutes' drive north of
Johannesburg.
South Africa's time is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, seven
hours from Eastern Standard Time and 10 hours from Pacific Standard
Time.
The main religion is Christianity but there are sizeable Jewish, Hindu and Muslim communities.
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