Historically, a minority of white Zimbabweans spoke Afrikaans, Greek, Italian, Polish, and Portuguese, among other languages, while Gujarati and Hindi could be found amongst the country's Indian population.

[3] Prior to independence in 1980, English had been the official language of Zimbabwe's antecedents since the arrival of white rule in the region.

During the Company-rule period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, English was established as Rhodesia's official language by the British South Africa Company.

[6] In a 1918 letter written in response to an Afrikaner settler who complained about the Rhodesian policy of not allowing the teaching of Afrikaans in schools, the secretary to the Administrator of Southern Rhodesia wrote that "the official language of Southern Rhodesia has ever since the occupation of the country been English and ... no provision exists in the legislation of the territory for the recognition of a second official language.

[3][4][5] Chibarwe, also known as Sena, is a Bantu language, mainly found in Malawi and Mozambique, with a small number of speakers in Zimbabwe.

They are found mainly in Chobe district which comprises Kazungula, Kasane and surrounding small settlements bordering Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia.

[3][4][5] Ndau is a Bantu language, often considered a dialect of Shona, that is spoken by around 2.4 million people in southeastern Zimbabwe and central Mozambique.

[3][4][5] Ndau is spoken in the southern of Zimbabwe Nsenga, also known as Senga, is a Bantu language of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, occupying an area on the plateau that forms the watershed between the Zambezi and Luangwa river systems and Western Malawi land overshadowing Kachebere mountain called Mchinji.

Shangani, also known as Tsonga, is a Bantu language spoken in southeastern Zimbabwe, as well as in Eswatini, Mozambique, and South Africa.

[3][4][5] Sotho, also known as Sesotho, is a Bantu language primarily spoken in South Africa and Lesotho, with a small number of speakers in Zimbabwe.

[3][4][5] Tjwao (formerly Tshwao) is an endangered Khoe language spoken by fewer than 20 people in the Tsholotsho District of Zimbabwe, all over 60 years of age.

Tonga, also known as Zambezi, is a Bantu language spoken by 1.5 million people in southern Zambia and northern Zimbabwe.

It is spoken in the northern part of South Africa around Mesina whereas in Zimbabwe, it's common in the southern area of the Limpopo river.

[3][4][5] Xhosa is an Nguni Bantu language, most commonly found in South Africa, spoken by around 200,000 Zimbabweans, a little over 1% of the population.

Afrikaners first arrived in what would become Southern Rhodesia in the early 1890s, recruited to be among the first pioneers by Cecil Rhodes, who sought to bring their agricultural expertise for the new region.

[30] However, following the Second Boer War, British colonial authorities increasingly demanded that Afrikaner schools teach in English.

"[30] L. M. Foggin, the colonial director of education, warned in an official report: "I am convinced that if the concession of mother-tongue instruction were allowed in the schools of Rhodesia, it would result at once in Dutch districts in the teaching to the children of characteristic anti-British and anti-Imperial principles of the Nationalist party.

"[30] In spite of this issue, Afrikaners assimilated fairly well into the larger English-speaking white population, and were generally seen as loyal to the Southern Rhodesian government.

[35] Three of these camps, set up in 1941–42 in Gatooma, Umvuma, and Fort Victoria, accommodated roughly 5,000 Italians, mostly from Somaliland and Ethiopia.

[35] After Italy's surrender in September 1943, the British began repatriating Italian internees and POWs, sending them to Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where they were taken home by ship.

The language first arrived in Southern Rhodesia during World War II, when the colony hosted nearly 7,000 refugees from Poland.

[35] Polish refugees were housed at dedicated settlements set up at Marandellas and Rusape, two towns about 40 km (25 mi) apart to the south-east of Salisbury, from 1943.

[48] A few began being sent home in May 1944,[48] and transport back to Europe picked up sharply as the war came to a close, with less than 2,000 Polish refugees remaining by October 1945.

[35] Colonial officials were reluctant to let the remaining Poles stay in Southern Rhodesia indefinitely, asserting that they were not culturally British enough and might have communist connections or sympathies.

[35][48] Chilapalapa, also known as Fanagalo,[49] was a pidgin language used as a lingua franca between whites, Asians, and blacks during the colonial period.

[50] Like its South African cousin Fanagalo, it was primarily spoken in the mining sector, on white-owned farms, and in larger settlements.

[49][50][51] Fanagalo originated in the 19th century in South Africa, and Chilapalapa, which is closely related, developed as whites began settling in Southern Rhodesia.

[51] Though Chilapalapa was a widespread second language in Rhodesia, with several hundred thousand speakers in 1975,[49] it was never commonly spoken outside work environments.

[50] It was used in towns, and in the farming and mining sectors, and was especially common in the Mashonaland region, but was never taught in schools or used in any official contexts.

[citation needed] Because of its lack of use in schools and formal contexts and due to its negative association with colonialism, use of Chilapalapa virtually disappeared after Zimbabwe's independence after 1980.