National anthem of South Africa - Definition and Overview

Since 1997, The South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining verses from the national anthem under the apartheid government "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" and the popular hymn of the African National Congress and other black organisations "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika". This makes it perhaps the only national anthem in which the two halves are sung in completely different keys. It contains words from four of the eleven official languages of South Africa.

Xhosa
Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,
Yizwa imithandazo yethu,
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

Sesotho
Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,
Setjhaba sa South Afrika - South Afrika.

Afrikaans
Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit die diepte van ons see,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes,
Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

English language
Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom,
In South Africa our land.

External link

• http://www.gov.za/symbols/anthem.htm