**Warning – Spoilers ahead for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever**
Black Panther 2 does a wonderful job at passing Chadwick Boseman’s legacy as T’Challa and the Black Panther, but the sequel also excels at exploring the different cultures presented and we discuss every language spoken in Wakanda Forever.
With Wakanda Forever closing Phase 4 of the MCU, we now have the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special to look forward to, followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Co-written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a sequel to the 2018 debut of the Marvel character and serves as the closing project in the MCU’s Phase 4.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Official Trailer
What Languages are Spoken in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?
There are five languages heard in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Xhosa, Yucatec Maya, Haitian French, Spanish, and English.
It’s likely the most languages heard in any one Marvel feature, especially since all of the aforementioned languages exist in the real world.
While we’ve heard Xhosa being spoken by the Wakandas in the MCU before, the introduction of Namor’s Mayan language is a welcomed sound.
Xhosa
Xhosa is a Nguni language – a group of Bantu languages spoken by Nguni people – and stands as the official language of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Spoken by approximately 8.2 million people, the Xhosa language consists of many click consonants – speech sounds that occur as consonants.
In Marvel comics, however, Wakandans speak three, different languages: Wakandan, Yoruba, and Hausa.
Yoruba is spoken in West Africa, particularly in Southwestern and Central Nigeria by the ethnic Yoruba people. Hausa, on the other hand, is a Chadic language spoken by the Hausa people in Chad, mostly within north Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and Benin.
Yucatec Maya
Spoken by Namor and the Talokanil from the underwater kingdom of Talokan – Marvel’s answer to Atlantis – the Mayan language is also present throughout Wakanda Forever.
Mayan forms a family of 21 languages commonly spoken in Mesoamerica in the south of Mexico and Central America, descending from six proto-Mayan language branches including Huastecan, Quichean, Yucatecan, Qanjobalan, Mamean and Ch?olan–Tzeltalan.
Vice reported that actor Tenoch Huerta learned a Mayan language for his role as Namor, which turned out to Yucatec Maya.
Haitian French and Spanish
During Wakanda Forever, it is revealed that Nakia has been living in Hati, which is why a number of scenes include the French language.
Hati is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, where they speak Haitian French.
Haitian French is very similar to standard French, however, the dialect and certain words differ – similar to Canadian French – and a creole-based tone can be heard.
Additionally, the French spoken in Paris has been favored by the Haitians, although a distinct native language can always be heard.
French is also used during the UN conference when French representatives question Queen Ramonda.
Nakia also speaks Spanish briefly before changing to Yucatec Maya and actor Lupita Nyong’o told EW that speaking Spanish in Wakanda Forever was a “gift”, having been born in Mexico and growing up with Mesoamerican culture:
“I was so excited about it. It was just a straight gift. And I was very, very happy to do it… I’ve always wanted to work in Spanish and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that that opportunity would come in Black Panther.”
By Jo Craig – [email protected]
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now in theaters worldwide.
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