Sotho–Tswana languages are a group of closely related
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages.
The t ...
spoken in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
.
The Sotho–Tswana group corresponds to the S.30 label in
Guthrie's 1967–71
classification of languages in the
Bantu family.
The various dialects of
Tswana,
Southern Sotho and
Northern Sotho are highly mutually intelligible. On more than one occasion, proposals have been put forward to create a unified
standardisation and declare a Sotho–Tswana language.
Languages
The group is divided into three main branches, Tswana, Northern Sotho, and Southern Sotho as follows:
*Tswanaic
**
Tswana (''Setswana''), with dialects: Fokeng, Hurutshe, Kgatla, Kwena, Lete, Ngwaketse, Ngwato, Rolong, Tawana, Tlhaping, Tlharo,
Tlokwa
**
Kgalagadi, with dialects: Nuclear Kgalagadi (Kgalagadi proper), Balaongwe, Kenyi, Khakhae, Koma, Ngologa, Pedi, Phaleng, Rhiti, Shaga, Siwane
*Southern Sotho
**Sesotho-Lozi
***Southern Sotho or
Sotho (''Sesotho''): Phuthi, Taung
*
Northern Sotho (''Sesotho sa Leboa'')
**Sepedic: includes Pedi and Tswapong:
***Pedi: Sehananwa (GaMmalebogo-Makgababeng), Sekgaga (Greater
Lebowakgomo
Lebowakgomo is the seat of the Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality and was the capital of the former Bantustan of Lebowa. Lebowakgomo lies 45 km southeast of the Limpopo capital of Polokwane. The majority of Lebowakgomo's inhabitants speak Se ...
),Sekhutswe, Sekopa, Masemola (GaMasemola), Sekone (GaMatlala-Moletši), Sepai, Phalaborwa, (
Mashishing-
Bushbuckridge
Bushbuckridge (also known as Mapulaneng) is the main town in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga, South Africa. It grew around a trading store that opened in 1884, and is named after the large herds of bushbuck foun ...
), Setlokwa (Botlokwa and GaManthata), Tšhwene (GaTšhwene)
***Tswapong
**Birwa
**
Lovedu (Lobedu, Khelobedu, or KhiLovedu)
**Sepulana/Sepulane
*
Lozi (''Silozi'' or Rozi)
Northern Sotho, which appears largely to be a taxonomic holding category for what is Sotho-Tswana but neither identifiably Southern Sotho nor Tswana, subsumes highly varied
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...
s including Pedi (''Sepedi''), Tswapo (''Setswapo''), Lovedu (''Khilobedu''), Pai and Pulana. Maho (2002) leaves the "East Sotho" varieties of Kutswe, Pai, and Pulana unclassified within Sotho-Tswana.
Lozi is spoken in
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
and north-eastern
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
(in the
Caprivi). It is distinct from the other Sotho-Tswana languages due to heavy linguistic influences from
Luyaana, and possibly other Zambian and Caprivi languages. In the Guthrie work – as is now widely acknowledged
[Gowlett, Derek. (2003). Zone S. In D. Nurse & G. Philippson (eds.), ''The Bantu Languages'', 609-638. London: Curzon/Routledge] – Lozi was misclassified as K.21.
Sample
The Lord's Prayer in the various Sotho-Tswana languages.
English: ''Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.''
*
Northern Sotho:
*
Sotho:
*
Tswana:
*
Lozi:
References
Languages of Botswana
Languages of Lesotho
Languages of South Africa
{{Bantu-lang-stub