Lozi languageLozi, also known as Silozi and Rozi, is a Bantu language of the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho–Tswana branch of Zone S (S.30), that is spoken by the Lozi people, primarily in southwestern Zambia and in Namibia. The language is most closely related to Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa), Tswana (Setswana), Kgalagari (SheKgalagari) and Sotho (Sesotho/Southern Sotho). Lozi is sometimes written as Rotse.
Bantu languagesLarge language family spoken in Sub-Saharan AfricaThe Bantu languages (UK: , US: Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a language family, or a branch of the proposed Niger-Congo language family, containing about 600 languages that are spoken by the Bantu peoples of Central, Southern, Eastern and SoutheastAfrica. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages.
Nguni languagesThe Nguni languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa (mainly South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini) by the Nguni people. Nguni languages include Xhosa, Ndebele, Swati, and Zulu. The appellation "Nguni" derives from their ancestor called Mnguni. Ngoni (see below) is an older, or a shifted, variant. The Nguni languages are the indigenous languages of the subtropics of southern Africa.
Southern Bantu languagesThe Southern Bantu or siNtu languages are a large group of Bantu languages spoken in the region of southern Africa. They are nearly synonymous with Guthrie's Bantu zone S. HistoryProto-Southern Bantu was first spoken some time during the 2nd millennium CE within the borderland between South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, where the different Southern Bantu subgroups meet. LanguagesLanguage groups are followed by their code in the Guthrie classification.
Official languageAn official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, the establishment of an official language might also place restrictions on the use of other languages in those capacities. Designated rights of an official language can be created in written form or by historic usage.
GautengGauteng ( , Sotho:; Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; Zulu: eGoli or iGoli) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa.LesothoCountry in Southern AfricaLesotho ( ; Sotho pronunciation:), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of the three sovereign enclaves. Lesotho is located in the Maloti Mountains, with the highest peak in southern Africa. It has an area of over 30,000 km (11,600 mi), with a population of about 2.3 million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru.
National languageA national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. The term is applied quite differently in various contexts. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the territory of a country may be referred to informally or designated in legislation as national languages of the country. National languages are mentioned in over 150 world constitutions.
Moshoeshoe IMoshoeshoe I () (c. 1786 – 11 March 1870) was the first king of Lesotho. He was the first son of , a minor chief of the lineage, a branch of the Bakoena (crocodile) clan. In his youth, he helped his father gain power over some other smaller clans. In 1820, at the age of 34, Moshoeshoe succeeded his father as the Bamokoteli chief and formed his own clan. He and his followers settled at the Butha-Buthe Mountain.
South AfricaSouth Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. The country consists of nine provinces, and is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. South Africa also encloses Lesotho.
Free State (province)The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later the Orange Free State Province. HistoryThe current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans were abolished and reincorporated into South Africa.Agglutinative languageAn agglutinative language is a type of language that primarily forms words by stringing together morphemes (word parts)—each typically representing a single grammatical meaning—without significant modification to their forms (agglutinations). In such languages, affixes (prefixes, suffixes, infixes, or circumfixes) are added to a root word in a linear and systematic way, creating complex words that encode detailed grammatical information.
Sesotho grammarNote: All examples marked with ‡ are included in the audio samples. If a table caption is marked then all Sesotho examples in that table are included in the audio samples. The orthography used in this and related articles is that of South Africa, not Lesotho. For a discussion of the differences between the two see the notes on Sotho orthography. This article presents a brief overview of the grammar of the Sesotho language and provides links to more detailed articles.SothoRelated word or term.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.