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Sotho–Tswana languages
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| Sotho–Tswana | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Southern Africa, mainly in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, and south-western Zambia, |
| Ethnicity | Sotho-Tswana peoples |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo? |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | soth1248 |
The Sotho-Tswana languages are a group of closely related Bantu languages spoken in Southern Africa. The Sotho-Tswana group corresponds to the S.30 label in Guthrie's 1967–71 classification[1] 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
[edit]The group is divided into four main branches:[2]
- Sotho-Tswana
- S.31
- S.311
- Kgalagadi, with dialects: Nuclear Kgalagadi (Kgalagadi proper), Balaongwe, Kenyi, Khakhae, Koma, Ngologa, Pedi, Phaleng, Rhiti, Shaga, and Siwane
- S.32
- Birwa
- Tswapong
- Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa), with dialects including Masemola (Masemula, Tau), Kgaga (Khaga, Kxaxa), Koni (Kone), Tswene (Tsweni), Gananwa (Hananwa, Xananwa), Pulana, Phalaborwa (Phalaburwa, Thephalaborwa), Khutswe (Khutswi, Kutswe), Lobedu (Khelobedu, Lovedu, Lubedu), Tlokwa (Dogwa, Tlokoa, Tokwa), Pai, Dzwabo (Thabine-Roka-Nareng), Kopa (Ndebele-Sotho), Matlala-Moletshi.
- S.33
- Southern Sotho or Sotho (SeSotho): Phuthi, Taung
Northern Sotho, which appears largely to be a taxonomic holding category for what is Sotho-Tswana but neither identifiably Southern Sotho nor Tswana,[3] subsumes highly varied dialects 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.
Sample
[edit]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.
- Pedi: Tatewešo wa magodimong, leina la gago a le kgethwe, mmušo wa gago a o tle, thato ya gago a e dirwe mo lefaseng bjalo ka ge e dirwa legodimong.
- Sotho: Ntata rona ea maholimong, lebitso la hao le halaletsoe, ho tle muso oa hao, thato ea hao e etsoe lefaseng, joalo ka ha e etsoa leholimong.
- Tswana: Rara wa rona yo o kwa legodimong, leina la gago a le itshepisiwe, puso ya gago a e tle, thato ya gago a e dirwe mo lefatsheng jaaka kwa legodimong.
- Lozi: Ndat’a luna ya kwa lihalimu, libizo la hao li be le li kenile. Ku tahe mubuso wa hao. Se si latwa ki wena si ezwe mwa lifasi, sina mo si ezezwa mwa lihalimu.
References
[edit]- ^ Guthrie, Malcolm (1967-1971). Comparative Bantu: An Introduction to the Comparative Linguistics and Prehistory of the Bantu Languages. (Volumes 1-4). Farnborough: Gregg International, cf. the CBOLD Guthrie name list Archived 2006-11-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "S | Ethnologue Free".
- ^ See Doke, Clement M. (1954). The Southern Bantu Languages. Handbook of African Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press
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Sotho–Tswana languages
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Classification
Position within Bantu languages
The Sotho–Tswana languages form a distinct subgroup within the Southern Bantu division of the Bantu language family, which belongs to the Atlantic–Congo branch of Niger–Congo. This positioning reflects their geographic concentration in southern Africa and shared lexical, phonological, and morphological traits diverging from Proto-Bantu, estimated to have been spoken around 4,000–5,000 years ago in the Nigeria–Cameroon border region before expansions southward.[9][1] In Malcolm Guthrie's influential zonal classification system, first outlined in 1948 and comprising 16 geographic-linguistic zones (A–S) for over 250 narrow Bantu languages, Sotho–Tswana is assigned to Zone S (Southeastern Bantu), specifically the S.30 cluster. Zone S languages, spoken from southern Mozambique to Namibia, exhibit innovations like the development of dental clicks in some subgroups (e.g., Nguni in S.40) absent in S.30, alongside retention of Proto-Bantu noun class systems and verb conjugations. Guthrie's framework, while primarily areal rather than strictly genealogical, correlates with comparative evidence showing S.30 languages retaining about 70–80% cognate vocabulary with Proto-Bantu reconstructions.[10][11][12] Phylogenetic analyses, including those using automated similarity judgments and Bayesian inference on cognate sets, affirm Southern Bantu (Zones S and sometimes adjacent) as a partially monophyletic clade within Bantu, with Sotho–Tswana branching as a coherent unit characterized by innovations such as the merger of Proto-Bantu *p and *b to /pʰ/ and systematic tone shifts. This subgroup's internal divergence is estimated at 1,000–2,000 years, postdating the broader Bantu expansion into southern Africa around 2,000–1,500 years ago.[9][13]Internal subgrouping and genetic coherence
The Sotho–Tswana languages, corresponding to Guthrie's S.30 classificatory group within the Bantu family, are conventionally subdivided into three main branches: Tswana (often labeled S.33), Northern Sotho (S.32), and Southern Sotho (S.31).[9] The Tswana branch encompasses a cluster of closely related dialects, including standard Setswana and varieties such as Ikalanga and Shekgalagari, primarily spoken in Botswana and northern South Africa.[14] Northern Sotho includes Sepedi (Pedi) as its core variety alongside dialects like Lobedu and Kutswe, while Southern Sotho centers on Sesotho, with limited internal dialectal variation.[9] This tripartite division reflects both lexical and phonological distinctions, such as Tswana's retention of certain Proto-Bantu contrasts lost in the Sotho branches, though all share high mutual intelligibility in core vocabulary.[15] The genetic coherence of the Sotho–Tswana cluster as a distinct clade is evidenced by shared innovations from a common proto-language, including the development of dental clicks in some varieties through substrate influence and systematic consonant shifts like the fricativization of Proto-Bantu *l to /ɬ/.[16] Lexicostatistical studies, drawing on cognate sets from dictionaries of the primary varieties, yield similarity indices of 75–85% among Tswana, Northern Sotho, and Southern Sotho, far exceeding those with adjacent Nguni languages (S.40 group), which hover around 60–70%.[15] Phylogenetic analyses incorporating vocabulary corpora confirm a tight internal phylogeny, with divergence times estimated at 1,000–1,500 years ago based on calibrated glottochronology, predating major contacts with Nguni during 19th-century migrations.[9][15] Reconstructions of Proto-Sotho-Tswana, notably by Dickens (1986) using data from seven representative varieties, posit a consonant inventory featuring aspirated stops (/ph, th, kh/) and a lateral fricative (/ɬ/), inherited with innovations like the loss of Proto-Bantu nasal compounds in specific environments, underscoring descent from a single ancestral stage rather than a mere areal convergence.[16] This unity holds despite areal influences, such as tone patterns potentially diffused from Khoisan substrates, as the core lexicon and morphology remain phylogenetically consistent.[17] Early classifications, such as van Warmelo's (1935), affirmed the cluster's integrity through comparative morphology, a view reinforced by subsequent work distinguishing it from looser Southern Bantu groupings.[9]Historical development
Origins and proto-Sotho-Tswana
The Sotho–Tswana languages trace their origins to Proto-Sotho-Tswana, a reconstructed ancestral language within the Southern Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family, identified via the comparative method applied to shared phonological, morphological, and lexical innovations across descendant varieties such as Setswana, Sesotho, and Sepedi. This proto-language emerged from the broader Bantu expansion, with Proto-Bantu speakers originating in the Cameroon-Nigeria border region approximately 3,500 years ago and retaining core features like the noun class system and a seven-vowel inventory into Sotho–Tswana descendants.[18] Linguistic evidence, including preserved Proto-Bantu vocabulary for fauna, flora, and tools (e.g., terms for lion as n-cimba and elephant as n-iogu), underscores continuity from hunter-farmer subsistence patterns.[18] Migrations of Bantu-speaking ancestors carried these linguistic traits southward, with Eastern Bantu influences incorporating vocabulary for cattle (gombe), ironworking (ki-uma), and crops like sorghum (bele) through contacts with Sudanic and Cushitic groups between circa 400 BC and AD 500.[18] Sotho–Tswana forebears reached areas south of the Limpopo River prior to Shona expansions, with archaeological correlates like the Moloko ceramic style in Limpopo Province dating to around AD 1300 marking early settlements of proto-Sotho-Tswana communities skilled in mining and ironworking.[19] Further divergence occurred via subsequent waves into present-day Botswana and South Africa by AD 1600, driven by environmental adaptations and intergroup conflicts, yielding dialect clusters like Central, Southern, and Eastern Setswana while maintaining inherent mutual intelligibility rooted in the shared proto-form.[20][20] Reconstruction efforts highlight Southern Bantu-specific innovations, such as potential Khoesan-influenced cattle terms (kgomo), distinguishing Proto-Sotho-Tswana from neighboring branches like Nguni, though ongoing comparative work emphasizes diachronic sound shifts and agglutinative grammar conserved from Proto-Bantu.[18] These developments reflect causal pressures from migration, resource competition, and cultural exchanges rather than isolated evolution, with no direct attestations but robust inference from descendant uniformity exceeding 56% in basic lexicon.[18]Migrations, contacts, and external influences
The proto-Sotho-Tswana speech community emerged as part of the southward expansion of Bantu-speaking groups into southern Africa, with arrivals dated to approximately 2,000 years ago based on archaeological and genetic evidence.[21] This process involved gradual infiltration rather than discrete waves of mass migration from north of the Limpopo River, as earlier historiographical models proposed; instead, small-scale movements of lineage groups contributed to localized population growth through absorption and intermarriage south of the Limpopo, with early Iron Age settlements evident from sites like Broederstroom around 460 CE.[22] The cradle of Sotho-Tswana cultural and linguistic development likely lay between the Limpopo and Vaal rivers, where ecological pressures such as droughts around 1450–1480 CE and dynastic fissions prompted dispersals and subgrouping into Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, and Tswana varieties by the second millennium CE.[22][9] Intensive contacts with indigenous Khoisan-speaking populations shaped Sotho-Tswana phonology, lexicon, and morphology, evidenced by genetic admixture exceeding 20% in Sotho and Tswana groups, primarily through female-biased gene flow over the last 1,500 years.[21][9] Linguistic borrowing from Khoisan languages includes loanwords in Setswana extending semantic fields related to local flora and fauna, as well as morphological features like diminutive suffixes traceable to proto-Nuclear Southern Bantu substrates.[23][9] Phonological innovations, such as lateral obstruents and dental stops reflecting Proto-Bantu *c and *j, and the sporadic adoption of clicks in Southern Sotho and varieties like Tjhauba (Kgalagadi), likely arose from multiple post-diversification contact events with Khoisan or mediated through Nguni intermediaries, distinguishing Sotho-Tswana from core Bantu patterns while lacking the pervasive click systems seen in eastern Kalahari Khoe languages.[9] These interactions, occurring amid Bantu pastoralist expansion into Khoisan foraging territories, facilitated hybrid cultural adaptations without wholesale linguistic replacement. The early 19th-century upheavals known as the Mfecane, involving Zulu and Ndebele raids, profoundly disrupted Sotho-Tswana polities, prompting defensive consolidations such as the Basotho kingdom under Moshoeshoe I from 1824 onward and scattering Tswana groups northward.[24] These conflicts accelerated migrations and amalgamations, influencing dialectal boundaries and reinforcing ethnic identities tied to language, though the scale of disruption remains debated in historiography potentially inflated by colonial accounts.[25] Subsequent European missionary activities from the 1800s introduced orthographic standardization; for instance, London Missionary Society figure Robert Moffat devised a Setswana writing system around 1820, while French Protestants developed Sesotho conventions, embedding digraphs and nasal notations that persist despite regional variations between Lesotho and South Africa.[26][27] These efforts, aimed at evangelism and literacy, minimally altered core grammar but facilitated lexical borrowings from Dutch and English, particularly in administrative and religious domains.[27]Constituent languages
Northern Sotho (Sepedi/Sesotho sa Leboa)
Northern Sotho, also designated as Sesotho sa Leboa in official contexts or standardized as Sepedi, constitutes a Southern Bantu language within the Sotho-Tswana subgroup, primarily spoken in northeastern South Africa. It serves as one of the country's eleven official languages under the 1996 Constitution, alongside others such as isiZulu and Afrikaans, enabling its use in parliament, courts, and public administration.[28] The language is predominantly associated with the Pedi (or Northern Sotho) ethnic group, though it extends to related communities like the Mapulana and Lobedu.[29] As of 2022 census data, Northern Sotho claims approximately 5.97 million first-language speakers, representing about 10% of South Africa's population, with higher concentrations in Limpopo Province (where over 2 million residents speak it as a home language) and smaller numbers in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and North West provinces.[2] These speakers are mainly rural and urban dwellers in former homelands like Lebowa, established under apartheid-era policies that grouped diverse dialects under a unified "Northern Sotho" for administrative purposes.[30] Northern Sotho encompasses a dialect continuum of roughly 27 varieties, not all fully mutually intelligible, including core forms like Pedi (the basis for standardization), Tau, Roka, Kone, Mphahlele, Tšhwene, and others such as Lobedu (Khelobedu), Pulana (Sepulana), and Hananwa (Sephalaborwa).[29] Standardization efforts, initiated in the early 20th century by missionaries and later formalized by South African linguists, elevated Sepedi—specifically the dialect of the Bakgaga ba Mamphokgo— as the prestige variety for orthography, textbooks, and broadcasting, a process that some dialect speakers critique as marginalizing non-Pedi forms.[29] This orthography, using a Latin-based script with diacritics for tones and clicks, was codified in the 1950s and revised post-1994 to promote inclusivity across dialects.[31] In contemporary usage, Northern Sotho functions in primary education (as a medium of instruction up to grade 3 in Limpopo schools), radio broadcasts via the South African Broadcasting Corporation, and literature, including novels and poetry from authors like Elias Motsoaledi. However, English dominance in higher education and urban economies has led to code-switching and declining proficiency among youth, with surveys indicating that only 78% of self-identified speakers under 30 achieve full fluency.[32] Efforts by the Pan South African Language Board since 1995 aim to expand its digital presence and lexicography, though challenges persist due to dialectal fragmentation and migration-driven language shift.[33]Southern Sotho (Sesotho)
Southern Sotho, endonymously termed Sesotho or Sesotho sa Borwa, constitutes a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana cluster (Guthrie zone S.30), spoken predominantly by the Basotho ethnic group. It functions as the national language of Lesotho, where it enjoys de facto universality among the population, and as one of South Africa's eleven official languages under the 1996 Constitution.[34][35] The language's standardization emerged in the mid-19th century through efforts by French Protestant missionaries, such as Eugène Casalis and Thomas Arbousset, who developed an orthography using the Latin alphabet adapted for Sesotho's phonetic inventory, including diacritics for tones and specific consonants.[36] Native speakers number approximately 5 million, with the largest concentrations in South Africa (around 4 million first-language users) and Lesotho (over 2 million, comprising nearly the entire populace).[37][38] In South Africa, Sesotho predominates in the Free State province (44.2% of speakers), Gauteng (40.6%), and to a lesser extent North West (4.6%) and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, reflecting historical Basotho migrations and labor patterns during the 19th–20th centuries.[2] Smaller communities exist in Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia, often as migrant groups. Sesotho's vitality remains strong, classified as stable with intergenerational transmission intact, though urbanization and English dominance pose challenges to monolingual usage in formal domains.[38] Dialectal variation in Sesotho is relatively subdued, characterized by phonetic and lexical differences rather than mutual unintelligibility, unlike more fragmented Sotho–Tswana languages such as Tswana. Key dialects include the highland varieties of Lesotho (e.g., Molimo-Nthuse) and lowland forms in South Africa's Orange Free State, with the former influencing the prestige standard due to Lesotho's cultural centrality.[35] Orthographic conventions diverge slightly between Lesotho and South Africa: Lesotho employs a tonal accent system more consistently, while South African standards, formalized post-1994 via the Pan South African Language Board, prioritize simplicity in digraphs for sounds like /t͡ʃ/ (rendered as tš) and /x/ (as kh).[36] These variants stem from independent post-colonial developments, yet mutual intelligibility persists, supporting cross-border media and literature. Sesotho's literary corpus, initiated by missionary translations including the full Bible by 1881, encompasses poetry, proverbs, and modern prose, with King Moshoeshoe I's 19th-century oral traditions transcribed as foundational texts.[35] Educational policies in Lesotho mandate Sesotho as the medium of instruction through primary levels, fostering literacy rates above 80% among adults, while in South Africa, it supports mother-tongue education in public schools serving Basotho communities.[34] Despite these strengths, terminological gaps in scientific domains highlight ongoing lexicographic needs, addressed through bodies like the National Language Council of Lesotho.[36]Tswana (Setswana)
Setswana, also known as Tswana, is a Bantu language belonging to the Sotho-Tswana subgroup, spoken primarily by the Tswana people across southern Africa. It serves as a lingua franca in regions where it predominates, with approximately 5 million native speakers and nearly 8 million additional second-language users. In South Africa, Setswana is the home language for about 4.97 million individuals, constituting 8.3% of the population as of recent census data. The language's core distribution centers in Botswana, where it is the majority tongue, extending into northern South Africa, eastern Namibia, western Zimbabwe, and smaller communities in Zambia.[39][2][40] Setswana holds official national language status in Botswana, functioning as the primary medium of instruction in early education and a key vehicle for government communication, alongside English. In South Africa, it ranks among the eleven official languages, supporting broadcasting, parliamentary proceedings, and school curricula in Tswana-dominant areas. This dual role underscores its vitality in public life, with widespread use in media, literature, and daily discourse, though English often dominates formal domains in urban settings.[41][42] The language exhibits dialectal variation tied to ethnic subgroups, such as those of the Bakwena, Bangwaketse, and Barolong, which influence lexical and phonological traits but maintain mutual intelligibility under a standardized form. Standardization efforts, initiated by 19th-century missionaries using the Latin alphabet, prioritized a central dialect for Bible translations and early texts, evolving through colonial and post-independence policies to address variations in vocabulary and orthography. In Botswana, ongoing processes aim to unify spoken and written norms via education and media, countering dialectal divergence amplified by urbanization and multilingualism.[43][27][44]Minor varieties and related languages
Shekgalagari (also termed Kgalagadi or SheKgalagari), a Western Sotho-Tswana variety spoken by roughly 40,000 individuals mainly in Botswana's Kgalagadi district and parts of South Africa, exhibits phonological distinctions such as additional fricatives absent in core Tswana while retaining noun class systems and tonal patterns typical of the cluster.[45] Classified under Guthrie's S.31 subgroup alongside Tswana, it maintains mutual intelligibility with Setswana to a limited degree but is recognized as a separate language due to lexical divergences exceeding 20% in basic vocabulary.[14] Sebirwa (Birwa or TjeBirwa), spoken by several thousand in eastern Botswana's Bobonong area, belongs to the Sotho-Tswana phylum (S.30) and shares verbal morphology with Northern Sotho, including subject agreement prefixes, though contact with Kalanga has introduced minor lexical borrowings.[46] Linguistic analyses affirm its genetic ties to Sepedi and Setswana over Nguni or Shona languages, countering local perceptions of it as a Kalanga dialect.[47] Setswapong (Tswapong or Tjhetswapong), with approximately 5,000 speakers in northeastern Botswana, forms another peripheral Sotho-Tswana variety, featuring conservative retention of proto-Bantu consonants lost in mainline Tswana dialects.[48] Debates persist on its status as an independent language versus a Tswana or Northern Sotho dialect, but synchronic studies highlight sufficient phonetic and syntactic autonomy for separate classification within S.30.[49] Lozi (Silozi), spoken by over 650,000 in Zambia's Western Province, stands as a related language influenced by 19th-century Kololo (Southern Sotho) migrations onto a Luyana substrate, yielding about 70% lexical overlap with Sotho-Tswana core but divergent prosody and substrate-derived vocabulary.[50] Though sometimes excluded from strict S.30 due to hybrid genesis, its Bantu Zone S affinities and shared innovations like clickless consonants link it causally to the cluster via historical conquest and assimilation.[14]Phonological features
Consonant systems
The Sotho–Tswana languages possess consonant inventories larger than typical for Bantu languages, generally comprising 25–40 phonemes, driven by distinctions in aspiration, ejection, and affrication rather than prenasalization. A key historical development is the systematic denasalization of Proto-Bantu prenasalized obstruents (*mp > p, *nt > t, *ŋg > g), yielding plain stops or affricates without phonemic prenasalization, unlike in most Bantu branches where such clusters persist as unitary segments. This innovation simplifies syllable onsets while expanding plain obstruent series, with nasal-obstruent (NC) sequences occurring heteromorphemically but analyzed as sequences rather than single phonemes, often involving post-nasal devoicing or fortition of the obstruent.[51][52] Stops form a core series across the group, typically including voiceless unaspirated (/p t k/), aspirated (/pʰ tʰ kʰ/), and voiced (/b d ɡ/) variants at bilabial, alveolar, and velar places, with /ɡ/ variably realized as a fricative [ɣ] in intervocalic positions in some varieties. Affricates, such as alveolar /ts tsʰ/ and postalveolar /tʃ tʃʰ/, are widespread, reflecting Proto-Bantu affricates or spirantization. Fricatives include labiodental /f/, alveolar /s/, postalveolar /ʃ/, velar /x/, and glottal /h/, with /x/ often from Proto-Bantu *g. Nasals (/m n ɲ ŋ/) can be syllabic, particularly /ŋ̍/, and liquids comprise lateral /l/ (with allophone before high vowels in Tswana) and trill /r/. Labialization occurs on velars (/kʷ kʰʷ/), forming minor clusters.[6][53][32] Sesotho (Southern Sotho) stands out with around 40 consonants, incorporating glottalized ejectives (/pʼ tʼ kʼ/) alongside aspirates and affricates, plus three clicks (/ǀ ǁ ǃ/ or variants) borrowed via Khoisan and Nguni contact, used in expressive or loan contexts but marginal in core lexicon. Northern Sotho (Sepedi) and Tswana (Setswana) have leaner systems of 25–28 phonemes, lacking ejectives and clicks in standard varieties, with emphasis on aspirated stops and fewer affricates; Setswana specifically lists 28 phonemes, including /ts tsʰ/ but no postalveolars beyond loans. Syllable structure restricts clusters to NC or labialized onsets (CV preferred), with word-final consonants rare except nasals. Variations arise from dialectal contact, such as minor prenasal retention in peripheral varieties.[53][52][32]| Place/Manner | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stops (unaspirated) | p b | t d | k ɡ | ||||
| Ejectives (Sesotho) | pʼ | tʼ | kʼ | ||||
| Affricates | ts | tʃ | |||||
| Fricatives | f | s | ʃ | x | h | ||
| Nasals | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Liquids | l r |
Vowel systems, tone, and prosody
The Sotho–Tswana languages exhibit a vowel system richer than the typical five-vowel inventory of many Bantu languages, featuring seven phonemic vowels: /i/, /e/, /ɛ/, /a/, /ɔ/, /o/, /u/. This includes contrasts between close-mid /e, o/ and open-mid /ɛ, ɔ/, with /i, u/ as high vowels and /a/ central. In Setswana, acoustic studies confirm these distinctions, noting dialectal variations but consistent phonemic oppositions. Sesotho displays similar qualities, with empirical measurements of formant values supporting four variants for mid vowels influenced by height and tenseness. Processes such as vowel raising—where /e, o/ surface as [ɪ, ʊ] before certain consonants or in coalescence—further expand surface realizations, though these are often analyzed as allophonic rather than phonemically distinct in core inventories. Tone operates as a binary system of high (H) and low (L) levels across the family, with H tones bearing primary phonological activity, including rightward spreading and sensitivity to morphological boundaries. Lexical tone distinguishes minimal pairs, while grammatical tone marks categories like tense and noun class, as underlying H tones associate to specific morphemes and propagate under rules of culminativity and occlusion. In Sepedi, high tones exhibit positional restrictions, often culminating in a single peak per prosodic word, derived from floating tones in verbal stems. Tswana mirrors this, with surface H-L contrasts modulated by downstep and boundary-driven fusion, preventing unchecked H-H sequences within words but allowing them phrase-finally. Prosody in Sotho–Tswana is predominantly tonal, lacking independent stress but deriving rhythmic and intonational contours from tone spreading and declination. Word-level prosody assigns tones via algorithms incorporating lexical underspecification, where L is default and H spreads from roots or affixes, yielding falling or level patterns in utterances. Cross-word H tone sequences emerge at boundaries, enhancing phrasal cohesion without altering core lexical identities. Perception studies in Sesotho indicate listeners integrate F0 contours for tone discrimination, distinguishing it from intonation-like overlays in declarative or interrogative modes, though tonal density can compress perceived pitch range compared to non-tonal languages.Grammatical structure
Noun classes and agreement
The Sotho–Tswana languages utilize a noun class system inherited from Proto-Bantu, comprising approximately 15–18 classes marked by characteristic prefixes on nouns, which encode grammatical number (singular/plural) and influence semantic categorization.[54][55] These classes are not rigidly semantic but show probabilistic associations: classes 1/2 predominantly for humans, 3/4 for trees and plants, 5/6 for natural phenomena or augmentative forms, 7/8 for utensils or diminutives, 9/10 for animals and loanwords, and additional classes for abstracts (11/10 or 6), diminutives (12/13, often defective), and locatives (16–18).[55] Class membership is determined by the noun prefix, with some variation across Sepedi, Sesotho, and Setswana; for instance, class 1 singular nouns typically take mo- (e.g., motho 'person' in Setswana), pluralizing to ba- in class 2 (batho 'people').[54][55] Agreement is obligatory and manifests through concords—prefixes on adjectives, demonstratives, possessives, enumeratives, and verbs—that match the head noun's class and number.[54] In noun phrases, all dependents follow the head and replicate its class concord; for example, in Setswana, mosadi yo mohlano wa ga bona glosses as 'their fifth wife', where yo (class 1 demonstrative), mohlano (adjective with class 1 prefix), and wa ga bona (possessive) agree with mosadi (class 1).[54] Verbal agreement occurs via subject and object markers prefixed to the verb stem, reflecting the controller noun's class; e.g., Setswana Mosadi o lapile ('The woman is tired'), with o- as class 1 subject concord.[54] This system distinguishes nominal form classes (based on noun prefixes) from agreement classes (based on concord patterns), allowing some nouns with identical prefixes to trigger different agreements, though one-to-one correspondences predominate in core vocabulary.[55] The following table summarizes representative singular/plural prefixes and subject concords for key classes in Setswana (closely paralleled in Sepedi and Sesotho), drawn from agreement class paradigms:| Class Pair | Singular Prefix (Noun) | Plural Prefix (Noun) | Subject Concord (Singular/Plural) | Semantic Tendency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | mo- | ba- | o- / ba- | Humans |
| 3/4 | mo- | me- | o- / e- | Plants, trees |
| 5/6 | le- | ma- | le- / a- | Augmentatives, phenomena |
| 7/8 | se- | di- | se- / di- | Diminutives, tools |
| 9/10 | Ø- or N- | di- | e- / di- | Animals, loans |
| 11/10 or 6 | lo- | ma- or di- | lo- / a- or di- | Abstracts, long objects |
Verbal morphology and tense-aspect
The verbal morphology of Sotho–Tswana languages follows the agglutinative structure typical of Bantu languages, with a templatic organization comprising a subject agreement prefix, optional tense-aspect markers and object prefixes, the verb root, derivational extensions (such as causative -isa or applicative -etsa), and a final vowel encoding mood or aspect.[57] This template allows for complex inflection without altering the root stem directly; for instance, in Setswana, the structure may include negative prefixes, subject agreement (e.g., o- for class 1), tense prefixes like future tla-, object prefixes, the root, productive suffixes, and a verb ending like -a for declarative mood.[57] Across Sepedi, Sesotho, and Setswana, subject concords agree in noun class with the subject, while object markers incorporate pronominal objects pre-root.[58] Tense is primarily marked by prefixes, suffixes, or periphrastic auxiliaries rather than infixes, with absolute tenses distinguishing present, past (recent and remote), and future.[57] In Setswana, the present tense often lacks a dedicated prefix, relying on subject concord plus root plus -a (e.g., o reka "you buy"), while past tense uses auxiliaries like o ne a- (hodiernal past: "she was buying") or suffixes for perfective forms.[57] Future tense employs the prefix tla- (e.g., ke tla bala "I will read"), combinable with auxiliaries for nuanced remoteness.[57] Sesotho features a narrative past inflection with the prefix -a- after the subject marker, used for sequential events in discourse (e.g., in chained narratives), contextually anchoring to prior tense without inherent remoteness.[59] Tone plays a role in tense distinctions, with high tones associating with specific forms like independent perfect tenses (e.g., go-thobile "to have pierced" in Tswana varieties).[58] Aspect marking emphasizes completion, duration, or persistence, often via suffixes or auxiliaries, with every finite verb form obligatorily specifying aspect.[57] The perfective suffix -ile indicates completed action (e.g., dependent perfect go-thobílé vs. independent go-thobile in Sotho-Tswana), interacting with tone spreading rules where high tones on the stem-initial syllable extend rightward.[58] Progressive or persistive aspects use auxiliaries like sa ntse in Setswana (e.g., ke sa ntse ke ja "I am still eating"), following a fixed order of tense before aspect in auxiliary chains.[57] In Northern Sotho, aspect is treated as a core verbal subcategory, distinct from tense, with forms like habitual or continuous marked by specific tonal and morphological patterns rather than solely by tense prefixes.[58] Variations exist, such as greater reliance on auxiliaries for remote tenses in Sesotho and Setswana compared to more fused prefixal marking in some Bantu relatives, but the systems maintain compatibility across the dialect continuum.[57]Syntax and word order
The Sotho–Tswana languages adhere to a canonical subject–verb–object (SVO) word order in declarative main clauses, aligning with broader Bantu typological patterns where verbal agreement markers encode subject and object roles, permitting some constituent flexibility.[40][60] This structure is evident in Setswana, which employs SVOX ordering to accommodate additional postverbal elements like obliques or adjuncts in complex sentences.[61] In Sepedi (Sesotho sa Leboa), the SVO pattern predominates but deviates for emphasis or topicalization, as the verb's subject concord obviates strict positional dependency on full noun phrases.[62] Sesotho exhibits similar SVO linearity in basic transitive constructions, though prepositional or locative phrases can shift peripheral elements to preverbal positions, occasionally yielding surface SOV-like orders in embedded or focused contexts without altering core argument roles.[63] Across the group, pragmatic factors such as discourse focus or information structure drive variations; for instance, objects may front for emphasis, with the verb's object concord preserving referential clarity.[60] Relative clauses and adverbials typically follow the verb, maintaining head-initial tendencies in verb phrases. Noun phrases are head-initial, with the noun preceding modifiers including adjectives, demonstratives, and possessives, which agree in class and number via concords; this order holds rigidly in Setswana noun phrases, where possessors or quantifiers postpose to the head.[64] Interrogative sentences often retain SVO but insert wh-words after the subject or verb, as in Setswana constructions featuring a copula-like element before the question term.[65] Such syntactic properties facilitate stylistic variation while prioritizing morphological agreement over rigid linearity.Orthography and standardization
Historical development of scripts
The Sotho–Tswana languages were exclusively oral prior to the 19th century, with no evidence of indigenous scripts or writing systems for recording them.[66] European missionaries, motivated by evangelism and Bible translation, introduced Latin-based orthographies adapted to the languages' consonant-vowel structures, nasal compounds, and lack of click consonants typical of neighboring Nguni languages.[67] These early systems prioritized phonetic representation using Roman letters, often without initial diacritics for tone or length, and evolved through trial-and-error in religious texts, grammars, and primers.[68] For Setswana, the process began with the London Missionary Society's Robert Moffat, who arrived at Kuruman in 1821 and devised the first orthographic conventions in the 1820s while learning the language from local speakers.[69] Moffat produced the initial Setswana catechism in 1826, followed by hymn translations and portions of scripture, marking the language's reduction to writing for literacy and proselytization.[70] This orthography emphasized disjunctive word boundaries, reflecting Setswana's agglutinative morphology, and laid the foundation for subsequent standardization efforts amid dialectal variation. In Southern Sotho (Sesotho), the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (PEMS), invited by King Moshoeshoe I, initiated orthographic development upon arriving in 1833, with systematic work commencing around 1837 under missionaries like Eugène Casalis and Thomas Arbousset.[71][72] The Lesotho variant emerged first, using conventions like doubled vowels for length and specific digraphs for affricates, tested in Bible portions printed from 1841 onward; this system influenced early grammars but diverged from later South African adaptations due to differing missionary influences.[36][67] Northern Sotho (Sepedi) orthography crystallized later, with Berlin Missionary Society members Alexander Merensky, Heinrich Grütner, and others formalizing it in 1860 after Merensky's arrival in 1859 among Pedi speakers.[73] The initial system, documented in Merensky's 1862 writings, incorporated Roman letters with adaptations for ejective consonants (e.g., "kg" for velar ejective) and was refined through missionary grammars amid ongoing flux into the early 20th century.[74] Across the group, these missionary-led developments facilitated literacy but introduced inconsistencies resolved only through 20th-century commissions aiming at unification, such as the 1930s proposals for shared conventions.[75]Modern orthographic conventions and reforms
The modern orthographies of Sotho-Tswana languages, including Sepedi (Sesotho sa Leboa), Sesotho, and Setswana, utilize the Latin alphabet supplemented by digraphs and affricate notations such as "tl" for the lateral affricate /t͡ɬ/, "tš" for /t͡ʃʰ/, "kh" for /kʰ/, and "ph" for /pʰ/, reflecting their distinctive consonant inventories without clicks or tones marked in standard writing.[6] Vowel representation employs five basic symbols (a, e, i, o, u), with e and o undistinguished between close and open-mid variants in Setswana's standard orthography, omitting diacritics that earlier systems used.[6] These conventions prioritize phonetic approximation while facilitating literacy, though cross-dialectal variations persist, such as in the velar fricative often rendered as "g" or "kg" depending on the language.[76] Standardization efforts intensified in South Africa during the 1920s through dedicated language committees for Sotho-Tswana languages, establishing unified rules for orthography amid colonial education policies, with further refinements after 1929 in the Transvaal region to address inconsistencies in missionary-era scripts.[76] [77] A 1906 conference concluded that full orthographic unification across Sesotho, Setswana, and Sepedi was premature due to phonological and dialectal differences, delaying harmonization.[67] Post-apartheid reforms, coordinated by the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) since its establishment in 1995, have focused on updating rules for educational and official use, culminating in revised spelling and orthography guidelines issued on July 6, 2023, for Sesotho and Sesotho sa Leboa to resolve ambiguities in grapheme usage, such as affricate and fricative distinctions.[78] Cross-border discrepancies remain prominent, as evidenced by Sesotho's divergent systems: Lesotho's "old" orthography retains digraphs like "ch", "l", "tš", and "kh", while South Africa's aligns with broader Sotho-Tswana standards, complicating translation and media exchange.[36] Efforts at regional harmonization, including proposals for shared conventions to enhance material portability, have faced resistance from entities like Lesotho's Basotho communities, prioritizing national linguistic identity over unification with Sepedi and Setswana.[79] [80] Ongoing challenges include graphemic ambiguities, such as "tlh" versus "hl" in Northern Sotho, which surveys indicate confuse literate speakers and hinder consistent application in academic and digital contexts.[81]Distribution and sociolinguistics
Geographical distribution
The Sotho–Tswana languages are distributed across southern Africa, with the core area encompassing the Highveld plateau and surrounding regions in South Africa, Lesotho, and Botswana. These languages, including Northern Sotho (Sepedi), Southern Sotho (Sesotho), and Tswana (Setswana), are Bantu languages of the Niger-Congo family, reflecting historical migrations of Sotho-Tswana peoples from north of the Limpopo River into the subcontinent's interior between the 14th and 17th centuries.[82] Speakers are concentrated in rural and urban areas of these countries, with significant urban migration leading to multilingualism in provinces like Gauteng.[83] Northern Sotho (Sepedi) is predominantly spoken in northeastern South Africa, particularly in Limpopo province, where it is the most common home language, as well as in adjacent areas of Gauteng and Mpumalanga.[84] It holds official status in South Africa and is used in education and media there.[85] Southern Sotho (Sesotho) has its primary homeland in Lesotho, where it is the official language spoken by nearly the entire population of over 2 million as a first language, and extends into South Africa's Free State province, with substantial communities in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.[86] [34] Smaller populations exist in Zimbabwe and Eswatini.[35] Tswana (Setswana) is the de facto national language of Botswana, spoken by about 80% of its 2.4 million population, and is also prevalent in South Africa's North West province, Northern Cape, and parts of Gauteng.[41] [2] It has minority speakers in Namibia and Zimbabwe.[87] Dialectal variants and related lects, such as Kgalagadi in Botswana, extend the group's footprint marginally into southwestern Zambia and northern Namibia, though these are sometimes classified separately due to divergence.[88] Overall speaker numbers exceed 14 million, with South Africa hosting the largest share due to its population size, followed by Botswana and Lesotho.[83]Speaker populations and demographics
The Sotho–Tswana languages, comprising primarily Sepedi, Sesotho, and Setswana, are spoken by over 15 million people as first languages, with the majority residing in South Africa. According to South Africa's 2022 census, Sepedi is the home language for approximately 6.2 million individuals (10.0% of the national population of 62 million), predominantly in Limpopo province where it exceeds 50% of speakers. Sesotho accounts for about 4.8 million speakers (7.8%), concentrated in the Free State (over 60%) and Gauteng provinces. Setswana has roughly 5.0 million speakers (8.3%), mainly in North West province (over 60%).[89][90] Outside South Africa, Sesotho dominates Lesotho, where it serves as the national language spoken by nearly 100% of the 2.1 million population as a first language. In Botswana, Setswana is the primary language for about 78% of the 2.4 million inhabitants, equating to approximately 1.9 million first-language speakers, though smaller minority languages persist in eastern and northern regions. Marginal populations exist in Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia (including Silozi, a related variety with around 700,000 speakers), but these constitute less than 5% of the total Sotho–Tswana demographic.[91] Demographically, speakers are overwhelmingly Black African ethnic groups—Bapedi for Sepedi, Basotho for Sesotho, and Batswana for Setswana—with over 99% identifying as such in South African census data. Urban migration has shifted distributions, with Gauteng hosting significant secondary populations due to economic hubs, while rural heartlands remain in provinces like Limpopo, Free State, and North West. First-language proficiency correlates strongly with age and education, though multilingualism in English or Afrikaans as second languages exceeds 50% among younger urban speakers.[89]| Language | Primary Country | L1 Speakers (millions, approx.) | % of National Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sepedi | South Africa | 6.2 | 10.0% |
| Sesotho | South Africa/Lesotho | 4.8 (SA) + 2.1 (Lesotho) | 7.8% (SA); ~100% (Lesotho) |
| Setswana | South Africa/Botswana | 5.0 (SA) + 1.9 (Botswana) | 8.3% (SA); 78% (Botswana) |