Sotho–Tswana languages
Sotho-Tswana | |
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Geographic distribution | South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana |
Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo? |
Glottolog | soth1248 |
The Sotho-Tswana languages are a group of closely related Southern Bantu languages spoken in Southern Africa. The Sotho-Tswana group corresponds to the S.30 label in Guthrie's (1967–1971) classification[1] of languages in the Bantu family.
The group is divided into two branches, Tswana (or Tswanaic) and Sotho, as follows:
- Tswanaic (also Western Sotho)
- Sotho
- Sesotho-Lozi
- Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa)
- Birwa
- Sepedic: includes Pedi and Tswapong:
- Pedi: Dzwabo, Gananwa, Kgaga, Khutswe, Koni, Kopa, Lobedu, Masemola, Matlala-Moletshi, Pai, Phalaborwa, Pulana, Tlokwa, Tswene
- Tswapong
- South Ndebele
The various dialects of Tswana (Western Sotho), Southern Sotho and Northern Sotho are mutually intelligible.[citation needed][clarification needed] On more than one occasion, proposals have been put forward to create a unified Sotho-Tswana language.[2][3]
Northern Sotho, which appears largely to be a taxonomic holding category for what is Sotho-Tswana but neither identifiably Southern Sotho nor Tswana,[4] 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.
Lozi is spoken in Zambia and northeastern Namibia (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[5]—Lozi was misclassified as K.21.
Writing System
This section may contain information not important or relevant to the article's subject. (February 2016) |
The sintu writing system, Ditema tsa Dinoko (also known in Zulu as Isibheqe Sohlamvu), for Southern Bantu languages, can be used to represent all Sotho-Tswana languages consistently under one orthography.[6] This includes those marginal languages that are largely unwritten, such as the "East Sotho" varieties (Pulana, Khutswe and Pai). For example, it contains a specific grapheme indicating retroflex or "cerebral" consonants, such as the retroflex ejective affricate occurring here in Pai:
English | place | |
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Pai | itzau |
Notes
- ^ 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
- ^ Eric P. Louw (1992). "Language and National Unity in a Post-Apartheid South Africa" (PDF). Critical Arts.
- ^ Neville Alexander (1989). "Language Policy and National Unity in South Africa/Azania".
- ^ See Doke, Clement M. (1954). The Southern Bantu Languages. Handbook of African Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Gowlett, Derek. (2003). Zone S. In D. Nurse & G. Philippson (eds.), The Bantu Languages, 609-638. London: Curzon/Routledge
- ^ isibheqe.org (2015). "Isibheqe Sohlamvu/Ditema tsa Dinoko". isibheqe.org.