Sotho–Tswana languages
| Sotho–Tswana | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe |
| Linguistic classification: | Niger–Congo
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| Subdivisions: |
—
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The Sotho–Tswana languages are a group of closely related Southern Bantu languages spoken in Southern Africa that include:
- Tswana (Setswana), Sotho (Southern Sotho or Sesotho), Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa)
- Lozi (Silozi or Rozi)
Tswana, Southern Sotho, and the various dialects lumped together as Northern Sotho are all mutually intelligible
The Sotho–Tswana group corresponds to the S.30 label in Guthrie's (1967–1971) classification[1] of languages in the Bantu family.
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[2]—Lozi was misclassified as K.21.
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.
[edit] 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
- ^ Gowlett, Derek. (2003). Zone S. In D. Nurse & G. Philippson (eds.), The Bantu Languages, 609-638. London: Curzon/Routledge
- ^ See Doke, Clement M. (1954). The Southern Bantu Languages. Handbook of African Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press
[edit] External links
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