(4.1 million in South Africa (2011) 1.1 million in Botswana cited 1993)[1] unknown number in Zimbabwe 7.7 million L2 speakers in South Africa (2002)[2]
Language family
Niger–Congo?
Atlantic–Congo
Volta-Congo
Benue–Congo
Bantoid
Southern Bantoid
Bantu
Southern Bantu
Sotho–Tswana
Tswana
Dialects
Rolong
Hurutshe
Kwena
Lete
Melete
Ngwaketse
Ngwatu
Kgatla
Tawana
Tlharo
Tlhaping
Thlahaping
Thlaro
Writing system
Latin (Tswana alphabet) Tswana Braille Ditema tsa Dinoko
Official status
Official language in
Botswana
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Recognised minority language in
Namibia
Language codes
ISO 639-1
tn
ISO 639-2
tsn
ISO 639-3
tsn
Glottolog
tswa1253
Linguasphere
99-AUT-eg
Tswana
Person
Motswana
People
Batswana
Language
Setswana
Country
Botswana
Tswana, also known by its native name Setswana, and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in and indigenous to Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people.[1] It is closely related to the Northern Sotho and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi language and the Lozi language.[3]
Setswana is an official language of Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. It is a lingua franca in Botswana and parts of South Africa, particularly North West Province. Tswana speaking ethnic groups are found in more than two provinces of South Africa, primarily in the North West, where about four million people speak the language. An urbanised variety, which is part slang and not the formal Setswana, is known as Pretoria Sotho, and is the principal unique language of the city of Pretoria. The three South African provinces with the most speakers are Gauteng (circa 11%), Northern Cape, and North West (over 70%). Until 1994, South African Tswana people were notionally citizens of Bophuthatswana, one of the bantustans of the apartheid regime. The Setswana language in the Northwest Province has variations in which it is spoken according to the ethnic groups found in the Tswana culture (Bakgatla, Barolong, Bakwena, Batlhaping, Bahurutshe, Bafokeng, Batlokwa, Bataung, and Batswapong, among others); the written language remains the same. A small number of speakers are also found in Zimbabwe (unknown number) and Namibia (about 10,000 people).[1]
^ abcTswana at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^Webb, Victor N. (2002). Language in South Africa: The Role of Language in National Transformation, Reconstruction and Development. Philadelphia: John Benjamins. p. 78. ISBN 978-90-272-9763-1.
^Makalela, Leketi (2009). "Harmonizing South African Sotho Language Varieties: Lessons From Reading Proficiency Assessment". International Multilingual Research Journal. 3 (2): 120–133. doi:10.1080/19313150903073489. S2CID 143275863.
Tswana, also known by its native name Setswana, and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in and indigenous to Southern Africa...
Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken in Lesotho, and South Africa where it is an official language; Like all Bantu languages, Sesotho...
The Tswana (Tswana: Batswana, singular Motswana) are a bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population...
African Sign Language, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu and English, which is the primary language used in parliamentary and state discourse...
regions Tswanalanguage, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people Bophuthatswana, the former bantustan for the Tswana people Tswanaland Tswana cattle...
called Sesotho sa Lebowa as an official language for the Lebowa homeland during apartheid, is a Sotho-Tswanalanguage group spoken in the northeastern provinces...
An IETF BCP 47 language tag is a standardized code that is used to identify human languages on the Internet. The tag structure has been standardized by...
writing of the Abaza and the Kabardian languages in the 1920s and was proposed for the writing of the Sotho-Tswanalanguage in 1929. A. N. Tucker used h with...
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...
presence of Other African Languages at 0.5%, Tswana at 0.3%, and Other European Languages at 0.1%. Note: (1) Zambezi languages include: Silozi(Sikololo)...
Thekiso in the Sotho–Tswanalanguages, is the name of clan or family. A literal meaning of "Leboko" is the plural of Maboko which literally translates...
Shekgalagari, Kqalaqadi) is most closely related to Tswana, and until recently was classified as a dialect of Tswana. Dialects include Shengologa, Sheshaga, Shebolaongwe...
a southern African ethnic group who speak Lozi and Silozi, a Sotho–Tswanalanguage| Khelobedu . The Lozi people consist of more than 46 different ethnic...
official languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Pedi, Tswana, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swazi, Venda, and Southern Ndebele (in order of first language speakers)...
The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (Tswana: Mmasepala wa Toropokgolo ya Tshwane; Afrikaans: Stad Tshwane Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit; Northern...
million speakers (if Manyika and Ndau are included), while Sotho-Tswanalanguages (Sotho, Tswana and Pedi) have more than 15 million speakers (across Botswana...
The Northern Cape (Afrikaans: Noord-Kaap [ˈnuərtkɑːp]; Tswana: Kapa Bokone; Xhosa: Mntla-Koloni) is the largest and most sparsely populated province of...
Moffat translated the bible into the Tswanalanguage: this was the first bible in an indigenous southern African language. Kuruman is situated on the main...
used. Watermelons, which are called tsamma in Khoisan language and makataan in Tswanalanguage, are important water sources in South Africa, the Kalahari...
Mopresidente wa Afrika Borwa (Northern Sotho) Moporesitente wa Aforika Borwa (Tswana) Mopresident wa Afrika Borwa (Sotho) Puresidente wa Afrika-Dzonga (Tsonga)...
Kasargod district. Kesikan, Puliyur (2010). அகநானூறு மூலமும் உரையும் I (in Tswana) (1st ed.). Gowra Book Fair. pp. 43–44. "Reference Of Tulunadu". Tulupedia...
Botswana (English: Land of the Tswana; /bɒtˈswɑːnə/ , also UK: /bʊt-, bʊˈtʃw-/), officially the Republic of Botswana (Setswana: Lefatshe la Botswana, [lɪˈfatsʰɪ...
BOH-poo-tət-SWAH-nə, lit. 'gathering of the Tswana people'), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana (Tswana: Repaboleki ya Bophuthatswana; Afrikaans:...