Although the biggest number of the speakers can be found in the Free State, Eastern Cape and Gauteng provinces, Sesotho is also spoken in such countries as Namibia and Zambia. They are often substituted with other consonants, although there are a few instances when some of them are phonemic and not just allophonic. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete.We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.
Probably the most radical sound innovation in the Sotho–Tswana languages is that the Another important sound change in Sesotho which distinguishes it from almost all other Sotho–Tswana languages and dialects is the In certain respects, however, Sesotho is more conservative than other Sotho–Tswana languages. Sesotho, a language with a long and intriguing history that dates back to the 1st century, is a part of Sotho language group. Thus, when a consonant is followed by a back vowel the lips are rounded when pronouncing the consonant, and the lips are spread when pronouncing a consonant followed by a front vowel.

Lesotho was previously the British Crown Colony of Basutoland, but it declared independence from the United Kingdom on 4 October 1966. All rights reserved. Sesotho was one of the first African languages to be reduced to writing, and it has an extensive literature. Sesotho, also known as Sotho, is the native language of the Basotho ethnic group. He was the first person to translate the language into written in 1833. Sotho is a Southern Bantu language, belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zone S (S.30). Sesotho is a member of the Sotho group of languages. Sesotho is generally classified as a Bantu language, belonging to the Niger-Congo language family.It is most closely related to two other languages in the Sotho language group, Setswana and Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa).. Sesotho is a Southern Bantu language, belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zone S (S.30). In Sesotho the long vowels have simply been shortened without any other effects on the syllables; while sequences of two dissimilar vowels have usually resulted in the first vowel being "absorbed" into the preceding consonant, and causing changes such as labialization and palatalization. Each of these is considered a Bantu language.Zulu is the Zulu ethnic group's native language and is spoken by approximately 248,000 people in Lesotho. Often, the symbols There are many historical instances in Sesotho which show an occasional confusion between the phonemes In Setswana and most Northern Sotho languages these are two different phonemes. There will be more Sesotho resources and useful info to come. Because of its widespread use, Sesotho is becoming more common in printed and broadcast media, religious services, and even politics.The minority languages of Lesotho are Zulu, Phuthi, and Xhosa. Today the written language is mostly based on the Kwena and Fokeng dialects. There are no contrastive long vowels in Sesotho, the rule being that juxtaposed vowels form separate syllables (which may sound like long vowels with undulating tones during natural fast speech).Other Bantu languages have rules against vowel juxtaposition, often inserting an intermediate approximant if necessary.


However, it is also spoken throughout Africa by a total of 12 million individuals.Phuthi is considered an endangered language and is thought to have only 20,000 speakers in numerous communities along the border between Lesotho and South Africa. "Sotho" is also the name given to the entire Sotho-Tswana group, in which case Sesotho proper is called "Southern Sotho". Most of them reside in the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa. It belongs to the Southeastern or Nguni subgroup of the Bantu language family along with 500 other languages. "Language in South Africa: the role of language in national transformation, reconstruction and development." Language family. For example, the language still retains the difference in pronunciation between As with most other Bantu languages, almost all palatal and postalveolar consonants are due to some form of The Southern Bantu languages have lost the Bantu distinction between long and short vowels. The first known list of Sesotho language words was completed by the Reverend A. Mabille.

General Books LLC, 2010 - 44 pages. Vowels and consonants very often influence one another resulting in predictable sound changes. White family speaking Sesotho language like pros Sipho D. Loading... Unsubscribe from Sipho D? A printing press in Morija, Lesotho, was established by the same person.It is important to mention that there are some differences between written Sesotho in South Africa and Lesotho. Being able to communicate in English is seen as a necessity for obtaining a job and for conducting business.Sesotho, also known as Sotho, is the native language of the Basotho ethnic group. The most striking properties of Sesotho grammar, and the most important properties which reveal it as a Another well-known property of the Bantu languages is their This article is about the Lesotho and central South African Sotho language.

The sound changes are Very roughly speaking, voiced consonants become devoiced and fricatives (except The syllabic nasal causing the change is usually dropped, except for monosyllabic stems and the first person objectival concord.

Sesotho makes a three-way distinction between lightly The standard Sesotho clicks tend to be substituted with dental clicks in regular speech.