Tswana (
Setswana or
Sitswana),
is a
Bantu language written in the
Latin alphabet.
English is the
national and majority language of Botswana
, whose
people are the Batswana (singular
Motswana). Although English is the official language of
Botswana, the
majority of speakers also understand Setswana. There are also
speakers in Zimbabwe
, Namibia
. and
South Africa. Internationally
there are about 4 million speakers. Before South Africa became a
multi-racial democracy, the
bantustan of
Bophuthatswana was set up to cover
the Tswana speakers of South Africa.
Tswana is a
Bantu language,
belonging to the
Niger-Congo
language family. It is most closely related to two other
languages in the
Sotho language
group,
Sesotho (Southern Sotho)
and
Northern Sotho
(
Sesotho sa Leboa). It has also been known as Beetjuans,
Chuana (hence
Bechuanaland), Coana,
Cuana, and Sechuana.
Phonology
Consonants
Tswana has the following consonant inventory.
- The sound appears as an allophone of
when followed by or . It is now represented as a in current
orthography as well (unlike for similar cognates in Sotho).
- The
voiceless uvular
fricative is represented orthographically as , as in Botswana's
capital Gaborone
. It
may be realised as a velar fricative ( ) by some speakers, and is
described as such in some learning materials.
Vowels
Tswana has nine vowel sounds, which can be resolved into seven
phonemes:
- The close lax vowels and open and tense slightly to provide
allophones and in stressed position; eg koloi "wagon".
- The mid vowels can be distinguished from the close lax vowels
in writing by use of the circumflex, so is while <ê> is
.</ê> <ê>Unfortunately for the learner, this
distinction is not usually maintained in modern writing, except in
some dictionaries and learning materials, or if there would
otherwise be confusion.</ê>
Tone
Tswana is a tonal language, with a distinction between high tone
and the more common "null" or low tone. Tone is phonemic,
distinguishing between words on a lexical level, as well as having
a grammatical function.
Stress
Tswana is a fixed-stress language, with stress always falling on
the penultimate syllable of a word.
Syllables must end in a vowel (unless they are syllabic
consonants), and there are no diphthongs: thus
dia "to delay" is bisyllabic ; and
dintshi "eyelashes" is
trisyllabic .
Some simple Tswana phrases
- Dumela, rra/mma - Hello, Sir/Madam.
Formal inquiry after health:
- O tsogile jang?—How are you? (literally, 'how did you
awake?').
- Ke tsogile sentle, rra/mma. Wena, o tsogile
jang?—I'm well, Sir/Madam. How are you? OR I'm well/okay. How
are you?
(Replace
tsogile with
tlhotse for afternoon
greetings.)
Informal inquiry after health:
- Le kae?—How are you? (literally translated Le
kae? also means Where are you? when referring to more
than one person)
- Re teng, rra/mma—We're well, Sir/Madam. (Ke teng,
rra/mma for I am well.)
Casual slang:
- O a re eng? (pronounced wah-reng)—How's it going?
- Ga ke re seppe. (pronounced hah kay ray seppay)—It
goes well.
- Eitha (pronounced ate-uh)—Hey
- Go jwang? (pronounced hoe jwang)—what's up?
- Mari ke sharp (pronounced mare keh shap)—I'm
good.
- Sharp! (pronounced shup)—Bye
Other useful phrases:
- Ke a leboga, rra/mma.—Thank you, Sir/Madam
(formal)
- Ke itumetse, rra/mma." and "tanki" (slang)—Thanks,
Sir/Madam (informal)
- Ke _____—I'm _____.
- Leina la me ke _______.—My name is _____.
- Leina la gago ke mang?—What is your name?
(formal)
- O mang?—What's your name? (informal)
- Ke tshwerwe ke tlala.—I'm hungry (literally, I'm
held by hunger)
- Ke tshwerwe ke lenyora.—I'm thirsty (literally,
I'm held by thirst)
- Ke rata ___.—I like ___.
- Ga ke rate___.—I don't like ___.
- Ke batla ___.—I want ___.
- Ga ke batle ____—I do not want ____
- Dijo tse di monate!—This food is good!
- Lekgolo—One Hundred
- A re tsamaye!—Let's go!
- Kokelwana e ko kae? —Where is the clinic?
- Ke nako mang?—What time is it?
- Ke kopa thuso, tswee-tswee.—I need help, please.
- A nka go thusa?—May I help you?
- A o ya ko ____?—Are you going to _____?
- ____ ke eng ka Setswana?—What is _____ in
Setswana?
Farewells:
- Robala sentle.—Sleep well.
- Boroko!—Good night!
- Tsamaya sentle.—Go well (said to the person/group
leaving).
- Sala sentle—Stay well (said to the person/group
staying).
Food:
- Morogo—Vegetables
- Motogo—Soft Porridge
- Bogobe—Porridge (Pap)
- Nama—Meat
- Dinawa—Beans
Proportion of the population that
speaks Setswana at home, by municipality, in South Africa
Loan words and derivations
Setswana speakers use many loan words in their day-to-day speech.
These words are usually assimilated from the pop-culture in
America, Europe, and South Africa (such as
sharp or
cool as adjectives, or
Hola for hello). These
words are frequently slang words or words for modern or Western
concepts. Many Setswana words are derived from English, German, and
Dutch words such
computere for computer or
fensetere for window (from Afrikaans
venster or
perhaps from German
Fenster). Many Setswana words for
Western technology are their counterparts re-written and
re-pronounced in consonant-vowel syllabic cluster form.
Notes
As opposed
to the Ndebele languages spoken in Zimbabwe and South
Africa, there are no significant differences between standard
Tswana as spoken in South Africa and standard Tswana as spoken in
Botswana.
External links
Software
References
- Tables based on The Sound System of Setswana,
University of Botswana 1999 (2001)
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
