Lesotho (LS)

1.  Language information / Données sur les langues

1.1  Languages spoken / Langues parlées

a) Official / Officielle(s) :

Sesotho, English

b) National, indigenous / Nationale(s), indigène(s) :

The vast majority of the populatuion speaks Sesotho.

Ethnologue lists 5 languages at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=LS

c) Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

Sesotho

1.2  Language policy / Politique de langue

a) Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on Lesotho at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/lesotho.htm

b) Agencies / Agences :

Two institutions "involved in or responsible for African Language research" in Lesotho (UNESCO 1985). Updated information is needed:

• Sesotho Language Academy, c/o Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education - MASERU
• Department of African Languages and Literatures, National University of Lesotho, P.O. Box 180 - ROMA

c) Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

Education in the lower grades is in Sesotho. English is phased in and becomes the language of instruction in upper grades.

UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 82.2%

1.3  Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes

a) Orthographies / Orthographes :

Latin alphabet.

b) Print publications / Editions imprimées :

UNESCO (1985) reported the following periodicals (name, frequency of publication, circulation, language). Updated information is needed:

• Leselinyane, weekly, 30,500, Sesotho
• Moeletsi, weekly, 12,000, Sesotho

1.4  Other comments / Autre commentaire

Lesotho is one of the few countries in Africa where almost all the population speaks the same mother tongue.

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2.  ICT situation / Situation des TIC

2.1  Infrastructure / Infrastructure

a) Telephones / Téléphones :

• Fixed lines: Telephone mainlines: 10 per 1000 people (APC)
• Mobile subscriptions: 165,000 (7.6 per 100 people) (ITU 2004 cited in Vodafone 2005)

b) Radio stations / Stations de radio :

c) Connectivity / Connectivité :

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet :
• ISPs / FSI :
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique :

2.2  Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet

a) Computers & points of access / Ordinateurs et lieux d'accès :

• Number of computers / Nombre d'ordinateurs: 15 per 1000 people (APC)
• Cybercafés / Cybercafés:
• Project telecentres / Télécentres de projets:

b) Internet / Internet :

• Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique :
• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet : 43,000 Internet users as of Sept/05, 1.8% of the population, per ITU (Internet World Stats)

c) Other / Autre :

• Digital Opportunity Index (DOI): 0.23 (ITU 2006); 0.26, ranked 133 (ITU 2007)
• ICT Opportunity Index (ICT-OI?):
• ICT Development Index (IDI):

2.3  ICT policy / Politique de TIC

The APC page, "ICT Policy in Lesotho," has some information and links:

• In English: http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21812e_1
• En français: http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21812e_1

2.4  ICT4D/E & ICT training / TIC pour le développement/éducation, et formation en TIC

2.5  Resources / Ressources

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3.  Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

3.1  Country web content / Contenu web du pays

3.2  Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes

(See also specific language pages.)

3.3  Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel

(See also specific language pages.)

3.4  Projects & organisations / Projets et organisations

3.5  Localisation policy / Politique de localisation

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4.  References / Références

APC, "ICT Policy in Lesotho," Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21812e_1 ("Politiques de TIC en/au Lesotho," Observatoire des politiques des TIC en Afrique, http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21812e_1 )

International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 2004. African Telecommunication Indicators 2004. Geneva: ITU.

______. 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf

______. 2007. World Information Society Report 2007. Geneva: ITU. https://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2007/WISR07_full-free.pdf

Internet World Stats: Africa. 2006. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Lesotho," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/lesotho.htm

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of Lesotho," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=LS

UNDP. 2006. ''Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006.'' New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html ]

UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.

Vodafone. 2005. "Africa: The Impact of Mobile Phones." The Vodafone Policy Paper Series, Number 3, March 2005. http://www.vodafone.com/assets/files/en/GPP%20SIM%20paper.pdf

Wikipedia, "Lesotho," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesotho

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