Tswana - Setswana
< Tsonga | Major Languages | Tumbuka >
Categories: Languages, South Africa, Botswana,
Eastern Namibia, Southern Zimbabwe
On this page... (hide)
- 1. Classification / Classification
- 2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
- 3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
- 4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
- 5. Usage / Utilisation
- 6. Orthography / Orthographe
- 7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
- 8. Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation
- 9. Comments / Remarques
- 10. References / Références
1. Classification / Classification
Tswana or Setswana (S31) is classified as: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, S, Sotho-Tswana (S.30), Tswana (Webbook? and Ethnologue?)
2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
Tswana / Setswana is spoken in Botswana, South Africa, and neighboring areas of Zimbabwe and Namibia. (Webbook, with modifications)
3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
According to Ethnologue:
- 3,301,774 in South Africa (1996 census)
- 1,070,000 in Botswana (1993 Johnstone)
- 29,350 in Zimbabwe (1969 census)
- 6,050 in Namibia (1991 census)
- Population total all countries: 4,407,174
- 150,000 second-language speakers in Botswana
4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
Although Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, and Tswana are considered to be three separate languages they are largely interintelligible. (Webbook and Ethnologue)
According to Ethnologue:
- Tswana (B=Botswana; SA=South Africa; N=Namibia):
- Tlahaping (Tlapi) [B,SA,N]
- Rolong [B,SA]
- Kwena [B,SA]
- Kgatla [B,SA] (used for Standard Tswana in Botswana)
- Ngwatu (Ngwato) [B,SA]
- Tawana [B,SA,N]
- Lete [B]
- Ngwaketse [B,SA]
- Tlokwa [B,SA]
- Melete [SA]
- Tlharo [N]
5. Usage / Utilisation
Tswana is, according to Heine (1970), "next to English the official language of Botswana." (Webbook)
Notes from Ethnologue about Tswana:
- (Botswana): National language. Vigorous. 150,000 second-language speakers. Used among the educated. Used more for spoken purposes than written. Officially used as language of instruction in grades 1 to 4 in all government primary schools.
- Literacy rate in Botswana (according to Ethnologue, accessed 2007):
- L1: 80% to 90%
- L2: ?
- (South Africa): Official language?. ... Taught in primary and secondary schools
- (Namibia): National language. Used in education, administration
6. Orthography / Orthographe
6.1 Status / Statut
There is a standardized Latin based orthography. (Webbook)
- In Botswana it is the 1981 Standard Setswana Orthography.
- In South Africa there is standard written form of Setswana, as per Terminology and Orthography No. 4 of 1988.
[update! - are there differences of orthography between Botswana and South Africa?]
6.2 Sample Alphabet / Alphabet exemple
The following sources give alphabets for Tswana but without explanation:
- Mimer "Tswana Alphabet Collation Chart" http://developer.mimer.com/charts/tswana.htm
- Geonames "Unicode test page...: Tswana alphabet" http://www.geonames.de/alphtz.html#tsn
The table on page 26 of "Alphabetical ordering of multilingual terminological and lexicographical data represented in the Latin alphabet" (ISO/FDIS 12199:1999(E)) http://anubis.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc22/wg20/docs/n720.pdf indicates that 3 diacritic characters are used (no explanation): ê ô š [need verification & more info]
A sample text is shown on the "Language Museum" site: http://www.language-museum.com/t/tswana.htm
7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
7.1 Fonts / Polices
Standard Latin fonts should suffice.
7.2 Keyboard layouts / Dispositions de clavier
- A standard English keyboard may be sufficient [need more info]
- The South African keyboard can be used at least for Tswana in South Africa: http://translate.org.za/content/view/24/41/
7.3 Content on computers & internet / Contenu en informatique et sur l'Internet
The South African language site "Batho Portal" http://www.sediba.org.za/ has a section on & in "Setswana."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/tsw.htm
Wikipedia in Tswana at http://tn.wikipedia.org/ (500+ articles as of 11-2015)
7.4 Localized software / Logiciels localisés
Office software
Translate.org.za has localised in Tswana (South Africa):
- The OpenOffice suite of software applications. See http://translate.org.za/content/view/17/54/ .
- Thunderbird email client. See http://translate.org.za/content/view/1612/54/
- Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.9 browser. See http://translate.org.za/content/view/1611/54/
Microsoft has localised Windows XP in Setswana (South Africa): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0db2e8f9-79c4-4625-a07a-0cc1b341be7c&displaylang=tn
Not aware of any effort to localise Tswana software for a Botswana locale.
Spell checkers
- There is a "Setswana Spelling Checker 1.0 & Hyphenator" for Microsoft products for sale at http://www.bowline.co.za/home.asp?pid=24&product=1097
- CTexT has developed a spellchecker and hyphenator for use with Microsoft Windows. See: http://www.spel.co.za/
7.5 Language codes / Codes de langue
Tswana
- ISO 639-1: tn
- ISO 639-2: tsn
- ISO 639-3: tsn
7.6 Other / Autre
The Local Language Speech Technology Initiative (LLSTI) http://www.llsti.org/ has begun a text-to-speech (TTS) project with CSIR South Africa for Tswana.
Botswana page about Setswana http://www.botswana-tourism.gov.bw/culture_and_his/language.html
8. Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation
8.1 Individuals (experts) / Individuelles (experts)
8.2 Institutions / Institutions
Translate.org.za http://translate.org.za
8.3 On the internet / Sur la toile
AfricanLanguages.com "Setswana (Tswana)" page http://www.africanlanguages.com/setswana/
9. Comments / Remarques
This is a cross-border Southern African language that could have localized versions for Botswana as well as South Africa - though the differences apart from a few minor locale issues would probably be minor. In any event, if they are based on a common version - in this case the one done by Translate.org.za - that would make it easier for the broader user community.
One basic need is a reference on the Tswana orthographies in Botswana and South Africa (differences?)
10. References / Références
Dwyer, David (1997), Webbook of African Languages, http://africa.isp.msu.edu/afrlang/hiermenu.html (page on "Sotho/Tswana," http://africa.isp.msu.edu/afrlang/Sotho_root.html )
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Tswana," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/tsn
SIL International, "ISO 639 Code Tables," http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp
U.S. Library of Congress, "ISO 639.2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages: Alpha-3 codes arranged alphabetically by the English name of language," http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php
Wikipedia, "Setswana," https://tn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setswana
______, "Tswana language," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tswana_language
< Tsonga | Major Languages | Tumbuka >
Categories: Languages, South Africa, Botswana, Eastern Namibia, Southern Zimbabwe