Southern Sotho (seSotho)

Southern Sotho is one of the official languages of South Africa and is a member of the Bantu/Nguni family of languages. It is spoken by about 5 million people in Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zambia.

Southern Sotho is also known as Sotho, Sesotho or Southern Sesotho. The native name of the language is seSotho [sɪ̀sʊ́tʰʊ̀], which means "language of the Sotho people", who call themselves Basotho.

The first written form of Southern Sotho was devised by Thomas Arbousset, Eugene Casalis and Constant Gosselin, French missionaries of the Paris Evangelical Mission, who arrived in Lesotho in 1833. The first grammar book, Etudes sur la Langue Sechuana by Casalis, was published in 1841.

Southern Sotho pronunciation

Southern Sotho pronunciation

Sample text in Southern Sotho

Batho bohle ba tswetswe ba lokolohile mme ba lekana ka botho le ditokelo. Ba tswetswe le monahano le letswalo mme ba tlamehile ho phedisana le ba bang ka moya wa boena.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Sample videos in Southern Sotho

Information about Southern Sotho | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel

Links

Information about Southern Sotho
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotho_language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotho_phonology https://www.ethnologue.com/language/sot
http://salanguages.com/sesotho/
http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/sotho-south-sotho-or-basotho

Learn Southern Sotho online
http://www.sesotho.web.za/
https://youtu.be/bdA9h41yUP8
http://www.friendsoflesotho.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/AS-Sesotho-Language-Manual.pdf
https://www.memrise.com/course/154040/basic-sesotho/
http://1000mostcommonwords.com/1000-most-common-sesotho-words/

Southern Sotho phrases
https://youtu.be/bdA9h41yUP8
http://www.sesotho.web.za/
http://wikitravel.org/en/Sesotho_phrasebook
http://sesotho.wikispaces.com/words

On Sesotho - a blog about Southern Sotho (in English and Southern Sotho)
http://sesotho.blogspot.com/

Wikipedia in Southern Sotho
http://st.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page/

Bantu languages

Bangi, Basaa, Bemba, Bena, Benga, Bukusu, Bulu, Chichewa, Chokwe, Chuwabu, Comorian, Digo, Duala, Eton, Ewondo, Fang, Ganda/Luganda, Gogo, Gusii, Gwere, Haya, Herero, Ikizu, Jita, Kamba, Kiga, Kikuyu, Kimbundu, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Kisi, Kongo, Konjo, Koti, Kunda, Kuria, Lambya, Lingala, Loma, Lozi, Luba-Katanga, Luchazi, Lunda, Luvale, Makaa, Makonde, Makhuwa, Mandekan, Maore, Masaaba, Mbunda, Mende, Mongo, Mushungulu, Mwani, Nande, Nkore, North Teke, Northern Ndebele (South Africa), Northern Ndebele (Zimbabwe), Northern Sotho, Nyamwezi, Nyakyusa, Nyemba, Nyole, Nyungwe, Nzadi, Oroko, OshiWambo, Punu, Ronga, Sena, Sengele, Shona, Soga, Songe, Southern Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Sukuma, Swahili, Swati, Tanga, Tembo, Tonga, Tshiluba, Tsonga, Tswa, Tswana, Tumbuka, Umbundu, Venda, Xhosa, Yao, Yasa, Zigula, Zinza, Zulu

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 23.04.21

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