Languages of Botswana

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Languages of Botswana

Postby vijayjohn » 2022-02-07, 18:35

Although the only official languages of Botswana are English and Tswana, many other languages are spoken in Botswana. This includes languages that are related to either English or (especially) Tswana and indigenous languages from any of three other families. In other words, there are Indo-European, Bantu, Khoe-Kwadi, Kx'a, and Tuu languages spoken in Botswana.

The Tuu language spoken in Botswana is !Xoo a.k.a. Taa, spoken in the southwest and straddling the border with Namibia. The most widely spoken Bantu language in Botswana after Tswana is Kalanga, which is closely related to Shona. The other Indo-European language spoken by a small minority in Botswana is Afrikaans. There are various other languages from the Bantu, Khoe-Kwadi, and Kx'a families spoken in many different parts of the country.

In the northeast, near the border with Zambia, Tswana's close relative, Lozi, is spoken; it is also spoken in Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Kuhane is a Botatwe language that is also spoken in this area as well as in Namibia and Zambia. In the northwest, as well as in Namibia and Angola, Mbukushu and Gciriku are spoken. Mbukushu is not closely related to other Bantu languages but is also spoken in Zambia. Yeyi is also spoken nearby and is not closely related to other Bantu languages, but its speakers are undergoing language shift towards Tswana. Gciriku's closest relative in Botswana, Herero, is spoken further south as well as in Namibia and Angola.

In the east, Northern Ndebele is spoken; it's a Nguni language closely related to Zulu and Xhosa and also spoken in Zimbabwe. A variety of Shona called Zezuru is also spoken to its northwest. Kalanga's closest relative (even closer than Shona), Nambya, is spoken to the southwest of Northern Ndebele. Two varieties of Northern Sotho called Birwa and Tswapong are spoken in the southeast; Northern Sotho is closely related to Tswana. Another relative of Sotho and Tswana called Kgalagadi is spoken in the southwest.

Most of the Khoe-Kwadi languages are spoken in Botswana, mainly in the northwest. Khoekhoe is spoken in the southwest, and the East Kalahari language varieties Shua, Tshwa, and Tsoa, in the east. The other East Kalahari language variety, Ts'ixa, is spoken in the north. There is also a West Kalahari language called ǂHaba that is probably spoken in the northwest. The other West Kalahari languages are spoken in the northwest as well. From north to south, they are Khwe, ǁAni, Naro, Gǁana, and Gǀui.

Finally, the Juǀʼhoan language of the Kx'a family is spoken in northwestern Botswana as well, while the other Kx'a language spoken in Botswana, ǂʼAmkoe, is spoken in the south.

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