tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174923182024-03-20T17:12:56.694+02:00Setswana language ~ puô ya SetswanaMy academic site is here: http://otlogetswe.wordpress.com.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1968347796460439322009-11-09T20:47:00.002+02:002009-11-09T20:51:21.816+02:00Euphemisms & the distateful<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB">When society perceives a word as offensive, or an act or object to which such an object refers as embarrassing and generally disagreeable, they replace it with a well known term which attempts to conceal their embarrassment. The new term is known as a euphemism, that is, a term that is a substitute of a less agreeable word. For instance, the word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">toilet </i>has historically been a source of great social embarrassment. The truth is that the toilet as a physical structure or as a word, either written or heard, is in itself not a source of humiliation. It is the toilet associations which produce blushes and nervous smiles. The images of an individual in a toilet ‘doing the deed’ are the ones that humiliate. It is seeing through those toilet walls using our mental eyes; imagining what goes in there, that produces shame. A toilet is a private affair and a secret affair. No one wants to be caught with their pants down wiping their bottom.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB">The toilet has therefore become a necessary taboo. As a primary school boy in the 80s, the word “toilet” was unheard of. We used a more sophisticated term: lavatory, which the illiterate villagers called “<i>lebeterii</i>”. These buildings with fancy names were in effect pungent pit latrines of the crudest kind. I was later to learn of the word “toilet” before my JC.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I have never liked the term particularly because naughty boys have the habit of erasing the “i” in the middle of the word so that it reads: “to let”. I have since learnt of numerous “toilet” euphemisms. Amongst these are “public conveniences”, “the gents or the ladies” derived from the outside labels which mark male and female toilets. In Canada they call toilets “washrooms” while the Americans are famous for calling the toilet “the restroom” or “the bathroom” even if it lacks an adjacent bathtub. In certain parts of England a toilet is known as a “water closet” or simply by its abbreviations “W.C.” At Oxford they call a toilet “the cloakroom”. The term may indeed be fitting Oxford’s formal setup, where gowns are worn for daily evening dinners.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB">It is not only the disturbing images of what happens behind closed toilet doors that has attracted euphemistic language use, words that refer to mental retardation or some form of physical disablement have also been replaced by political correct terms that makes speakers feel good about themselves. For instances, terms such as “idiot”, “moron” and “imbecile” were once neutral terms with no negative connotations. They were used to refer to delayed mental development in children. The meanings of these terms have since expanded to become insults referring to foolish individuals. The neutral meanings have been lost. Because of such loss the terms were displaced by the term “mentally retarded” which was perceived as neutral and not condescending. Later, speakers felt bad about themselves for using such a label and then created a host of other labels including “mentally challenged” “people with intellectual disability” “children with learning difficulties” or “special needs children”.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB">Terminology to describe physically disabled persons has also changed through the years to respond to what is politically correct at the time. During the times of Jesus, the streets were filled with the “lame” and the “crippled” and there were no “handicapped” or “disabled”. Lately we hear of the “physically challenged” and the “differently abled”.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB">The changes are not in English only. In the past few years they have found their way into Setswana. We used to have “<i>difofu</i>”, “<i>digole</i>” le “<i>dinnana</i>” now we have “<i>batlhokapono</i>” and “<i>banalebogole</i>”. Some Setswana euphemisms have been with us for a long time. The Setswana term for having sex is “<i>go tlhakanela dikobo</i>” meaning literally ‘to share blankets’! To urinate is “<i>go ntsha metsi</i>” or ‘to release water’. A condom is euphemistically called “<i>sekausu</i>” or ‘a sock’!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB">At one level, the terminological developments are interesting and appear as products of an extraordinarily caring society, while at another level they appear as silly products of rapid modernisation, deprived theorising and a weak terminology development systems.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB">The reason why people use euphemisms is largely for themselves. It makes the user feel good about himself or herself. It relieves from such a user, deep seated feelings of shame. Euphemisms do not change the referent (the object referred to in the real or imagined world). Euphemisms also do not in any way lessen the negativity found in the object. To call a toilet, a restroom does not expunge its foul smells, but it does make the speaker feel posh and creates a false perception about the nature and character of the referent. In certain cases euphemisms lack specificity such as when we call “<i>marago</i>” “<i>diphularo</i>” or “the behind”. The fact of the matter, we must finally concede, is that, as long as there is shame and indecency, there will forever be euphemisms. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-10629965536608817162009-10-27T08:00:00.001+02:002009-10-27T08:02:57.299+02:00Ee mogolo!A national crisis is looming. Old people are dying and many young people don’t reach old age. Bagolo or adults, are thinning out at an alarming pace while people in their 20s are ballooning (both meanings intended) rapidly. Statistics reveal that the over 60s are fewer than those in their 20s. It is increasingly a privileged state of the few to be referred to as mogolo. Or is it? It is this term mogolo which interests me greatly. MLA Kgasa in his column Motlapele (Mmegi, Vol.6, No. 44. 24-30 Nov, 1989) grapples with what it means to be a mogolo in a Setswana context. Writing under the title A re leseng go fora bana re re ke bagolo, Kgasa concludes that in a Setswana cultural context 21 years of age doesn’t make one an adult. A 21 year old, Kgasa writes: “O sale ngwana yo o laolwang, yo o kgwathisiwang ka lorato.” For Kgasa Setswana recognizes a 28 year old as an adult “yo o ka ikarabelang, a gorosa mosadi”, although he concedes, “le gale mosetsana o ka nna a nyalwa a le masome mabedi le boraro jalo.” He argues further that a 60 or 70 year old is not an old man, “Ke motho yo motona”. To be an old man you must be at least 80. It is clear from Kgasa’s brief discussion that matters of social responsibility and age are cultural and contextual.<br />The term mogolo throughout our social web is appropriated to serve various social functions. A few years ago when MPs were attacked for absenteeism, the response was swift and crude: “Lesang go tlhapatsa bagolo”. In this context the criticism constituted an insult, while the MP, merely on the basis of being an MP, and not because of age, was a mogolo. Perverse as this may seem, there is a way in which Setswana recognizes the holder of social responsibility as a mogolo. In Setswana when one marries, regardless of age, they immediately become mogolo. Conversely an unmarried man in his 70s, is considered culturally mosimane, a boy. Age has nothing to do with the definition of adulthood in this context.<br />Recently the young have appropriated the term mogolo and they have sucked all cultural viscera out of the term, leaving it hollow. Everywhere you go, you hear: “Ao, dumelang mogolo”, “Mogolo, o ne o re ke tle leng?”or “Mogolo, kana mme ga o dire sentle”. What does mogolo mean in these contexts? It certainly does not mean someone in their 60s or 70s. It is also not a term of respect; its use actually appears disrespectful. It is definitely not a term for those with social responsibility. It is a linguistic pig’s ear, a nightmare for lexicographers. Perhaps it is the development of a looming national crisis where old people are dying and many young people don’t reach old age. The term mogolo, like youth, is wasted on the young. Perhaps Kgasa was right: “Banana ke dikgomo tse di dinaka. Bagolo ke tse di tšhotšwa.” <br />The term faces similar tribulations faced by nkgonne (Ke itumetse nkgonne), ntsalaka (Wa reng ntsalaka?) and boss (Ga go na gore re ka reng, boss).<br />But does the term need preservation? Far from it, language is only a tool of communication. It is in a constant state of flux. Richard Chevenix Trench in a compelling paper delivered to the London Philological Society in that cold November evening of 1857 argues that “the ways into which language has wandered or been disposed to wander may be nearly as instructive as the right ones in which it has travelled: as much as may be learned, or nearly from its failures as from its success, from its follies as from its wisdom.”By the look of things the problem of who bears the label mogolo will continue to annoy us for a while as those imbued with youth wring the life out of the term and those seeking honour and recognition grumble and fight to keep it exclusively for themselves. Perhaps words have no meaning – only concepts do. Perhaps.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-28691706760764443432009-08-31T07:46:00.002+02:002009-08-31T08:07:27.803+02:00Thanodi ya SetswanaBatho betsho! Mo dikgweding tse di fetileng ke bone tshegetso e kgolo mo bontsing jwa lona. Ke a bo ke tshwere phage ka mangana ke kwala thanodi ya Setswana. Thanodi e e tlaa wediwa ngwaga o fela. Mme ke dumela fa o tlaa kgona go e ithekela ngwaga o o tlang o rogwa. Ka Setswana se nyelela ka monokela, maiteko a go solofelwa fa a tlaa nonotsha le go dibela puo ya rona. Jaanong fa o itse mafoko mangwe a Setswana le bokao jwa one a o eletsang gore a ka tsenngwa mo thanoding ya Setswana, itshwaraganye le nna: <a href="mailto:otlogetswe@gmail.com">otlogetswe@gmail.com</a>.<br /><br />Se ke tlaa se dirang ke gore ke tlhole gore a lefoko leo a ga re a le tsenya mo thanoding. Fa le seo ebile ke sa le itse, ke tlaa le tlhotlhomisa pele ga ke tsaya tshwetso ya go le tsenya, mme ke tlaa go itsise gore a ke le tsentse kgotsa nnyaa. Setswana sa re: kgetsi ya tsie e bokete, e kgonwa ke go tshwaraganelwa, ebile moroto wa esi, ga o ele.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-91908751546666811302009-07-23T11:59:00.014+02:002009-07-23T13:27:21.087+02:00Ra reng ka pula?<span style="font-family:georgia;">Read below and click on the images that follow.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">"Pula" is a Setswana word form which is used in Setswana to represent three related meanings.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">1. It can be used to mean “rain” as in: Fa ba goroga pula e ne e na. (When they arrived it was raining.)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">2. A cry of well wishing as in: Pula! Batho betsho!(Pula! Fellow people!)</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">3. Botswana notes as in: Ba batla o duela ka Pula fela. (They want you to pay in Pula only.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">A corpus analysis of the word "pula" reveals the following about types of pula (i.e. rain) pula ya medupe, matlakadibe, sefako, ntlha, tsheola, dikgadima, selemo, sephai, kgogolamoko, leebana, mariga, morwalela, ngwaga, ditladi, maebana.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">How do Batswana characterise 'pula'. It appears this way: Batswana say pula e na, nele, tla, kgolo, namagadi, ntsi, tshologa, tshweu, tswa, boutsana, simolotse, tona, kgaotsa, bokete, phaila, porotla, rotha, tsorotla, utlwala, duma, goroga, ntlha, tsheola, dikgadima, selemo, tla, tshologa, simolola, mariga, matlotlo, morago, morwalela, ngwaga, ditladi.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">There are also multi-word Setswana units which include proverbs and sayings:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">* mosele wa pula o etšwa go sa le gale. *Nelwa ke pula * Maru ga se pula mosi ke molelo * Kgole ya pula e bo</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">š</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">wa e bofologa * Pula ya medupe * Pula ya sephai * Pula ya maebana * Pula e tshweu * Pula ya tsheola * Pula ya kgogolamoko * Pula e namagadi.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Here are patterns of PULA showing words which typically occur before and after PULA contextually.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCg7xP0GZxv40c7vA12d86VxLkKYrSvD0a9W3Q20NcOh5MAkclsGj81kGoLmjEQnDdz6jXZubpJtaJwZwZoidG0WyFcXiPOh7T52vpC474Hg5Ut-2jxfJwlxY5i0HgroMRO1j/s1600-h/pula_patterns.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCg7xP0GZxv40c7vA12d86VxLkKYrSvD0a9W3Q20NcOh5MAkclsGj81kGoLmjEQnDdz6jXZubpJtaJwZwZoidG0WyFcXiPOh7T52vpC474Hg5Ut-2jxfJwlxY5i0HgroMRO1j/s400/pula_patterns.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361603570019164434" border="0" /></a></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Here is a concgram for PULA. A concgram is "all of the permutations of constituency variation and positional variation generated by the association of a two or more words"</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkEXCRWaELvDEC8V2lM6-ktgjVOFdOQlG52PKct9N6hARVRrR6GAD0nvKtT8Ble_8ifBD0NBVVfa-yXlBsveREpZ76OI-vymWg80gu0LH9EhhaR570uwjwemqc7kyfAArq3Ul/s1600-h/pula_concgram.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkEXCRWaELvDEC8V2lM6-ktgjVOFdOQlG52PKct9N6hARVRrR6GAD0nvKtT8Ble_8ifBD0NBVVfa-yXlBsveREpZ76OI-vymWg80gu0LH9EhhaR570uwjwemqc7kyfAArq3Ul/s400/pula_concgram.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361603568771310546" border="0" /></a><br />Here are some concordance lines of PULA.<br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ4dD8WhyHyqyIDgCGW4RLq8f8JL9sHolAn2NUZtRlIDTIUHCjwIpGjaZW70nAi2UJVo7RnfZcaxdMHJkopul6dsFzP-N0j9GDVb514hJXirXSiw_vTOunj0uQ0VjJuzDLj8T8/s1600-h/pula.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 361px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ4dD8WhyHyqyIDgCGW4RLq8f8JL9sHolAn2NUZtRlIDTIUHCjwIpGjaZW70nAi2UJVo7RnfZcaxdMHJkopul6dsFzP-N0j9GDVb514hJXirXSiw_vTOunj0uQ0VjJuzDLj8T8/s400/pula.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361609444958747330" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-56159332209915175352008-11-24T07:49:00.004+02:002008-11-24T08:17:12.761+02:00New Setswana Orthography book published!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yHDKqHe4KCkgH4z8FBjqmlPr_ePeuuonxBH0x7Q0bXpah6TnrgEpsLXVHxn0d5a5pQQtLlxDMg0a3MLgGrWHry3p8gYIAnkUbw2GinFBU6lpiENxzyy9ZfIm8_gjXNT8zCGS/s1600-h/Setswana_Orthography.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 234px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yHDKqHe4KCkgH4z8FBjqmlPr_ePeuuonxBH0x7Q0bXpah6TnrgEpsLXVHxn0d5a5pQQtLlxDMg0a3MLgGrWHry3p8gYIAnkUbw2GinFBU6lpiENxzyy9ZfIm8_gjXNT8zCGS/s320/Setswana_Orthography.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272103771848773314" /></a><br />"Mokwalo o o lolameng wa Setswana" is the title of the new Setswana Orthography book. It was written by a team of the following Setswana linguists: Andy Chebanne, Thapelo J. Otlogetswe, Pearl Seloma, Annah Molosiwa, Baitsi Moatlhodi, Naledi Kgolo and Mmaserame David. <br /><br />The last Setswana Orthography text was produced in 1981 which was in serious need of revision. Unlike the 1981 text, the 2008 text is written in Setswana. Work on the book was sponsored by OSISA and Tomela ya Puo Organisations. The book will be distributed for free to different media houses, Curriculum, publishers and other departments that work closely with the Setswana language. For further information about this publication please send me an email: otlogets@mopipi.ub.bw.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-61742946318519720422008-05-29T17:31:00.003+02:002008-05-29T17:49:31.769+02:00solegela!If you speak Setswana, you know "solegela molemo" means "benefit". So you would say for instance <strong>Go tla kwano go tlaa go solegela molemo</strong> [Your coming here will benefit you.]. However I wonder if anyone out there has ever thought about the word<strong> solegela.</strong> I have never seen this word used on its own without <strong>molemo</strong>. What does the word <strong>solegela</strong> mean? Has anyone seen it used without <strong>molemo</strong> in any context? I have ran an experiment with a couple of million Setswana tokens to determine the collocates of <strong>solegela</strong>. This is a sample of what I got:<br /><br />1. Sabata e diretswe go <strong>solegela</strong> batho <strong>molemo</strong>.<br />2. Dithuto tsa bone di diretswe go <strong>solegela</strong> <strong>molemo</strong> bana.<br />3. ... a tshwanetse go kopanngwa go <strong>solegela</strong> <strong>molemo</strong> itsholelo.<br />4. Ditlhotlhomiso tsa go nna jalo di ka <strong>solegela</strong> baithuti <strong>molemo</strong>.<br />5. Metsi a tshwanetse go dirisiwa go <strong>solegela</strong> rona <strong>molemo</strong>.<br /><br />The evidence, even in its paucity, suggests that <strong>solegela</strong> is used with <strong>molemo</strong>. Perhaps those who know much about the etymology of <strong>solegela</strong> might help us with its unique meaning which appears to have been lost to the current Setswana usage.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-60217453325372025392007-08-16T09:29:00.000+02:002007-08-16T11:03:39.728+02:00 <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 0.21in; font-weight: bold;" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font color="#ff0000">Some lexical variations in Shekgalagarhi dialects.</font></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify" lang="en-GB"> <br> </p> <table border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="1" frame="hsides" height="530" width="526"> <col width="62"> <col width="67"> <col width="58"> <col width="107"> <col width="85"> <col width="63"> <col width="53"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2"><b>Matsheng</b></font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2"><b>Lethakeng</b></font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2"><b>Shekoma</b></font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2"><b>Maun</b></font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2"><b>Dichauba</b></font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><b><font size="2">Setswana</font></b></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2"><b>English</b></font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Itu</font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">itu </font> </p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">ntlo</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">itu</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">tcotco</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">ntlo</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">house</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Rinamane</font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">rhinamane</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">dinamane</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">namane</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">rhinghwana<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font></font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">namane</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">calf</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Mho</font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">kgomo</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">kgomo</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">mho</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">moho</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">kgomo</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">cow</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Lonoo</font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lenywayo</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">leneu</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lenoyo</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lele<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font>tje</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lenao</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">foot</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Sheragko<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font></font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">shethako</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">shethako</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">sheragko</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">seetce</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">setlhako</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">shoe</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Tjhola<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font></font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">tjhola</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">tjhola</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">tjhola</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">ha<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font>go<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font>la</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">tshola</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">serve</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Shego<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font></font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">shego</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">shedjelo</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">shego</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">mogo<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font>po/sedja</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">sejana</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">dish</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Leshada</font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">leshada</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">legetla</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">leshada</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">shepagka</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">legetla</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">shoulder</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Motcogo<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font></font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">motogo</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">motogo</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">motogo</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">mpogu<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font></font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">motogo</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">porridge</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Marho</font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">matho</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">mahlo</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">marho</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">maho<font face="Ipa-samd Uclphon1 SILDoulosL"></font></font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">matlho</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">eyes</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Lerhapo</font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lerhapo</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lehlapo</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lerhapo</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lehapo</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lerapo</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">bone</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Lengole</font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lengole</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lengole</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lengole</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">ledjwe</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">lengole</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">knee</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="62"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">Leselo</font></p> </td> <td width="67"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">leselo</font></p> </td> <td width="58"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">leselo</font></p> </td> <td width="107"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">leselo</font></p> </td> <td width="85"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">shegoba</font></p> </td> <td width="63"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">leselo</font></p> </td> <td width="53"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="2">winnower</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="7" valign="top" width="597"> <p class="western" align="center" lang="en-GB"> <font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2"><b>Some lexical variations in Shekgalagarhi dialects</b></font></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 0.21in;" align="justify" lang="en-GB"> <br> </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB"><br> </p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-50440586510586302432007-08-16T08:53:00.000+02:002007-08-16T11:03:39.740+02:00 <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify" lang="en-GB"> <font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">The following data is from Dr Monaka of the University of Botswana [Department of English] with minor additions from me.</font></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify" lang="en-GB"> <br> </p> <table border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" height="969" width="394"> <col style="font-weight: bold;" width="101"> <col style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <col style="font-weight: bold;" width="130"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#ff0000" size="5">SHENGOLOGA</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"><font color="#ff0000">SETSWANA</font></td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font size="5"><font style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#ff0000"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ENGLISH</span></font></font><i><font style="font-size: 11pt;"><br></font></i></font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">rhingone</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">ditlopi/motlopi</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">motlopi</font><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2"> berries</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">sesenyana</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">sesane/tshesane</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">thin</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">hombe</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">gompieno</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">today</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">kuma</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">sitwa</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">feel cold</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">he hogo</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">re gona/e</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">we are there<br></font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">morhiso</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">ma</font><font color="#666666" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-GB">š</span></font><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">i</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">milk</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">mho</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">kgomo</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">cow</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">thodje</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">mmutla</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">hare</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">mhagka</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">thipa/thipana</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">knife</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">kwane</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">peba/nthufe</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">wild rat</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">kankape</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">serurubele</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">butterfly</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">autate</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">ntate-/rre-mogolo</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">grandfather</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">thagu</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">leoto/lekoto</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">leg</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">lenghurhi</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">morubisi</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">owl</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">lotshotsho</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">loleme</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">tongue</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">khakha</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">khudu</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">turtle</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">bogkotje</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">lodi</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">cord from tree</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">lezhogkololo</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">sebokolodi</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">millipede</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">kobe</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">nkoko/mmemogolo</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">grandmother</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">tantape</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">mokgantsitswe</font></p><p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">mokgantitswane</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">lizard</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">leshwaha</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">legwafa</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">armpit</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">mothana</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">mokwatla</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">back (noun)</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">motchwana</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">ngwana</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">child</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">ncu</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">nnye</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">small</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">nnyane</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">nonyane</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">bird</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">powa</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">kgotloko/poo</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">bull</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="101"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" size="2">tchamo</font></p> </td> <td style="font-weight: bold;" width="97"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666666" size="2">molala/thamo</font></p> </td> <td width="130"> <p class="western" align="justify" lang="en-GB"><font style="font-size: 11pt;" color="#666600" size="2">neck</font></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-GB"><font size="2"><br></font> </p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-39727666939064927392007-08-15T17:38:00.001+02:002008-02-28T09:02:24.721+02:00<p class="western" lang="tn-ZA" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Mapolotiki ke baruti</span></p><p class="western" lang="tn-ZA"><br /></p><p class="western" lang="tn-ZA">Ke rata kereke ka ke goletse mo go yone ebile ke itse e le lefelo la badumedi la go kopana, go kgothatsanya gore ba seka ba phesekana mo tumelong.</p><p class="western" lang="tn-ZA">Gantsi ke rata go ela tlhoko baruti. Ke ba leba ka leitlho le le nt<span lang="EN-GB">š</span>hot<span lang="EN-GB">š</span>ho fa ba bua, ke etse tlhoko ka fa ba alang molaetsa wa bone ka teng, le gore ba tsamaya jang mo kerekeng. Baruti ba bangwe ke ba ba goang go fitlhela motho a tswa kgatsele e tshweu mo khutlong tsa melomo, lentswe le swaegile. Ke gore fa a rera, le lo tsena mo seatleng, o gebetlega mo ekareng motho a bitsa dikgafela a batla gore batho ba ba kakwa, moseja ole wa letsibogo ba mo utlwe. A tlale kereke yotlhe a gata a gatoga e kare motho a gatile magala, kgotsa motho a tsenwe ke masonya mo maotong a borokgwe! A senatla sa motho! Ba bangwe baruti ba bodutu, ba a otsedisa. Ba bua ka go nyepologa, ba sa itse puo, ekare batho ba bifetswe ke tshotlego, ba iteilwe ke phefo ya borwa Seetebosigo a apesitse batho kobo ka letshoba. O bo o ipotse gore: “Gatwe ke ne ke itshwenyetsang ke re ke tla go obama?<span lang="en-US">”</span>.</p><p class="western" lang="tn-ZA"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="western" lang="tn-ZA">Selo se se nkgakgamatsang ke ka fa mapolotiki ba kgatlhiwang ke baruti ka teng, ke raya maitsholo a bone le moaparo tota, le ka fa ba ratang go nopola Baebele. Maloba fa modumo wa phuthego ya Gantsi o ile magoletsa dipampiri tsa dikgang di ne di ntsha ditshwantsho tsa ga tona Kedikilwe a apere mokgekgenene wa seaparo sa mebala ya ga Domi – a lebega jaaka moruti wa kereke ya sione! Fa kere sione ke raya kereke ya moropa e go t<span lang="EN-GB">š</span>haiwang terese. Ka re: “A bo tona a tshwanelwa ke go ema phuthego ka lefoko!” Nna ke ne ke sa ya Gantsi mme ba ba neng ba ile ba tla ka mafoko a mangwe a a lebegang a bapisitse a Baebele. Gatwe mongwe, ka re “mongwe” ka ‘ína la motho malatsing ano ga le sa tlhole e le kgomo, mme le fetile jaanong ke moraka. Mongwe yo gatwe a re: “Ke tla ke le fela fela. Selefera le ditante ga ke na natso.” Ga ke itse gore a ga ba mo akele. Gatwe ba mo tlhoboga ba re: “Owaai, rona re batla wa ditante le diselefera, ntsaana golo mo o raya o tla go re tshela lehuma.” Ba ema ba tsamaya. Mongwe yo, o ne a adimile mafoko a Baebela a barutwa ba ga Jeso ba e rileng ba tsena ka tempele letsatsi lengwe ba fitlhela monna wa sennana yo o neng a itsege, mme ba mo raya ba re: “Selefera le gouta ga rena natso, se re nang naso re a se go naya, tsaya bolao jwa gago o eme o tsamaye.” A ema a tsamaya a itumetse, bogolo jang fa re mmapisa le ba ba neng ba reeditse lepolotiki le la kwa Gantsi. Mme kana barutwa bone ba ne ba neile monna yo se se fetang selefera le gouta, ka ba ne ba mo neile boitekanelo mo mmeleng gore a itshetse a iponele selefera le gouta. Jaanong lepolotiki la go tlhoka “selefera le ditante” ga ke itse gore ba ba neng ba mo reeditse bone, o ne a re o ba neela eng se se fetang selefera le ditante.</p><p class="western" lang="tn-ZA">Maloba ke ne ke lebeletse tona Pono Moatlhodi mo thelebi<span lang="EN-GB">š</span>ening mo phuthegong ya ga Domkrag. A tlola a bo a relela monna yo mokhutshwane, a bo a sala a khubame ka lengole. Megolokwane ya thiba ditsebe! A nkgopotsa mongwe wa baruti ba dikereke tsa pholoso wa go tlola a relela a bo a kgoma ka mangole-oo-mabedi fa pele ga phuthego. Ka re dikereke tsa rona tlhe di latlhegetswe, fa di ne di ka bona dinatla tse di tshwanang le bo rre Moatlhodi di ne di ka tlala mpepenene. </p><p class="western" lang="tn-ZA"><br />Maabane jaana tona Mfa o ne a le mo Masaasele batho ba gaagaa goromente gotwe a ntshiwe. Mme tona o ne a re tlela ka mafoko a kgomotso a a neng a mpolaisa ditshego. A re: “Fa e le gore batho ba re goromente a ntshiwe. Fa ba re lemmenyana le re le beileng kwa mafatsheng a sele re le ntshe re le tlhotlhore lotlhe, go siame. Re tlaa re: “Morena o ne a neile mme Morena o tsere, a go bakwe leina la Morena.” Ka wa ka ditshego ke ipotsa gore a tona o raya gore o hutsahetse mo a dirisang mafoko a a tlwaelesegileng mo losong.</p><p class="western" lang="tn-ZA"><br />Mme kgang ke gore mapolotiki ba itse Baebele thata, le ba ba sa tseneng kereke tota. Bontsi jwa bone ba lemogile fa Batswana e le badumedi ba ba ratang ebile ba tlotla baruti ba bone. Mme goreng ba ba ikatumetse ke gore ba bue puo ya seruti. Kotsi ya go gogomosa batho maikutlo, a ke kwa kerekeng kgotsa ke kwa phuthegong ya sepolotiki, ke gore mo gongwe batho ba kgatlhiwa ke kapari, go bebentsha puo ga gago, kgotsa go tlola tlola, ba tshege, ba sa lemoge fa o sa phuthela sepe. Sepolotiki le sedumedi di tshwanetse tsa tlhamalatsa puo, tsa utlwiwa tsa tlhaloganngwa, tsa tlhaselwa ka dipotso mme tsa itlhalosa. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-77046429632275302472007-07-24T17:38:00.000+02:002007-07-24T17:48:31.498+02:00Lekang Setswana sa bone<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p></o:p></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on"><span style=";font-family:";" >Botswana</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style=";font-family:";" > e lebaganwe ke kgwetlho e tona jaaka mafatshe a mantsi mo Aforika a sa itshetlela mo sepolotiking le itsholelo. Ka jalo batho ba mafatshe a sele ba thologela mo <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place> go tla go senka mafulo a matalana. Bangwe ke baitseanape ba mefuta, ba ba thusang go tlhabolola itsholelo le kemo ya <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place>, bangwe bone ke bafaladi, ba ba tshabileng ntwa kgotsa lošekere kwa mafatsheng a bone. Mo dingwageng tse di mmalwa tse di fetileng re itemogetse tshologelo e e seng ka na ka sepe ya batho ba <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Zimbabwe</st1:country-region></st1:place> (ga ke itse gore a leina ‘maZimbabwe’ le a amogelesega - ka jalo ke tlaa seke ke le dirise fa) bangwe ba tsile go senka ditiro, bangwe ka go tlhoka lesego ba felele mo mebileng. Bangwe ba tsamaya ntlo le ntlwana ba senka tiro – bangwe ba kile ba kokota kwa tlung, e le bomme ba le bararo. Ka ba neela setilo, ka nna sentle ke itlhoma e le baanamisa efangele ba Ntlo ya Efagele – fa ba tswa puo ka fitlhela e le ba sele!<o:p></o:p></span> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Mme batho ba <st1:country-region st="on">Zimbabwe</st1:country-region> ga se bone fela ba ba tlang <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place> ba latile mafulo a matalana. Bangwe ba tswa <st1:country-region st="on">Nigeria</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region st="on">Zambia</st1:country-region>, <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Ghana</st1:country-region></st1:place>, Aforika Borwa le mafatshe a mangwe a mantsi. Bangwe ke barutabana, bangwe baagi, bangwe babueledi, bangwe ba a itshotlegela ba felela ba potologa <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Gaborone</st1:city></st1:place> Sun ka mafitshwana. Mme ka pelo tsa Batswana di le bothitho, batho ba botlhe re ba amogela ka tsoo-pedi le fa bangwe re sa ba beesebete ka re ba belaela bomenemene. Gantsi batho ba ba felela ba nna mo <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place> dingwaga tse dintsi mme ba ikopele go nna Batswana moragong. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Botswana jaaka lefatshe le le ratang ngwao ya lone le tshwanetse go tlhomamisa gore batho ba ba fiwang tshwanelo ya go nna Batswana ba tsaya teko e e tlaa tlhomamisang gore e le ruri ga ba amogele <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Botswana</st1:place></st1:country-region> lefatshe fela, mme ba na le kitso e e tletseng ya mekgwa, puo le ngwao ya Setswana. Pele ga re tswelela, a re lebelele gore mafatshe a mangwe a solofela gore moikopedi yo o batlang go nna monni wa mafatshe ao a bo a itse eng. Re tlaa lebelela mafatshe a mabedi: Amerika le Ennyelane.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Kwa Amerika pele ga o amogelwa go nna monni wa koo, o tshwanetse wa bo o le kwa godimo ga dingwaga tse di lesome le borobabobedi – o na le maikarabelo a go itlhophela gore o batla go nna kwa lefatsheng leo. Gape o tshwanetse wa bo o le motho wa maitsholo a mantle – ga go batliwe manaba le dirukutlhi. O tshwanetse wa bo o kgona go bua, go kwala le go bala Sekgoa sentle. Baikopedi gape ba lekwa mo ditsong tsa Amerika. Dingwe tsa dipotso tse di bodiwang ke tse: Folaga ya Amerika e na le dinaledi di le kae? Dinaledi tsa folaga e di emetse eng? Folaga ya Amerika e na le methalo e le kae? Letsatsi la boipuso ke lefe? Ke mang yo o kwadileng pina ya setšhaba? Ke mang yo o tlhophang baatlhodi ba kgotlakgolo? O nna le tshwanelo ya go tlhopha o le dingwaga tse kae?<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Kwa ga Mmamosadinyana ke gone ba ithulaganyang go tsisa diteko tsa mothale wa Amerika. Mme baikopedi ba solofelwa gore ba supe kitso e e tiileng ya puo ya Sekgoa, melao le maitsholo a Sekgoa. Moikopedi o tshwanetse a tlhaloganya puso ya batho ka batho le ka fa Palamente e dirang ka teng. O tshwanetse go supa kitso ya mekgwa ya go ipatlela ditsompelo tse di tshwanang le motlakase, metsi le tse dingwe mo Ennyelane.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Mafatshe oo-mabedi a senka gore moikopedi a itse puo ya lefatshe la one pele ga a ka amogelwa jaaka moagi wa lefatshe leo. Se se botlhokwa ka gore mongwe le mongwe yo o supang kgatlhego ya go nna karolo ya lefatshe lengwe, o tshwanetse go kgatlhegela puo ya lefatshe leo. Ka jalo <st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region> e tshwanetse ya ithuta mo mafatsheng a, mme le rona ra nna le diteko tse di maleba tse re di neelang batho ba ba batlang go nna banni ba lefatshe la <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Se se tlaa supa fa re ipelafatsa ka ngwao le puo ya rona. Ka jalo motho o ka akanya dipotso tse di mmalwa tse re ka di botsang ba ba batlang go nna banni ba <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Dipotso tsotlhe di arabiwa ka Setswana. Re ka botsa dipotso tse di latelang: Ke mang tautona wa ntlha wa lefatshe la <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place>? Fa maina a dikgosi tse tharo tse di neng tsa ya go kopela <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place> boipuso kwa Ennyelane. Tlhalosa gore mebala ya folaga ya <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place> e emetse eng. Fa maina a merafe e e buang Setswana a le mane le e e sa bueng Setswana a le mane. Kwala pina ya setšhaba fa tlase. Kwala selekanyo sa tsebe ka ditso tsa morafe mongwe wa <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Ratsie Setlhako ke mang?<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Re ka akanya dipotso tse dingwe tse di farologanyeng tse di tlhomamisang gore batho ba ba kgatlhegelang go nna banni ba <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place> ba tsaya matsapa a go ithuta Setswana, puo, mekgwa le ditso. Kitso ya puo, mekgwa le ditso tsa Setswana e tlaa dira gore baikopedi ba kgone go bereka mo mafelong a a farologanyeng a <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place>, ba bue le bagolo ba ba sa itseng Sekgoa mo metseng ya selegae ka Setswana. Kitso e gape e tlaa dira gore ba amogelesege, Batswana ba itumelele gore ba tsere matsapa a go ithuta puo ya bone, e seng gore ba nne batswakwa ba sennelaruri ba ba nnang mo lefatsheng la <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1161346363936824232006-10-20T14:11:00.000+02:002006-10-20T14:12:43.943+02:00The three Botswana chiefs<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2714/1687/640/P1010033.jpg"><img style="CLEAR: all; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2714/1687/320/P1010033.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1138568108654378912006-01-29T21:37:00.000+02:002006-05-15T17:59:31.766+02:00Botswana National Anthem & its terrible English translationFatshe leno la rona,<br />Ke mpho ya Modimo,<br />Ke boswa jwa borraetsho;<br />A le nne ka kagiso.<br /><br />CHORUS:<br /><br />Tsogang, tsogang! banna, tsogang!<br />Emang, basadi, emang, tlhagafalang!<br />Re kopaneleng go direla<br />Lefatshe la rona.<br /><br />Ina lentle la tumo<br />La tšhaba ya Botswana,<br />Ka kutlwano le kagisano,<br />E bopagantswe mmogo.<br /><br />CHORUS:<br /><br />Tsogang, tsogang! banna, tsogang!<br />Emang, basadi, emang, tlhagafalang!<br />Re kopaneleng go direla<br />Lefatshe la rona.<br /><br />(official??) ENGLISH TRANSLATION<br /><br />Blessed be this noble land,<br />Gift to us from God's strong hand,<br />Heritage our fathers left to us.<br />May it always be at peace.<br /><br />CHORUS:<br /><br />Awake, awake, O men, awake!<br />And women close beside them stand,<br />Together we'll work and serve<br />This land, this happy land!<br /><br />Word of beauty and of fame,<br />The name Botswana to us came.<br />Through our unity and harmony,<br />We'll remain at peace as one.<br /><br />CHORUS:<br /><br />Awake, awake, O men, awake!<br />And women close beside them stand,<br />Together we'll work and serve<br />This land, this happy land!<br /><br />In this section I discuss some mis-translations of the Botswana national anthem which have in some sense gained official currency. I discuss problems with the National Anthem stanza by stanza and conclude by giving what i consider a better English translation of the national anthem.<br /><br />FIRST STANZA<br /><br />The first stanza starts by "Fatshe leno la rona" and its badly translated as "Blessed be this noble land." The Setswana version has no "noble" & "blessed". The accurate translation is "This land of ours" or "This country of ours" it does not proclaim any blessing nor does it make any claim that the country or land is noble in any way.<br /><br />The second line: "Ke mpho ya Modimo" is wrongfully translated as "Gift to us from God's strong hand". The right translation is "It is a gift from God" or a "It is a gift of God." The sense of "God's strong hand" is nowhere expressed in the Setswana version. "to us" in the English version is also nowhere in the Setswana version. If it was there it would have appeared as "go rona".<br /><br />The third line "ke boswa jwa borraetsho" is translated as "Heritage our fathers left to us". This translation is fine semantically, although I feel an accurate rendering is "It is an inheritance from our fore-fathers."<br /><br />I am at peace with the translation of "A le nne ka kagiso." as "May it always be at peace."<br /><br />CHORUS<br /><br />Here I query the second line "Emang, basadi, emang, tlhagafalang!" which is translated as "And women close beside them stand." The translation is totally inaccurate! The Setswana version doesn't say anything about women being "close BEHIND!!!" standing next to the men! The proper translation should read something like "Arise, O women, arise! energised"<br /><br />The last two lines "Re kopaneleng go direla, Lefatshe la rona" is rendered in flowery words as: "Together we'll work and serve, This land, this happy land!" These are rather of the mark for the Setswana version doesn't say "we'll" and "this" nor does it say "This happy land"! A better translation is "Let us work together to serve, our land/country." I wonder who came up with the flowery stuff!!<br /><br />LAST STANZA<br /><br />The only "bad word" in the translation of the first line of the last stanza is the first word "Ina" which is rendered as "Word" in the English translation. This rendering is inaccurate. "Ina" is a shortened form of "Leina" which means "name". This makes sense as it refers to the name of the country. The English translation should therefore read as "Beautiful name of fame".<br /><br />The second line "La tšhaba ya Botswana" is translated as "The name Botswana to us came." As tiring as it is to write it, but the translation is wrong too. The right one is simply: "Of the nation of Botswana". This follows well after the first line: "Name of beauty and of fame."<br /><br />The third line "Ka kutlwano le kagisano," is rendered as "Through our unity and harmony". Let's deal with the individual words in this line "kutlwano' is a noun that is derived from "utlwana" meaning "befriend each other" or "be at peace with one another". "Kutlwano" is therefore "a state of peace or mutual friendship" or a harmonious relation. "Kagisano" is derived from "agisana" meaning "reconcile". "Ka kutlwano le kagisano" therefore translates to "Through harmonious relations and reconciliation."<br /><br />The last line is ungrammatical in the Setswana language. It suffers from what grammarians term as "number agreement problems." Let's illustrate this with the sentence *"Mary and John is reading". You get the problem? While the previous line refers to "kutlwano" AND "kagisano" the final line uses "E", the singular pronoun to refer back to the plural Noun Phrase. There is therefore no number agreement. It should therefore read in Setswana: "Di bopagantswe mmogo". Se se bopaganeng here is "kutlwano" AND "kagisano". When that hurdle is passed, the proper translation is not, "We'll remain at peace as one" for there is no reference to "peace" in the Setswana text. The text actually means: "bound together" here refering to "harmonious relations" and "reconciliation".<br /><br />I here therefore offer a different translation<br /><br />THE BOTSWANA NATIONAL ANTHEM TRANSLATION<br />Translation © Thapelo Otlogetswe 2006<br /><br />This land of ours,<br />Is a gift from God,<br />An inheritance from our fore-fathers,<br />May it always be at peace.<br /><br />CHORUS:<br />Awake, awake, O men, awake!<br />Arise, O women, arise! be energised,<br />Let us work together to serve,<br />Our land.<br /><br />Beautiful name of fame<br />Of the nation of Botswana<br />Through harmonious relations and reconciliation<br />Bound togetherUnknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1138372842528657052006-01-27T16:27:00.000+02:002006-01-27T16:40:42.540+02:00Setswana Rhyming DictionaryThe explosion of hip-hop, poetry and other music genres has encouraged me to create a Setswana rhyming dictionary. So far it's 256pages with three columns of text. It is still work in progress so I would appreciate your views on it - whether you think it's needed or not. Here is just a sample:<br /><br /><div align="right"><strong>-tlapa</strong></div><div align="right">Matlapa<br />Magatlapa<br />Legatlapa<br />Bogatlapa<br />Tlatlapa<br />Letlapa<br />Metlapa<br />Tlantlapa</div><div align="right">Motlapa</div><div align="right"> </div><div align="right"> </div><div align="right"><strong>-disa</strong></div><div align="right">Edisa<br />Odisa<br />Idisa<br />Badisa<br />Sadisa<br />Madisa<br />Padisa<br />Otlaadisa<br />Balabadisa<br />Lebadisa<br />Kgadisa<br />Thadisa<br />Tlhadisa<br />Ntlhadisa<br />Itshadisa<br />Kgoladisa<br />Ntladisa<br />Mmadisa<br />Bapadisa<br />Kepadisa<br />Tsadisa<br />Ikwadisa<br />Kwadisa<br />Ithwadisa<br />Nkwadisa<br />Bokwadisa<br />Nyadisa<br />Inyadisa<br />Nedisa<br />Fedisa<br />Bedisa<br />Tedisa<br />Sedisa<br />Medisa<br />Sebedisa<br />Nthibedisa<br />Reedisa<br />Mmifedisa<br />Ragogedisa<br />Tlogedisa<br />Ntlogedisa<br />Amogedisa<br />Shedisa<br />Phedisa<br />Iphedisa<br />Mphedisa<br />Tshedisa<br />Itshedisa<br />Ntshedisa<br />Eledisa<br />Paledisa<br />Ipaledisa<br />Reledisa<br />Tseledisa<br />Gateledisa<br />Tshweledisa<br />Tsweledisa<br />Itsweledisa<br />Nyeledisa<br />Buledisa<br />Mpuledisa<br />Tlhokomedisa<br />Dumedisa<br />Itumedisa<br />Ntumedisa<br />Itlhaganedisa<br />Ipedisa<br />Opedisa<br />Rapedisa<br />Ikopedisa<br />Rasedisa<br />Otsedisa<br />Nkotsedisa<br />Latedisa<br />Duedisa<br />Nwedisa<br />Bidisa<br />Hidisa<br />Tshidisa<br />Itshidisa<br />Modisa<br />Fodisa<br />Godisa<br />Bodisa<br />Laodisa<br />Gaodisa<br />Mabodisa<br />Gabodisa<br />Kgabodisa<br />Nkgabodisa<br />Difodisa<br />Kgodisa<br />Ngodisa<br />Segodisa<br />Ikgodisa<br />Nkgodisa<br />Phodisa<br />Gotlhodisa<br />Ikgotlhodisa<br />Iphodisa<br />Maphodisa<br />Lephodisa<br />Sephodisa<br />Bophodisa<br />Tshodisa<br />Lekodisa<br />Ntekodisa<br />Itekodisa<br />Moitekodisa<br />Sokodisa<br />Tlodisa<br />Alodisa<br />Falodisa<br />Folodisa<br />Tsholodisa<br />Kgokolodisa<br />Simolodisa<br />Ntlodisa<br />Imodisa<br />Ramodisa<br />Iphafamodisa<br />Kgamodisa<br />Iphaphamodisa<br />Mmamodisa<br />Itlhomodisa<br />Apodisa<br />Mapodisa<br />Sepodisa<br />Gopodisa<br />Bopodisa<br />Hudisa<br />Rudisa<br />Thudisa</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1130132547271831772005-10-24T07:35:00.000+02:002007-08-29T17:40:21.114+02:00The Tswana peopleIntroduction:<br /><br />The <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_tswana.html">Tswana</a> people are associated with the country of Botswana, whose name means 'Land of the <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_tswana.html">Tswana</a>.' But most of the people of this language group live in the northeastern part of South Africa. This densely populated area is what was Bophuthatswana, meaning 'The Gathering of the <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_tswana.html">Tswana</a>.' This place is known as the North-West province in modern independent South Africa. There are over 6000 <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_tswana.html">Tswana</a> people in Namibia, making them the countries smallest cultural group. The Namibian <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_tswana.html">Tswana</a> consist of three groups, the largest of which is the Tlharo, the second is the Tlhaping and the third the <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_kgalagadi.html">Kgalagadi</a> who have to some extent mixed with the <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_kalahari.html">Kalahari</a> <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_bushmen.html">Bushmen</a>.The ancestors of the Sotho people entered the area to the south of the <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/limpopo-south-africa.html">Limpopo</a> River in several separate migrations. In the course of time, they were dispersed over the vast interior plateau between the eastern escarpment and the arid western regions to form four subgroups - the <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_tswana.html">Tswana</a>, North Sotho, South Sotho and East Sotho. Those who settled in the western regions preferred to be called Batswana (Tswana) while those living in the southern regions called themselves <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_basotho.html">Basotho</a>. Today, the <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_tswana.html">Tswana</a> people live in parts of <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/gauteng-south-africa.html">Gauteng</a> Province, the Northwest Province and the eastern parts of Botswana.<br /><br />History:<br /><br />Oral tradition traces the ruling lineage of the Tswana states to the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) area. Historical evidence suggests that the Tswana states developed on the basis of royal control of cattle and on the profits of mining, manufacture and trade. The lineages of all the ruling Tswana families can be traced back to one of the following ancestors; Morolong, Masilo, and Mokgatla. Evidence suggests that the ancestors of the Tswana were living on the Highveld (the western, northern and northeastern Witwatersrand area) from at least the 17th century. Up to the 19th century, junior members of chiefdoms would often break away and form their own chiefdoms, splitting the Tswana nation into numerous small chiefdoms and overlapping ‘city’-states.<br /><br />Disputes over succession and wars amongst themselves further weakened the unity of the tribe. However, this trend stopped in 1810, with the Mfecane/Difaqane upheavals when the <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_zulu.html">Zulu</a> King, Shaka, created turmoil in the interior of the country, his well-trained <a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_zulu.html">Zulu</a> impis annihilating scores of tribes. White settlers, who came to the area in the late 1820s, noticed that wide areas of grassland had been cleared of people - only stonewalled ruins were left where large Tswana ‘cities’ had once stood. Tswana chiefdoms were only able to move back to cultivate their lost lands during 1837. Soon afterwards they allowed some White Voortrekkers (Boer migrants) to settle on the Highveld.<br /><br />Unfortunately, hostilities eventually broke out between the two groups when the Boers attacked the Kwena of Sechele at Dimawe. This action prompted an alliance of emerging Tswana kingdoms that was eventually to result in a unified Tswana nation including the Kwena, the Ngwaketse, the Rolong of Montshiwa and even the Ngwato of Sekgoma. Sechele, the Kwena king, was the most powerful Tswana leader from the 1850s to the 1870s. However, other northern Tswana states soon began to challenge his influence and his subject chiefdoms began to move away towards semi-independence.<br /><br />Soon the-all-too familiar game of playing one power off against another started in earnest. These independent groups only turned to each other again to ward off the threat of their Boer neighbours. When the Boer Transvaal Republic was annexed by the British, their fears subsided and they agreed to the establishment of the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, which became the independent Republic of Botswana in 1966. Seretse Khama, whose ancestor, Khama III, ruled over the Ngwato kingdom until his death in 1923, became the republic’s first executive president and was subsequently knighted by the British. Today, the main Tswana groups live either in South Africa or in Botswana.<br /><br />Tswana Tribes:<br /><br />The Tswana tribe is divided into many different locally autonomous chiefdoms and tribes. Each tribe manages its own affairs but there are considerable differences between the tribes in Botswana and those in South Africa. During the apartheid years, South African Tswana tribes lived under the jurisdiction of the South African government in the Bophuthatswana homeland. The Tswana chiefs who were recognised under the previous government still claim their status and the right to rule their people, even though the homeland system has now been abolished.<br /><br />Social and Cultural Life<br /><br />Since each Tswana tribe had its own territory and name, it was not at all strange to find Tswana tribes with different customs and languages. Tswana tribes have never been rigid, closed systems and there were various ways in which a person could become a member of a tribe. Members of the tribe could also be expelled by the chief or could leave voluntarily to join another tribe. Today, many Tswana who live in the cities do not associate with a specific tribe but they do acknowledge a totem and the genealogical relationship they share with others of the same totem.<br /><br />Totemism<br /><br />Totemism has long been a feature of the Tswana culture and refers to the veneration of an animal, plant or an object. Each individual associates himself or herself with a specific totem. Many existing Tswana myths and legends explain why certain totems were adopted. Association with a particular totem carried with it certain responsibilities and traditions. Should a member not act according to the rules, that person would have to undergo a purification ceremony to prevent misfortune. The Tswana household was the smallest social unit and consisted of the husband, his wife and their unmarried children.<br />However, in some cases it also included married sons and daughters and their families. Each homestead consisted of one or more houses with grain storage areas in a courtyard, surrounded by a reed or wooden fence or a mud wall. The houses were used mainly for sleeping; cooking and other social activities being done outdoors in the courtyard area.<br /><br />Gender roles<br /><br />The man was the head of the household and was treated with respect, obedience and service by his wives and children. He made all the decisions regarding the distribution of property and he also took care of all legal dealings with outsiders. The head of the household also had the task of performing prayers and sacrifices on behalf of his family. The Tswana treated their elders with great respect and obedience. Old men were called rra or ntate and the older women were called mme. Breaches of the rules of respect were seen as serious offences in Tswana society. Tswana men were always rated higher than women.<br /><br />A Tswana women was seen as a permanent minor who would always be under men’s authority, whether it be her father, her husband or her husband’s father or brother. Women were also excluded from political or religious meetings and some places were reserved for the use of men only. Men and women ate separately and sat apart at social gatherings. Mothers who gave birth only to daughters were generally despised - the birth of a son was much preferred. Children were grouped according to physical development, birth to two years (masea), 3-8 years (banyanee), 9-13 - boys (basemane) and girls (basetsana) and from 14 until allocated to an age set.<br />Boys older than 14 used to wear special costumes, perform special dances at their gatherings and were allowed great personal freedom, especially regarding sexual matters. The older boys also spent much time at cattle stations herding their father’s livestock while girls of the same age had domestic duties to do and took care of the younger children.<br /><br />Initiation<br /><br />Allocation into an age-set or a regiment (mophato) marked the beginning of adulthood. A regiment consisted of men and women of roughly the same age who had been initiated at the same time. The chief would create a new regiment every four to seven years, when eligible 16-20 year old boys and girls could be initiated together. The regiment would also include a member of the chief’s family who, from then on, would be the accepted leader of the group. In earlier times, the boys underwent a rigorous initiation process that included circumcision and seclusion in the bush. The initiates were subjected to hardships and taught the laws, traditions and customs of their people. However, this practice disappeared during the 1930’s because European missionaries persuaded the chiefs that it constituted immoral behaviour.<br />The king would give each regiment a unique name, usually after some event that had taken place during the initiation, such as a thunderstorm. Anyone not belonging to a regiment would not be allowed to marry. The members of the same regiment worked together and, in the case of men, fought together. They were intimate companions and equals and enjoyed a sense of solidarity and regimental pride. Members of a regiment were expected to respect the members of all previously formed regiments and would in turn be respected by their juniors.<br /><br />The regimental leaders dealt with breaches of discipline in a court situation. Today, initiation is again becoming popular among contemporary youths. Initiation is seen as a mark of African identity and pride. Girls used to be initiated during a ceremony held at home. This included dancing, masquerades and some form of 'marking”, usually on the inner thigh. The girls also underwent severe forms of punishment and received formal instruction in matters regarding agriculture, behaviour towards men and sex.<br /><br />Belief System<br /><br />Ancestor worship was an important ritual. The spirits of the ancestors had to be appeased to encourage them to stay in their own spirit world and to ward off misfortune. The help of the ancestors was sought to ward off afflictions such as epilepsy, insomnia and hysteria, to name but a few. The ngaka or witchdoctor played an import part in everyday life and acted as doctor, psychiatrist and medium between the troubled or bereaved and their ancestors. His counterpart, the diviner or bone-thrower, was cheaper to consult and offered interpretations of problems according to the way in which the bones fell. However, many modern-day Tswanas have converted to Christianity and no longer participate in the old religious customs and rituals.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>Taken from: </em></span><a href="http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_tswana_p1.html"><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>http://namibia.safari.co.za/africa_tswana_p1.html</em></span></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com70tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1130132003873340052005-10-24T07:31:00.000+02:002005-10-24T07:33:23.880+02:00The TswanaThe Tswanas are a tribe who migrated from East Africa to southern Africa during the 14th century. The origin of the name ‘Tswana’ is a mystery, but is applied to a number of groups who all speak the same language, have similar customs, but separate names.<br /><br />The Tswana migrated into central southern Africa in the 14th century. As hunters, herders and cultivators they found the high plains to their liking. Game animals abounded, the grass was excellent for cattle, there were no serious endemic livestock diseases and the soil was deep and easy to cultivate.<br /><br />Sorghum, beans, pumpkins, sweet melons and gourds were planted, and the Tswana found that maize, introduced by the Portuguese into the country, was also highly productive.<br />The origin of the name ‘Tswana’ is a mystery. It is applied to a number of groups who all speak the same language, have similar customs, but separate names. None of them ever knew themselves as the Tswana. As with several other people in South Africa, their name was given by foreigners. The meaning is unknown.<br /><br />The history of the Tswana people is one of continual dissension and fission where disputes, sometimes over chieftain ascendancy, resulted in a section of the tribe breaking away from the main tribe, under the leadership of a dissatisfied chief's relative, and settling elsewhere. Often the name of the man who led the splinter group was taken as the new tribe's name.<br />Today there are 59 different groups in South Africa who now accept the overall name of Tswana. About three-fourths of the Tswana people live in South Africa. Only about one-fourth<br />live in Botswana, the country named after them.<br /><br />The Tswana are closely related to the Sotho (of Lesotho and South Africa). The Sotho-Tswana are bonded in language and customs. They claim a common ancestor, Mogale. They share an agrarian culture, social structures, political organization, religious and magical beliefs and also a family life.<br /><br />All the Sotho and Tswana languages are inherently intelligible, but for political and historical reasons, they have generally been considered as three languages. The larger sub-tribes are often considered as separate tribes with their separate languages.<br /><br />Traditional Tswana society included men, women, children and "badimo" (ancestors, living dead, having metaphysical powers). A Tswana does not think in terms of individual rights, but of responsibilities to his family and tribe. The father is to be obeyed and respected by his wife and children at all times.<br /><br />The Sotho-Tswana are organized by lineages, which developed as the tribe grew. The lineages are organized in subunits and communities. Every level exhibits the same social organization, such as the Kgotla, the traditional court, with various officials assigned various duties in the social structure at each level. In traditional Tswana religion (tribal animism) "Modimo" is the great God, or "The Great Spirit."<br /><br />Because of the fact that job availability in Botswana is changing from rural to urban, many Tswanas are leaving the villages and not returning. Thus the Tswana are fast becoming a modern secular society, in Botswana as well as South Africa.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128577587907836432005-10-06T07:44:00.000+02:002005-10-06T07:47:56.746+02:00Mutsumi wa JapaneMaloba ke laleditswe dijo tsa maitseboa – leina la lefelo leo ’kitla ke itshwenya ka lone – ya re ntse re ikitsesanye ka go fapaana, ka hakgamadiwa ke go utlwa kgarejwana ya dingwaga tse di ka nnang masome a mabedi a re leina la gagwe ke “Mutsumi” – nnyaa e seng “Motsomi”. Selo se se neng se nkgakgamatsa e ne e le gore kgarejwane e e tswa Japane. Matlho a gagwe ke one a re a itseng a a tsereng popego ya sesarwa kgotsa seChina. Ka gamarega! Ka thubega ka setshego – ka boa ka itshwara. Nnyaa Mutsumi ga e kake ya nna leina la maJapane! Mogopolo wa ntlha wa re dilo tsa lefatshe le, kana gatwe bogotswana bo atile. Gatwe batho ba a tle ba reke dipasa tsa Batswana ba iphe le maina a bone. Ka mo eleka ngwanyana yo mme ka fitlhela a tshwana le konyana. Ka mmotsa gape ka re: “Golo fa le o ne o re ’ina la gago e mang?” A re: “Nna?” Ka re: “Ee, wena motho wa ga Seepapitso!” A re: “Mutsumi” Ka mmotsa gape ka re: “A wa re o bidiwa Motsumi?” A ipoeletsa gape a re: “Ee”. Ka re a ko o le kwale tlhe ke bone gore o le peleta jang. A le kwala: MUTSUMI. A nteba, jaanong ka lemoga gore o ipotsa gore ke eng ke motsatsanka ka dipotso.<br />Ka mmotsa gore: “Wa re ga eno ke kae?” A re Japane. Ka ja monyenyo. “Mme wa re o bidiwa Mutsumi?” A ipoeletsa gape a re: “Ee”. Ka belaela gore kgarebe e tshetlhana e, e seng gore jaanong e ipotsa gore a mokawana yo wa moAforika a o a bo a sa batle go ipala mabala a kgaka – o tloga a ntira ngwetsi kwa merafeng e ke sa e itseng. Owaii a sa itse gore tsame tse di robang bobedi le mokwele, ke raya lengwaelo, ke di isitse gooSebego, ko bathong booLekoko!<br />Mme ka mo tlhalosetsa fa leina le la gagwe e le le tumileng kwa gaetsho kwa Botswana, mme e le leina la basimane e seng basetsana, e bile le raya motho yo o tsomang. A gamarega, a thubega ka ditshego – matlho a nyamela, meno a le mantsho! Motsoko tlhe ga o na maitseo!<br /><br />Moragong ka nna fa fatshe fa pele ga khompiutara ka senka gore a leina MUTSUMI le tumile kwa Japane. Ka fitlhela e le gore Mutsumi ga se leina fela la motho e bile go na le motsana kwa Japane o o bidiwang Mutsumi. O o bona kwa <a href="http://www.mutsumi.com/">http://www.mutsumi.com/</a>. O mo kgaolong ya Abu, e e mo Yamaguchi kwa Japane. Motsana o o na le batho ba ka nna 2500!<br /><br />Mme Mutsumi yo mongwe yo o tumileng ke mmopi wa dinkgwana tse di nang le ditshwantsho tse dintle thata. Mutsumi ke sefane, ene tota o bidiwa Suzuki. Ke rre yo mogolwane yo o tsetsweng ka 1942 kwa Kyoto gone kwa Japane. Dinkgwana tsa gagwe di rekwa ke mabolokelo a a kwa godimo kwa Japane le kwa Amerika.<br /><br />Japane gape e na le moopedi yo o itsegeng wa leina la Mutsumi, ene o bidiwa Mutsumi Hatano. Ene ke kgarebe ya dingwa tse di fa godimo ga ga tsa Mutsumi o ke neng ka kopana le ene. Mutsumi yo o ithutile go opela kwa Yunibesithing ya Miyazaki kwa Japane mme a tla go itlatsa mo Lontone Trinity College of Music. Moopedi yo ke wa maemo a a kwa godimo yo o opetseng mo makgetlhong a mantsi mo go itumedisitseng barati ba mmino kwa Japane.<br />Leina le la Mutsumi le tumile thata kwa Japane mo banang le popae e e bidiwang Mutsumi Otohime! Popae e, ke kgarejwana, e bile e ratwa ke banana ba Japane. Popae e e tumile go gaisa go tuma ga ga Mabijo mo Botswana. Banana ba Japane ba na le ditshwantsho tsa gagwe mo matlong, mo dikwalong tsa bone le tse dingwe. Bangwe ba na le ditshwantsho tsa popae e mo mesokelatsebeng ya lotheka. Ga go akiwe gotwe go tsamaya ke go bona.<br /><br />Ke ne ka bua ka lobaka le Mutsumi, ka mmotsa ka maina a mangwe a Japane, ke itlhoma ke tlaa utlwa a re “Utlugetswe”! Ka itaya sefololetse. Puisanyo ya rona e ne ya kgaopediwa ke megopo ya dijo re e bewa pele. Fa ke re matlho leba ka fitlhela e le setokana sa tlhapi e e sa butswang se kotangwe ke opinyana ya raese. Ka di leba ke di belaela – moRuele ke sa batle go ijela sereto – banna! Ka utlwa ke eletsa seswaa le masuhu – dijo tsa ditoro!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">This text was published on my column in the Mokgosi Newspaper</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128550448116081192005-10-06T00:11:00.000+02:002005-10-06T07:32:57.633+02:00A language under siege from its ownWith its native speakers showing Setswana little regard, the language could well be on its way to extinction, writes TOMELETSO SEREETSI<br /><br />SELEBI-PHIKWE: “Ntsenyetsa one Pula please,” she places the coin on the table.<br />She must be in her early twenties. She looks good, something out of the fashion pages of one of these many glossy magazines. Clutching at the leather handbag under her arm, she wipes the public cellular phone receiver with a tissue before she raises it to her embalmed lips.<br />“Hello, I am Karabo,” she loudly purrs out her name the way a culture shocked African-American would, winning a few amused stares from an army of bored public cellular phone operators lining the space of the mall. “Akere ne rra we meet kgantele ke chaisa? Call me ga o sa kgone,” she continues in that overly nasal vein, relishing as much every word she utters as those she swallows in her passion.<br />A few seemingly cathartic purrs and nasal-affected syllables later, she leaves a legacy of scorn and amused gossip behind.<br />“Batho tlhe ba rata sekgoanyana,” chirps in one of the public cellular phone operators, seeing that the young woman is safely disappearing, several shops away.<br />This linguistic mix or code switching, as linguists would say, is a cultural movement whose growth is undoubtedly evident. A small dose of English here, a slice of African languages such as Zulu, Pedi and Sotho and a generous proportion of Setswana to the boil as well as the adoption of a Euro centric accent to taste, completes the complexion of this new dialect.<br />It has made an indelible mark on the national psyche. While many stood aside and watched with mixed feelings, many bought into it and went a little distance to milk it of what it’s worth to move one or two products off the shelves. When big communications companies like Mascom use lines such as Kganna ha mnate and Nzamela airtime, there is no prize for guessing that the lingo has definitely transcended the street discourse to the boardrooms, and arguably right back to the streets (now dripping a sense of legitimacy and sassy class). Little wonder then that it has made it to national radio and other public spheres. A fluent Setswana sentence has fallen into the realm of the nostalgic, that which elicits an awed response when heard.<br />This linguistic movement impresses not everyone. Some see the cultural phenomenon as an ominous bell that points to the extinction of the indigenous Setswana language, together with the cultural identity and knowledge duly encapsulated in the sonic breadth of words. Modirwa Kekwaletswe, author of the recently published critique of local poetry and music entitled, Legalapa-Kanoko ya Poko le Mmino wa Setso, is irked by the increased use of foreign words where there are Setswana words that can be used to adequately capture the same intended sense.<br />“People who mix up Setswana with English wish that they could be fluent in English. If they had great fluency in English they would only use that language. They do not even borrow appropriate words from South African languages. They are unaware that they are destroying their language. This is a big challenge not only for Setswana but other indigenous languages in the country,” he observes.<br />What forces are at play here? How can this cultural phenomenon, which seems to be en vogue, be explained?<br />Mogakolodi Boikanyo, an editor with the Setswana newspaper Mokgosi and author of a Tswana novel, Lo Ojwa Lo Sale Metsi, traces the phenomenon back to elementary school where, he argues, poor performance in English is perceived as a sign of dullness and worthlessness. He argues that it is instances like this that help mould Batswana into a people with no pride in who they are.<br />“We learn from an early age that English confers more of a sense of self worth and pride than our local languages. English is seen as wealth. Le bagolo tota ba bua sekgoanyana. This is obviously wrong. Indians come here armed with good mathematical skills that are many a time not complemented by a good command of English, and still teach in our schools. I have been perceived a failure because I failed English at school. I think it’s time that jobs were applied for in Setswana. Imagine how it would be if we wrote our curriculum vitae in Setswana,” he contends.<br />A 23-year-old secretarial studies student at Selebi-Phikwe Technical College, Lesego Tlhabologo, is for this new multi lingual dialect. She does not see the development as problematic at all. She argues that falling for the dialect is inevitable given the fact that this is a changing society whose value system is also undergoing constant change. She sees the cultural phenomenon as a coping mechanism in a world that grows overly Euro-centric with each day.<br />“You see, English is far much better than Setswana because it is more specific. It does not beat about the bush as Setswana does. It goes straight to the point. For instance, there is only one word in Setswana for the words ‘love’ and ‘like’, ‘rata’. It does not sound good when someone tells you that ‘o apare bontle’, but ‘you are cute’, on the other hand, does it for me. It is even much more unfashionable and distasteful to propose to a girl using Setswana,” she argues.<br />Maybe she has a point. Kekwaletswe contends that Setswana and other indigenous languages, as Third World languages, are not developed in a way that can accommodate new lexical icons, especially those found in information technology such as ‘mouse’ and ‘cursor’. He argues that this deficiency makes it difficult to market in Setswana. He says that English is a business language and people know that mastery of the language from a young age spells a good future. He further laments that Radio Botswana seems to no longer have personnel that can ably add new words to the Setswana vocabulary as they did with terms such as ‘kgotlha-more-o-itirise’ for ‘machinegun’.<br />A lecturer in the department of African Languages at the University of Botswana, who would not divulge her name because she “presents a synopsis of various opinions solicited from a number of linguistic and literary persons in the faculty of Humanities”, is adamant that given its own cultural context, Setswana is perfectly adequate to express any concept or knowledge. She identifies the linguistic gumbo as a developmental phenomenon.<br />“Tswana speakers now tend to code-switch to other languages since they think that they would express themselves better. They tend to value a language such as English, which has been perceived since the colonial era as a developmental tool and a language of prestige or as a sign of knowledge and modernity,” she observes.<br />The UB linguist further argues that Setswana has the potential to be a language of business and trade. “Isn’t it that business is done with Batswana? Covers and tags for locally produced goods should be in both Setswana and English,” she argues.<br />She adds that language is made stronger by its users. According to her, it is the speakers who make English superior to Setswana and it is them who can also place it in a positive light by not placing it below other languages. She concurs with Kekwaletswe that there is a need to restore confidence in indigenous languages on the part of government by translating public texts, including laws and policies because they are after all made for Batswana.<br />“Let us put in place language use structures in our administrations, communications, businesses and schools. Let us write HIV/AIDS messages in Setswana and other indigenous languages of Botswana, where possible. Let us reward good use of Setswana for instance, the best Setswana speaker and user in the media, at work or at school. Let us invite the general public to coin new Setswana expressions for new technologies and equipment,” she advises.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">From Mmegi Newspaper, Tuesday 5 April 2005</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128548863560557462005-10-05T23:46:00.000+02:002005-11-18T15:56:22.560+02:00Modimo o o nko e metsiGantsi ga re lemoge fa tikologo ya rona e ama puo ya rona. Mo Setswaneng go na le dilo tse dintsi tse di amang ka fa re buang ka teng. Dingwe tsa tsone ga re di tseye tsiya, ga re tseye fa di ka nna le seabe sepe se se utlwalang mo go ameng ka fa re dirisang puo ka teng. Mme selo se se fitlhelwa mo puong nngwe le nngwe. Tsaya sekai, morafe wa MaEskimo (bangwe ba ka nna ba tsaya fa ke kgetholola, ba batla gore ke bitse morafe o ke re BaEskimo – ba tlaa nkinela diatla metsing.) go dumelwa fa o na le mafoko a mantsi a a rayang kapoko ka kapoko ke karolo e kgolo ya matshelo a bone. Fela kapoko e le karolo e kgolo ya matshelo a bone, rona jaaka Batswana kgomo ke yone pinagare ya itsholelo ya malwapa ka bontsi. Batswana ka ngwao re ba rua kgomo. E re ntswa dinamanyane di foforwa ke leuba, kgotsa bontsi bo hularela temo, kgomo e santse e le sesupo sa itsholelo e bile monna yo kgomo tsa gagwe di thibang marang a letsatsi o tlotlega setšhabeng. Kgomo e humisitse puo ya rona thata. Re ka akanya ka mafoko a mantsi a a amanang le kgomo. Ga re kitla re kgona go a nankola otlhe mme re tlaa kgotlha fela ka lotlhokwa.<br /><br />Le rona fela jaaka MaEsekimo re na le kgumo e e boitshegang ya mafoko a a rayang kgomo. A re simolole fela ka gore ngwana wa kgomo o bidiwa namane, mme re bo re tswelela ka go tlhalosa dinamane. Mohungwana ke namane e e fitlhetsweng mo kgomong mmaayo a sena go swa. Lebotlana ke namane e e leng gone e tsalwang. Lesolemotlhabana ke lebotlana le le godileng. Lesole ke namane e e tiileng e e godileng. Moalolelo ke namane e e tlogedisitsweng go anya mmaayo. Kgomo e tonanyana e e sa fagolwang re e bitsa re re poo. Sempoo ke poo e e sa fagolegang sentle. Tshikela ke poo e e fagotsweng e godile.<br />Mo kgomong tse di namagadi re a tle re re, letsetse ke kgomo e fetsa go tsala. Lephusa lone ke kgomo e dusitse e palangwe ke poo. Kgomo e e gangwang yone re e bitsa leradu. Fa e sa ntshe maši a mantsi re e bitsa re re motete. Fusa ke kgomo, e sena go koba namane gore e sa tlhole e anya – ra re e husitse. Mageri ke mašwi a e leng gone a remang a re a bitsang themisani. Moreba one ke kgomo e e sa tsaleng.<br /><br />Fa kgomo e sena dinaka ra re e tšhotšwa.<br /><br />Re na le diane le manatetshapuo a mefuta a a supang fa kgomo e le karolo e e botlhokwa ya matshelo a batswana. Ke tlaa difa fela ka tatelano ke dumela fa mmadi o kile wa kopana natso. Re le Batswana ra re: Nnete ga e jelwe kgomo; kgomo mogobea e wetswa ke namane; lebitla la kgomo ke molomo; mmatla kgomo kolomela o etse mhata sediba; kgomo ga nke e ntsha boloko jotlhe; kgomo ga e nke e tlhaba mong wa yone; kgomo ga e latswe namane e se ya yone; kgomo ga e imelwe ke dinaka e le tsa yone; mokoduwe go tsoswa o o itsosang; kgomo go tlhabana tsa lesaka le le lengwe; makuku a naka tsa kgomo; maši a kgomo ke tswa thobeng ke le phepa, selabe se tla le motsayakgamelo; mmala wa kgomo o gola namaneng; go baya motho mabele a kgomo; go opa kgomo lonaka; go bopa kgomo ya mmopa; phitlhela kgomo ya serotswana; go sena kgomo ya boroko; go jela motho kgomo; kgomo ya lefisa re e gama re lebile tsela. Kgomo e tshwarwa ka dinaka, motho o tshwarwa ka mafoko; kgomo e e maši ga e itsale; mosima o duleng kgomo ga o thujwe ka bobi; mahube a naka tsa kgomo le e e mašwi ga e itsale.<br /><br />Ke lekile go supa fa Setswana se humile mafoko a a rayang kgomo ka kgomo e le karolo e e botlhokwa ya matshelo a Batswana. Mafoko le diane di di ntsi tse di buang ka kgomo. Go na le ditumelo tsa Setswana tse di amanang le kgomo. Go dumelwa gore fa kgomo e jele lesapo la motho madi a yone a tlhakana le maši. Gape Batswana ba dumela fa dirwe dingwe tsa kgomo di sa siamela batho bangwe. Go na le dirwe dingwe tsa kgomo tse di jewang ke bomme, dingwe e nne tsa borra fa bagodi ba na le tsa bone. Dinama tse di tshwanang le bo telele, diphilo, mokoto le dinama tse dingwe ga di jewe ke mongwe le mongwe. Ka jalo kgomo ke karolo ya tumelo ya Setswana, ke sone se bangwe ba e bitsang modimo o o nko e metsi, le fa nna ke ebisa sešabo fela. Dikai re ka tsaya tse dintsi go supa fa re le baruakgomo, ka jalo a re kgwe mowa di ise di timela batho ba ga matshaba le kgomo matlogela temo e le seholela.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">The text was published in my column in the Mokgosi Newspaper</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128548186412047722005-10-05T23:27:00.000+02:002005-10-06T07:31:12.796+02:00Mathaithai a peloGo setse go itsege gompieno gore puo e ikhumisa ka go dirisa mafoko a a farologanyeng a a rayang dikarolo tsa mmele. Mafoko a, a na le bokao jo bontsi jo re iseng re bo anege, re bo tsharabolole gore re bo tlhaloganye sentle. Mafoko mangwe a re ka a akanyang ke jaaka ‘seatla’ go raya mothusi; ntswa maoto; go nna mokwatla wa kompone jalo jalo. Mme tlhotlhomiso e e tseneletseng e ya tlhokega gore re tlhaloganye gore puo ya rona e itogile jang. Mme fa re batla go tlhotlhomisa puo e e dirisiwang ke batho letsatsi le letsatsi, re tshwanetse ra tsaya puo e e le mo tirisong re e anege, re e rune, re e tlhotlhe, re e tenolole gore re bone gore e bopilwe jang. Se re ka se kgona fa re ka kgobokanya mafoko a a dirisiwang mo dikoranteng, dibuka, dikwalo, ipapatso, mo puong ya letsatsi le letsatsi, kwa makgotleng, mo dibareng le mo mafelong a a farologanyeng. Mme fa re ka nna fatshe ra re re akanye fela gore puo e dirisiwa jang re tlaa palelwa ka gore go thata go akanya makgetlho, kgotsa diemo tse di farologanyeng tse lefoko le dirisiwang mo go tsone. Le one mafoko go thata go nna fatshe o bo o a ntsha mo mogopolong fela o bo o a kwala fatshe. O tlhaelela kgakala.<br /><br />‘Pelo’ re itse fa e le sesuma se se sekgapha se se pompang madi mo mmeleng wa setshedi. Mme lefoko le ga se gantsi le dirisiwa jaana. Fa le dirisitsweng teng ke mo polelong ya ga tlhapi le kgabo e tlhapi a tsayang kgabo a re ba boele pelo! Gantsi lefoko le le dirisiwa mo maeleng le diane kgotsa mo makgabisapuong a mefuta. Mme fa le dirisiwa ka methale-thale, le nna le bokao jo bo farologanyeng. A re lebelele mathaithai a pelo.<br /><br />Pelo e kgona go fela, e lapisege; motho a nne pelo khutshwane ntswa pelo ya mongwe le mongwe e le khutshwane ka tlholego. Nako tse dingwe motho o nna pelo telele. E tloge e nne monate e ka re e a jewa! Kgotsa e nne bosula. Nako tse dingwe re re e ya itaya, e kare ntse e eme kgotsa e phophotha mongwe mabole. E a utswiwa, kgotsa mongwe a e gape, re re: Mokgarejwana ole ka re o go gapile pelo. Mo gongwe tse dingwe di tswe, e ntse e le mo go wena. Re bo re go kope gore o e tshware: Tshwara pelo mogolole!<br /><br />Nako tse dingwe ra re o tlhomola pelo re ntse re itse fa e sa tlhabiwa ke mosetlho. Gongwe re e bone: motho a re: “Ke ne ka bona pelo ya gagwe gore ga e a itumela!” Kgotsa e seke e bonale gotlhelele: A sa bone pelo yame!<br /><br />Mo gongwe re e fa maikutlo le maitshwaro a setho, re re motho o tsamaile ka pelo e e hutsafetseng, kgotsa e bue; motho o fitlhele a balabala ka pelo! Fa di etsaetsang teng ke fa di nna pedi, mme di bue dilo tse di farologanyeng… pelo e nngwe e re: ‘Ya kwa!’, fa e nngwe e re: ‘Nna fa’. Mo gongwe pelo e a eta, o iphitlhele o etile pelo, kgotsa pelo ya gago e nne go sele wena o le gone fa. Mo gongwe o tsoga pelo e itumetse. Nako tse dingwe e a lebala, e nne jaaka motho a lebeletse sengwe, e sirege! Nako e nngwe e tshwarwa ke tlala, mme e je serati!<br /><br />Nako e nngwe e nna mebala, e nne tshweu, khibidu kgotsa e nne ntsho ke maleo – kgotsa e ntshofale fela! Pelo e a beta, e a kgama, e a hupetswa; motho yo o serintla a tle ka mabetwa-e-pelo, …pelo e sena boikhutso…e fufula! E tloge e nne matsadi, e gamukele botlhoko, e ubaube, e rothe madi e kare ga se tiro ya yone.<br /><br />Makgetlho a mangwe e nne thata, e thatafale, motho a nne le pelo ya letlapa, kgotsa ya tshipi, kgotsa a e gatelele. Malatsi mangwe e a nyelela: motho go twe: ‘Ga a na pelo… ka re ntsa!’ Ke ipotsa gore ba kae ba ditshwanelo tsa diphologolo batle go utlwa jaaka maraki a sotlwa! Kgotsa e phatloge segalase……e garoge .. e tlalalane….matlhotlha pelo….<br /><br />E a tle e lwale e bo e bolaye motho: motho a bolawe ke pelo ya motsoko. Bangwe ba kubugelwa ke bolwetse jwa pelo – kana koo teng bo bongwe fela fela. Kgotsa re re ‘go sena ’tsapa le fisang pelo’ - letsapa le nne legala le le tsididi le retelelwe ke go fisa pelo?<br />Nako tse dingwe e re o ntse o tsamaya mo botshelong o bone ‘wa pelo’ lo age motse. Mo gongwe o bo o se lesego; ntekwane o bone motho yo o suleng pelo. Bogologolo ba ne ba kopa pelo: ‘Tlhe mma ke kopa pelo ya gago’ Motho a ije dinala – ngwana o kwa masimo o disitse dipodi rraagwe gatwe o sule pelo. E tloge e kgaoge, e nne phuti, e nne potsane kgotsa pholwana e golegwe. E nne namagadi, e nne molotsanyana, e kotlomele. Letsatsi e nne la masetla pelo; o bone sengwe pelo e beege; Re e tlhatswe; ka go utlwa dikgang tse di tlhatswang pelo. E wele, e ritibale, e sidilege; … ka bongwefela jwa pelo re e tseye re e bule, re e neele Morena a e tlhatswe mme e itsheke.<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;">The text was published in my column in the Mokgosi Newspaper</span></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128546653239441052005-10-05T23:06:00.000+02:002005-10-06T07:36:24.400+02:00My work on Setswana SpellcheckerSetswana Spellchecker is a spellchecker for Setswana that was created using <strong>the Scannell and</strong> <strong>Otlogetswe wordlist</strong>. It includes versions for MySpell for use in OpenOffice and Mozilla on both Windows and Linux. Checkit out here: <a href="http://www.translate.org.za/archives/permalinks/2004-05-11T12_00_00.html">http://www.translate.org.za/archives/permalinks/2004-05-11T12_00_00.html</a> You may even download it for free if you want.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128543417841518872005-10-05T22:15:00.000+02:002005-10-05T22:20:06.516+02:00The Origins of "Tswana"There is very little knowledge of where the words Se-Tswana and Bo-Tswana come from, only speculation exists:<br /><br /><em>The name Bechuana seems derived from the word chuana – alike, or equal – with the personal pronoun Ba (they) prefixed, and therefore means fellows or equals. Some have supposed the name to have arisen from some mistake of some traveller, who, on asking individuals of this nation concerning the tribes living beyond them, received the answer, Bachuana, “they (are) alike;” meaning “They are the same as we are,” and that this nameless traveller, who never wrote a word about them, managed to engraft his mistake as a generic term on a nation extending from Orange River to 18° south latitude…. The Bechuanas alone use the term to themselves as a generic</em>. (Livingstone 1857:200/201)<br /><br />Whether we accept Livingstone’s explanation of the etymology of the Tswana (as coming from tshwana, in current Setswana orthography) stem is not of major significance to our enquiry at this point (see Ramoshoana in Cole 1950:xx-xxii for criticism of this view). But many historians and grammarians agree that all the Tswana tribes identify themselves as members of a larger national unit – that of the Tswana cluster (Cole 1950:xx). They therefore call themselves Batswana and their language Setswana. Here I differ with Andersson and Janson in their claim that:<br /><br /><em>The idea of Setswana as one unified language, with one written form and only dialectal variation between the spoken forms is fairly recent… this was hardly the general view fifty years ago: at that time, a Mokwena might well argue that his language was Sekwena, not Setswana</em> (1997:26).<br /><br />There is enough compelling evidence dating back to the time before the missionaries codified the language, that the term Setswana included various “Setswana” dialects. This is adequately captured in the grammar books that I have quoted above, some travels records of explorers, and it is in no way a development of the past fifty years as Andersson and Janson would have us believe. But I would like to provide additional evidence that the concept of Setswana language is not as recent as it is claimed.<br /><br />As far back as November 1806 the German, Hinrich Lichtenstein in Ueber der Beetjuans, published in 1807, which was later translated into English (see Lichtenstein, 1973:63), considered the Batswana a single linguistic group and wrote of ‘Beetjuana words’. He also lists in Upon the Language of the Beetjuans (1815:478-488) a vocabulary of The Beetjuan Language. And around the same time, Henry Salt (1814: appendix, xxvii) records A few words of the Mutshuana language copied from a manuscript journal of Mr Cowan. These words included, ‘sun’ let chãchi (letsatsi in current orthography); ‘moon’, werri (ngwedi); ‘much’ too na (tona) and ‘morning’ kom mo shu (kamoso). Campbell (1815:221) also lists Bootchuana Words in his Travels. Schapera records that,<br /><br /><em>The people among whom Moffat laboured at Kuruman were called Batlhaping (sing. Motlhaping). They were the southern-most tribe of the Bantu-speaking group collectively known as Batswana (usually written Bechuana or Bechwana) and the first group to come into contact with white people</em> (Schapera, 1951:xv).<br /><br />In 1857, Livingstone writes that Moffat had just completed translating ‘the Bible in the language of the Bechuanans, which is called Sichuana’. Lichtenstein (1930:407) also notes that,<br /><br />Under the name of Betjuana, Sihtjuana, Muhtjuana, are to be included all the tribes that inhabit the country that extends from the river Kuruhman, as its most southern boundary thirty or forty days journey northwards; several tribes inhabiting this latitude extend quite to the eastern coast of Africa.<br /><br />The weight of evidence that illustrates that Setswana has been regarded as a single language is weighty. The fact that a Mokwena might argue that he is speaking Sekwena and not Setswana as Andersson and Janson (1997) argue is a rather unconvincing way of attempting to cast doubt on the commonly known linguistic facts of this linguistic group. It may still be the case that a Mongwato man may argue that he is speaking Sengwato and not Setswana. Such statements should be interpreted as assertion of one’s identity with their tribe (or smaller group), to propagate and retain group pride. This is a well-known sociolinguistic fact that an attachment to a certain language or dialect may be used to signal group solidarity. But faced with the current data, we can only conclude that the compelling body of evidence points to the fact that Setswana has for a long time, at least two centuries, been the body label that includes the various Setswana dialects.<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=17492318#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=17492318#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> <em>Anderson and Janson are however right in alluding to the fact that tribal names are reflected in the names of the languages with the prefix change. Thus Bangwaketse speak Sengwaketse; Bangwato, Sengwato; Bakwena, Sekwena; etc.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;">This an extract from my Oxford University M.Phil thesis in General Linguistics</span></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128543285022196172005-10-05T22:10:00.000+02:002005-10-05T22:20:44.896+02:00Early Setswana Lexicographic Work<span style="font-size:85%;">Setswana has a long lexicographic tradition although it has involved slow production of lexicographic work over the years. Current lexicographic writings usually trace the origin of the Setswana lexicographic analysis to John Brown’s bilingual dictionary of 1875 (Kgasa and Tsonope, 1998:iv), or to 1830 when Robert Moffat published a Setswana version of the Gospel of St Luke, and at the back offered two pages of explanations of the more “difficult” words.<br /><br /><em>In 1830 Robert Moffat published a Setswana version of the gospel of St Luke, and at the back offered two pages of explanations of the more “difficult” words. Is it fanciful to regard this as the first small germ of a dictionary? …but the first published dictionary of which the Botswana Book Centre has record is that of John Brown in 1875</em> (Jones in Matumo, 1993:vii).<br /><br />Actually ‘the first gem of a dictionary’ lies much earlier than the Moffat’s 1830 writings that Jones refers to. Research shows that Hinrich Lichtenstein in the two volumes of Travels in Southern Africa in the years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806 had a list of about 270 Setswana words and phrases. The original document in German appeared around 1811. Therefore the earliest lexicographic activity known to us so far can be traced to 1803-1806, in Lichtenstein works. In 1815, John Campbell in his Travels in South Africa gave a list of 80 ‘Bootchuana Words’. Salt (1814) in Voyage to Abyssinia contains a list of 20 Mutshuana words and their equivalents in English. According to the evidence we have so far, lexicographical work in Setswana, regardless of its size and detail, existed before the work of Moffat, who came to Southern Africa in 1816.<br /><br />The first bilingual dictionary, <em>Lokwalo loa Mahuku a Secwana le Seeneles</em>, was compiled by John Brown (1875) of the London Missionary Society. An enlarged and revised version was published in 1895 and was reprinted in 1914 and 1921. In 1925 John Tom Brown produced the third edition of this dictionary based on A.J. Wookey’s research</span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=17492318#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"><span style="font-size:85%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">. However since the 1925 dictionary version of Tom Brown to mid 1970s, Botswana went through an inactive period of dictionary production. It was not until 1976 that Morulaganyi Kgasa published his 134-page monolingual dictionary – <em>Thanodi ya Setswana ya Dikole</em> ‘The Setswana Dictionary for Schools’, whose main target group was primary school pupils. Kgasa’s dictionary was the first monolingual dictionary from Botswana. In 1998, in collaboration with Joseph Tsonope, Kgasa produced the second monolingual dictionary Thanodi ya Setswana which up to date remains the definitive monolingual Setswana dictionary from Botswana. For this reason, I will make repeated references to it. A smaller, but detailed, trilingual dictionary -Setswana, English and Afrikaans- was produced by Snyman et al in South Africa, whose target was the secondary and university reader. The latest dictionary from Botswana is Creissels and Chebanne’s Dictionaaire Francais-Setswana Thanodi Sefora Setswana, which is the first French/Setswana bilingual dictionary. Its primary target group is students of French at secondary and university level. It stands out as the first and only dictionary from Botswana with phonemic transcriptions and a large amount of pictorial illustrations.<br /><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Lack of Theoretical Lexicography</strong><br /><br />Although there has been an increase in the number of Setswana dictionaries, very little attention in Botswana is devoted to theoretical work on dictionaries. This problem is not unique to the Botswana situation, but it is a problem faced by the linguistic discipline at large as Connell notes:<br /><br /><em>Compiling and editing dictionaries – lexicography – certainly has to do with language, but judging by the lack of attention devoted to this practice in linguistics programmes and textbooks, one might be forgiven for concluding that it is relatively insignificant or is a task of such monumental complexity that it is still beyond our grasp</em> (Connell, 2000).<br /><br />The lack of interest in lexicography by linguistics departments, as Connell points out, results in a gulf between linguistic concerns and lexicographic ones. Lexicography as a theoretical practice is fairly recent in academic discourse in the world at large and more so in Botswana, although as a practice it has been around for centuries. Its development and success has depended greatly on advances in linguistic (Discourse Analysis, Phonetics, Morphology Translation Studies and Semantics, etc.) and on the development of printing (Johnson, 1824, preface; McArthur, 1986; Hudson, 1988). As stated above, interest in lexicographic theory in Botswana are almost non-existent and this is especially shocking in that lexicographic practice is fairly vibrant and dictionaries are used consistently across the education spectrum. In many educational departments, debates on the validity and structure of dictionaries have largely been left to publishing houses, which advertise them in various schools. The danger with this commercial approach is that scholarly lexicographic work stands threatened by the pursuit of profit. Clear theoretical analysis of, and debates concerning dictionaries, using some of the recent lexicographical principles needs to be maintained to assess the quality of contemporary dictionaries. It is important that this is done within a scholarly framework to advance the development of lexicographic research, both at a theoretical level and at the level of dictionary production. Having discussed a historical development of dictionary making in Setswana, I will proceed to look at some of the common problems that have faced lexicographers through the history of Bantu lexicography in general.<br /></span><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=17492318#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><span style="font-size:85%;">[1]</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> Peters, M.A., Bibliography of the Tswana Language, State library, Pretoria, 1982: xxiv</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;">This an extract from my Oxford University M.Phil thesis in General Linguistics</span></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128540890872016922005-10-05T21:29:00.000+02:002006-01-13T11:12:14.066+02:00The 100 most popular Setswana personal names listed in alphabetical order<p>Part of my research is on Setswana personal names. I here list the top 100 Setswana personal names from my corpus of over 25 000 Setswana personal names. By (pl.) we mean that it is as if something is said to many people instead of an individual. I am writing a bilingual dictionary of Setswana personal names which will have over 16 000 entries.</p><p>Amogelang ---- receive; accept (pl.)<br />Akanyang ---- think (pl.)<br />Baboloki ---- saviours; people who save<br />Barulaganye ---- they come immediately one after the other<br />Boikanyo ---- a dependence<br />Boitumelo ---- happiness; joy<br />Bontle ---- beauty<br />Botshelo ---- life<br />Dikeledi ---- tears<br />Dineo ---- gifts<br />Dipuo ---- talks<br />Ditiro ---- acts<br />Gaone ---- of His (God)<br />Godiraone ---- it is Him (God) who acts or who does<br />Gofaone ---- it is Him (God) who gives<br />Goitsemang ---- who knows?<br />Goitsemodimo ---- it is God who knows<br />Goitseone ---- it is him (God) who knows<br />Gosego ---- lucky is he<br />Itumeleng ---- be happy; celebrate; rejoice<br />Kabelo ---- a gift<br />Kabo ---- that which has been given<br />Kagiso ---- peace<br />Karabo ---- answer<br />Keabetswe ----I have been given<br />Kealeboga ----thank you; I am thankful<br />Keamogetse ----I have received; I have been paid<br />Kedibonye ---- I have seen them<br />Kefilwe ---- I have been given<br />Keitumetse ---- I am happy; I am thankful<br />Kelebogile ---- I am thankful<br />Keneilwe ---- I have been given<br />Kenosi ---- I am alone<br />Kgomotso ---- comfort<br />Kgosi ---- chief; king<br />Kgosiemang ---- who is the chief<br />Khumo ---- wealth; riches<br />Khumoetsile ---- wealth has come<br />Lebogang ---- be thankful<br />Lesedi ---- light<br />Lesego ---- luck; a blessing<br />Lorato ---- love<br />Malebogo ---- thanks (noun)<br />Marea ---- Mary<br />Masego ---- blessings<br />Matlho ---- eyes<br />Matshidiso ---- condolences<br />Mmoloki ---- a saviour<br />Mmusi ---- governor; a ruler<br />Moagi ---- a builder; a resident<br />Modise ---- herdboy<br />Moeng ---- a guest; a visitor<br />Mogapi ---- one who confiscates<br />Mogorosi ---- one who brings the animals into the kraal in the evening<br />Mogotsi ---- the builder of fire<br />Mokgosi ---- a loud call for help<br />Molatlhegi ---- the lost one<br />Molefe ---- pay damages for her<br />Molefi ---- one who pay damages to another<br />Mompati ---- one who accompanies me<br />Mooketsi ---- one who increases<br />Morapedi ---- one who prays<br />Moremi ---- one who cuts with an axe<br />Moseki ---- one who appears before a court<br />Mosetsanagape ---- a girl again<br />Mosimanegape ---- a boy again<br />Mosweu ---- the light coloured<br />Mothibi ---- one who drives animals<br />Mothusi ---- a helper<br />Motlalepula ---- one who brings rain<br />Motsumi ---- a hunter<br />Mpho ---- a gift; a present<br />Neo ---- a gift; a present; that which is given<br />Oaitse ---- he knows<br />Obonye ---- he has seen<br />Odirile ---- he has done, created, made<br />Oduetse ---- he has paid<br />Ofentse ---- he has conquered; he is victorious<br />Olebile ---- he is watching<br />Olebogeng ---- thank Him (God)<br />Onalenna ---- He (God) is with me<br />Onkemetse ---- he is representing me; he is awaiting me<br />Ontlametse ---- He (God) has protected me; He (God) has tataken care of me<br />Oteng ---- He is there<br />Othusitse ---- He has helped<br />Otsile ---- He has come<br />Pono ---- sight<br />Pule ---- rain<br />Segomotso ---- a comfort<br />Sethunya ---- a flower<br />Tapologo ---- relaxation<br />Tebogo ---- thanks (noun)<br />Thapelo ---- prayer<br />Thatayaone ---- His (God) strength<br />Thato ---- Will; desire<br />Tshegofatso ---- Grace; Blessing<br />Tshenolo ---- Revelation<br />Tshepo ---- Trust<br />Tsholofelo ---- Expectation<br />Tuelo ---- Payment</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com239tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128522473954113142005-10-05T16:22:00.000+02:002006-09-22T13:46:59.270+02:00Setswana Facts<span style="font-size:78%;">from: </span><a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_language.asp?code=TSW"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_language.asp?code=TSW</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">SIL code: TSW<br />ISO 639-1: </span><a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_iso639.asp?code=tn"><span style="font-size:85%;">tn</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">ISO 639-2: </span><a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_iso639.asp?code=tsn"><span style="font-size:85%;">tsn</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Population</strong><br />1,070,000 in Botswana (1993 Johnstone), 70% of the population. Population total all countries 4,000,000 (1999 WA).<br /><strong>Region</strong><br />Spoken throughout the country as lingua franca, and as mother tongue primarily in the Southeast and Kgatleng districts, the eastern half of Southern and Kweneng districts, in the Serowe-Palapye and Mahalapye subdistricts of Central District, and around Maun village in Northwest District. Also spoken in Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe.<br /><strong>Alternate names </strong><br />CHUANA, COANA, CUANA, SETSWANA, SECHUANA, BEETJUANS<br />Dialects<br />TLAHAPING (TLAPI), ROLONG, KWENA, KGATLA, NGWATU (NGWATO), TAWANA, LETE, NGWAKETSE, TLOKWA.<br /><strong>Classification</strong><br /></span><a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_lang_family.asp?code=TSW"><span style="font-size:85%;">Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, S, Sotho-Tswana (S.30), Tswana.</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Comments<br />Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho, and Tswana are largely inherently intelligible but have generally been considered separate languages. Standard Tswana uses Kgatla dialect. Used among the educated. Used more for spoken purposes than written. All ages. Vigorous use. 90% to 95% of children complete standard 7 in primary school. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. Literacy rate in first language: 80% to 90%. Officially used as language of instruction in grades 1-4 in all government primary schools. Often used for explanations through Standard 7 and first 2 years of secondary. Taught as a required subject in all secondary schools. Newspapers, magazines, radio programs, TV. Agriculturalists, pastoralists: cattle. Christian, traditional religion. Bible 1857-1993.<br />Also spoken in:<br /></span><a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_country.asp?name=Namibia"><span style="font-size:85%;">Namibia</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> <br />Language name <br />TSWANA<br />Population<br />6,050 in Namibia (1991 census).<br />Dialects<br />TLHARO, TLHAPING, TAWANA.<br />Comments<br />Education, administration, radio broadcasting. National language. Radio programs. Pastoral: cattle, agriculturalists. Bible 1857-1993. See main entry under Botswana.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_country.asp?name=South+Africa"><span style="font-size:85%;">South Africa</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> <br />Language name <br />TSWANA<br />Population<br />2,822,000 in South Africa (1995), 7.2% of the population (1995 The Economist).<br />Alternate names <br />TSIWAHA, BEETJUANS, CHUANA, COANA, CUANA, SECHUANA<br />Dialects<br />TAWANA, HURUTSHE, NGWAKETSE, THLARO, KWENA, NGWATO, TLOKWA, MELETE, KGATLA, THLAPING (TLAPI), ROLONG.<br />Comments<br />Close to Southern and Northern Sotho. National language. Newspapers, radio programs. Bible 1857-1993. See main entry under Botswana.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_country.asp?name=Zimbabwe"><span style="font-size:85%;">Zimbabwe</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> <br />Language name <br />TSWANA<br />Population<br />29,350 in Zimbabwe (1969 census).<br />Alternate names <br />CHUANA, SECHUANA, COANA, CUANA, TSHWANA, BEETJUANS, CHWANA<br />Dialects<br />NGWATU (MANGWATO), TLHAPING.<br />Comments<br />Spoken by the Bakaka. Bible 1857-1993. See main entry under Botswana</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17492318.post-1128521391811911452005-10-05T16:05:00.002+02:002005-10-05T21:37:24.553+02:00The Setswana language<span style="font-size:85%;">The language, Setswana, is spoken widely in Southern Africa. Mainly in Botswana and in South Africa in the Northern Cape, the central and western Free State and in the North-West Province. There are also few speakers in Namibia. There are around 3 301 774 people in South Africa who use it as their home language & over a million speakers in Botswana. Setswana was the first Sotho language written to have a written form. In 1806 Heinrich Lictenstein wrote Upon the Language of the Beetjuana. While in 1815, John Cambell wrote Bootchuana words and was followed by Burchell who wrote about Botswana in 1824. Dr Robert Moffat from the London Missionary Society arrived among the Batlhaping in Kudumane in 1818, and he built the first school for Botswana. In 1825, he realised that he must use and write Setswana in his teachings. He finished translating The Gospel according to Luke in 1830, The New Testament in 1840 and the Old Testament in 1857. The first Motswana (speaker of Setswana) who contributed to the history of written Setswana is Sol D T. Plaatje, who, with the help of Professor Jones wrote Tones of Secwana Nouns in 1929. The New Testament and the Psalms were translated in 1963 in the 1910 authography and the whole Bible was translated into Setswana 1970.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0