Setswana - South African Language Setswana | Setswana is commonly known as Tswana, and is Botswana’s national language

Setswana - South African Language Setswana

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SETSWANA (Tswana)

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South Africa » South Africa Languages » Setswana
Bantwane WomanSetswana: Setswana is commonly known as Tswana, and it is Botswana’s national language. The majority of Tswana or Setswana speakers are found in South Africa. It is the Northern Cape that is the source of the Setswana and Afrikaans speakers. When travelling to Zimbabwe and Namibia one is also able to bump into many Setswana speakers. Being a Bantu language, makes Setswana related to two other Sotho languages, and these are Southern Sotho and Sesotho-sa Leboa (Northern Sotho). Not long ago, Tswana was known by many as Beetjuans, Coana, Chuana (relation of Bechuanaland), Sechuana, Cuana.

There seems to be a few of its own obstacles in the Tswana language when talking it, and this is because all of the Sotho languages have close relations with each other, moreover, there are different dialects found in certain parts of the African continent. If you come across a Setswana speaker, be sure to say “Dumela!” This simply means “Hello!” as many other languages, Setswana has it own slang. Separate words: “O-a-re-eng?” is pronounced wah-reng simply means “How is it going?” an easier and much shorter version would be, “Go jwang”, and this simply means “How’s it?”

Wealth is measured among the Setswana speakers by the amount of cattle they have in their possession. The more cattle a Setswana speaker owns, that person is moving closer to making “Setswana Forbes”. The Setswana Forbes is a list containing all the names of the wealthy. The division between a rich Setswana and a poor Setswana is distinct, and division continues to grow.

The world’s western ways have penetrated this culture, and this has led to the elimination of the Setswana speaker’s traditional clothing. However, many other cultures have survived this abolishment and they got to keep their traditional ways. Traditional healers, or sangomas, and music play a very important part in their culture.

The music involved in Setswana consists on only string instruments and human voices. The Setswana people don’t really use drums in their music, and this comes to no surprise, because only one musical group ever came into existence. The Kgwanyape Band released their album “Mepatho-ya Malobe” in 1993.

Many people question the credibility and the integrity of the sangomas of the Setswana people. There are arguments that these sangomas have no qualifications or lack them. Then again, there should not only be concerns about the Setswana sangomas, but sangomas in other cultures as well. If you are considering seeing a sangoma when travelling, keep in mind that travel and time for certain herbs are added to the fee. Most sangomas call on their ancestors when consulting you, so all you have to do is make sure that the ancestors are smiling on that day.

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Setswana - South African Language Setswana | Setswana is commonly known as Tswana, and is Botswana’s national language

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