Northern Sotho, or Sesotho sa Leboa as an endonym, is a Sotho-Tswana language spoken in the northeastern provinces of South Africa. It is sometimes referred to as Sepedi or Pedi, its main dialect, through synecdoche.
Sepedi | |
---|---|
Pedi | |
Sesotho sa Leboa/ Sepedi | |
Pronunciation | /sɛˈpɛdi/ |
Native to | South Africa |
Region | Gauteng, Limpopo, parts of Mpumalanga |
Ethnicity | Pedi |
Native speakers | 4.7 million (2011 census)[1] 9.1 million L2 speakers (2002)[2] |
Language family | Niger–Congo?
|
Standard forms | Sepedi |
Writing system | Latin (Northern Sotho alphabet) Sotho Braille |
Signed forms | Signed Pedi |
Official status | |
Official language in | South Africa |
Regulated by | Pan South African Language Board |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | nso |
ISO 639-3 | nso |
Glottolog | nort3233 Northern Sotho |
S.32,301–304 [3] | |
Linguasphere | 99-AUT-ed |
Geographical distribution of Northern Sotho in South Africa: proportion of the population that speaks a form of Northern Sotho at home.
0–20%
20–40%
40–60%
60–80%
80–100% | |
Geographical distribution of Northern Sotho in South Africa: density of Northern Sotho home-language speakers.
<1 /km²
1–3 /km²
3–10 /km²
10–30 /km²
30–100 /km²
100–300 /km²
300–1000 /km²
1000–3000 /km²
>3000 /km² | |
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. |
Pedi | |
---|---|
Person | Mopedi |
People | Bapedi |
Language | Sepedi |
Country | Bopedi |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2022) |
According to the South African National Census of 2011, it is the first language of over 4.6 million (9.1%) people, making it the 5th most spoken language in South Africa. The Sepedi language is spoken most commonly in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Limpopo provinces.[4]
This section does not cite any sources. (July 2022) |
The Northern Sotho written language was based largely on the Sepedi dialect. Missionaries studied this dialect the most closely and first developed the orthography in 1860 by Alexander Merensky, Grutzner and Gerlachshoop.[5] This subsequently provided a common writing system for 20 or more varieties of the Sotho-Tswana languages spoken in the former Transvaal, and also helped lead to "Sepedi" being used as the umbrella term for the entire language family. However, there are objections to this synecdoche by other Northern Sotho dialect speakers, such as speakers of the Modjadji's Lobedu dialect.[citation needed]
Northern Sotho can be subdivided into Highveld-Sotho, which consists of comparatively recent immigrants mostly from the west and southwest parts of South Africa, and Lowveld-Sotho, which consists of a combination of immigrants from the north of South Africa and Sotho inhabitants of longer standing. Like other Sotho-Tswana people their languages are named after totemic animals and, sometimes, by alternating or combining these with the names of famous chiefs.[original research?]
The group consists of the following dialects:
The group consists of the Lobedu, Narene, Phalaborwa (Malatji), Mogoboya, Kone, Kgaga, Pulana, Pai, and Kutswe.
This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: add paragraphs, use more wiki appropriate language. (September 2021) |
This section does not cite any sources. (September 2021) |
Before Moshoeshoe and his Basotho nation of Lesotho, Basotho people were there. Moshoshoe didn't found Basotho, but he founded a nation made up of Sesotho speaking people from different Sesotho speaking clans in which the British imperialist in Southern Africa erroneously called the Basotho nation cutting them off from the rest of other Basothos outside Lesotho in the Orange Free State and Transvaal in present-day South Africa, Botswana as if Moshoshoe and his people were unique from other Basotho people. Basotho people were there before Moshoshoe the son of Mokhachane of another Basotho clan of Bamokoteli clan, united the smaller and vulnerable clans of Basothos under his Bakwena clan leadership during the Shaka wars of difaqane after other Basothos have migrated to different directions from their cradle in Ntswanatsatsi. Moshoshoe and his Bakwena clan and the rest of the other Basotho clan originate from Ntswanatsatsi in present-day South Africa. Families moved away from each other in Ntswanatsatsi and started clans using a totem as a symbol of their clan (like a crocodile (Koena) which Moshoshoe' ancestors used) and different families moved to different directions within precolonial South Africa under different leadership. Under different leadership some settled in the Western side, present-day North West Province others spread around Ntswanatsatsi to the present-day Free State and Lesotho, others to present-day Botswana others to present-day Zambia, others moved to the present day Gauteng in South Africa and they became patriarchs of the founding fathers of Bakgatla which also gave birth to Northern Sotho which in turn gave birth to different Northern clans with their dialects like BaPedi , Batlokwa, Babirwa, etc and others ended up in inter-marrying with other tribes they moved next to and mingled with like Swatis, Vendas and Tsongas and Ngunis and in some places these Northern Basotho' Sotho was diluted by the influence of these tribe they found in the area, they moved into and lived alongside. This is what happened to a subgroup of Northern Basotho who end up becoming Mapulana with their Sesotho influenced by Swati. Also some of the Northern Basotho having a common denominator of "apa" (meaning talk) with Vendas, I mean Balovedu, BaGubu and Babirwa of Bobirwa in the Southern part of Botswana near the Zimbabwean border. All these Northern Sotho clans have their chief of leader, they never had a paramount king, so, it will be absurd to call them BaPedi because the BaPedi kings have never been their kings. They did their own things from Ramokgopha of Batlhokwa, Malatji of Phalaborwa, Malebogo of Bahanawa, Matlala, etc, they were never part of the Pedi kingdom.
Northern Sotho is one of the Sotho languages of the Bantu family.
Although Northern Sotho shares the name Sotho with Southern Sotho, the two groups have less in common with each other than they have with Setswana.[citation needed][6]
Northern Sotho is also closely related to Setswana, sheKgalagari and siLozi. It is a standardised dialect, amalgamating several distinct varieties or dialects.
Most Khelobedu speakers only learn to speak Sepedi at school, as such Sepedi is only a second or third language and foreign to them like English and Afrikaans. Khelobedu is a written language. Khilovedu dictionary, THALUSAMANDWI YA KHILOVEDU was published in 2018 by Kgothatso Seshayi. The first KhiLovedu Novel, LEKHEKHESHA was published in 2018 by Eliya Monyela. The first KhiLovedu poetry book, ZWIRETO ZWA KHELOBEDU was published and launched in 2020 by KhiLovedu poet Makgwekgwe Waa-Mampeule. As of October 2021 a translation of the Christian Bible is being undertaken by VALODAGOMA SOCIETY (BaLobedu think tank) and PANSALB (Pan South African Languages Board).
The monarch associated with this language community is Queen Modjadji (also known as the Rain Queen). Lobedu is spoken by a majority of people in the Greater Tzaneen, Greater Letaba, and BaPhalaborwa municipalities, and a minority in Greater Giyani municipality, as well as in the Limpopo Province and Tembisa township in Gauteng. Its speakers are known as the Balobedu.
Sepulana (also sePulane) exists in unwritten form and forms part of the standard Northern Sotho. Sepulana is spoken in Bushbuckridge area by the MaPulana people.
Northern Sotho is also spoken by the Mohlala people.
Sepedi is written in the Latin alphabet. The letter š is used to represent the sound [ʃ] ("sh" is used in the trigraph "tsh" to represent an aspirated ts sound). The circumflex accent can be added to the letters e and o to distinguish their different sounds, but it is mostly used in language reference books. Some word prefixes, especially in verbs, are written separately from the stem.[7]
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
Close | i | u |
Close-mid | e | o |
Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ |
Open | a |
Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Velar | Glottal | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | prepalatal | alveolar | plain | lateral | |||||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
Plosive | ejective | pʼ | pʃʼ | psʼ | tʼ | tlʼ | kʼ | ||
aspirated | pʰ | pʃʰ | psʰ | tʰ | tlʰ | kʰ | |||
Affricate | ejective | tsʼ | tʃʼ | ||||||
aspirated | tsʰ | tʃʰ | kxʰ | ||||||
Fricative | voiceless | f | fʃ | fs | s | ɬ | ʃ | h~ɦ | |
voiced | β | βʒ | ʒ | ɣ | |||||
Rhotic | r | ɺ | |||||||
Approximant | w | l | j |
Within nasal consonant compounds, the first nasal consonant sound is recognized as syllabic. Words such as nthuše "help me", are pronounced as [n̩tʰuʃe]. /n/ can also be pronounced as /ŋ/ following a velar consonant.[8]
Urban varieties of Northern Sotho, such as Pretoria Sotho (actually a derivative of Tswana), have acquired clicks in an ongoing process of such sounds spreading from Nguni languages.[9]
Some examples of Sepedi words and phrases:
English | Sepedi |
---|---|
Welcome | Kamogelo (noun) / Amogela (verb) |
Good day | Dumela (singular) / Dumelang (plural) / Thobela and Re a lotšha (to elders) |
How are you? | O kae? (singular) Le kae? (plural, also used for elders) |
I am fine | Ke gona. |
I am fine too, thank you | Le nna ke gona, ke a leboga. |
Thank you | Ke a leboga (I thank you) / Re a leboga (we thank you) |
Good luck | Mahlatse |
Have a safe journey | O be le leeto le le bolokegilego |
Good bye! | Šala gabotse (singular)/ Šalang gabotse (plural, also used for elders)(keep well) / Sepela gabotse(singular)/Sepelang gabotse (plural, also used for elders)(go well) |
I am looking for a job | Ke nyaka mošomô |
No smoking | Ga go kgogwe (/folwe) |
No entrance | Ga go tsenwe |
Beware of the steps! | Hlokomela disetepese! |
Beware! | Hlokomela! |
Congratulations on your birthday | Mahlatse letšatšing la gago la matswalo |
Seasons greetings | Ditumedišo tša Sehla sa Maikhutšo |
Merry Christmas | Mahlogonolo a Keresemose |
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year | Mahlogonolo a Keresemose le ngwaga wo moswa wo monate |
Expression | Gontsha sa mafahleng |
yes | ee/eya |
no | aowa |
please | hle |
thank you | ke a leboga |
help | thušang/thušo |
danger | kotsi |
emergency | tšhoganetšo |
excuse me | ntshwarele |
I am sorry | Ke maswabi |
I love you | Ke a go rata |
Questions / sentences | Dipotšišo / mafoko |
Do you accept (money/credit cards/traveler's cheques)? | O amogela (singular) / Le
amogela ( tshelete/.../...)? |
How much is this? | Ke bokae e? |
I want ... | Ke nyaka... |
What are you doing? | O dira eng? |
What is the time? | Ke nako mang? |
Where are you going? | O ya kae? |
Numbers | Dinomoro |
1 | one -tee |
2 | two – pedi |
3 | three – tharo |
4 | four – nne |
5 | five – hlano |
6 | six – tshela |
7 | seven – šupa |
8 | eight – seswai |
9 | nine – senyane |
10 | ten – lesome |
11 | eleven – lesometee |
12 | twelve – lesomepedi |
13 | thirteen – lesometharo |
14 | fourteen – lesomenne |
15 | fifteen – lesomehlano |
20 | twenty – masomepedi |
21 | twenty one – masomepedi-tee |
22 | twenty two – masomepedi-pedi |
50 | fifty – masomehlano |
100 | hundred – lekgolo |
1000 | thousand – sekete |
Days of the week | Matšatši a beke |
Sunday | Lamorena |
Monday | Mošupologo |
Tuesday | Labobedi |
Wednesday | Laboraro |
Thursday | Labone |
Friday | Labohlano |
Saturday | Mokibelo |
Months of the year | Dikgwedi tša ngwaga |
January | Pherekgong |
February | Dibokwane |
March | Tlhakola |
April | Moranang |
May | Mopitlo |
June | Phupu |
July | Mosegemanye |
August | Phato |
September | Lewedi |
October | Diphalane |
November | Dibatsela |
December | Manthole |
Computers and Internet terms | Didirishwa tsa khomphutha le Inthanete |
computer | sebaledi / khomphutara |
imeile | |
e-mail address | aterese ya imeile |
Internet | Inthanete |
Internet café | khefi ya Inthanete |
website | weposaete |
website address | aterese ya weposaete |
Rain | Pula |
To understand | Go kwešiša |
Reed Pipes | Dinaka |
Drums | Meropa |
Horn | Lenaka |
Colours | Mebala |
Red/Orange | Hubedu |
Brown | Tsotho |
Green | Talamorogo |
Blue | Talalerata |
Black | Ntsho |
White | šweu |
Yellow | Serolwana |
Gold | Gauta |
Grey | Pududu |
Pale | Sehla or Tshehla |
Silver | Silifere |
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Note: The Guthrie classification is geographic and its groupings do not imply a relationship between the languages within them. |
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