Botswana, a landlocked country in southern Africa, boasts a rich cultural heritage reflected in its diverse linguistic landscape. Bordered by Namibia to the north and Zimbabwe to the east, Botswana is home to a population of approximately 1.5 million people.
The official languages of Botswana are English and Tswana. English, inherited from colonial rule, serves as the language of official business and most written communication. Setswana is considered a national language.
Most of the population speak Setswana, but over 20 smaller languages are also spoken. The number of individual languages listed for Botswana is 31. All are living languages. Of these, 26 are indigenous and 5 are non-indigenous.
Over 90% of the population speak a Bantu language as their first language. According to the CIA's World Factbook, the most common Bantu languages spoken are Setswana (73.3% of the population), Kalanga (17.2%), Kgalagadi (2.4%), Shona (1%) Mbukushu (1.6%) and Ndebele (1%).
Setswana, the language of the Tswana people, is the country's national language and is spoken by most of the population. In Setswana, prefixes are more important than they are in many other languages, since Setswana is a Bantu language and has noun classes denoted by these prefixes. For example, the main ethnic group of Botswana is the Tswana people, hence the name Botswana for its country.
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While English is the official language and Setswana the national language, there are over 20 other languages spoken in Botswana, which are mostly used by the non-Setswana-speaking groups. Sekalanga, spoken by the Bakalanga, is the most commonly used of these languages.
Almost 90 percent of citizens speak Setswana as their mother tongue and, although English is spoken throughout the urban areas and within all tourist facilities, you may have to try a little harder to be understood in the rural areas.
Some of the country's languages are in danger of becoming extinct.
Useful Setswana Phrases
Below are some words and phrases to help.
- Pula - Its Raining Money
- Help!
- How are you? - O tsogile jang, Le kae or Wareng?
- What is the price?
- What is your name?
- Where do you come from?
- Can you show me the quickest way out of Maun?
The word 'pula', which appears on the national coat of arms, is a significant one for the people of Botswana, as it embraces many meanings. Hence 'pula' is also the name given to the local currency, with one Pula consisting of 100 thebe.
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Like everywhere in the world, the Batswana have their traditional food which they love eating to this day. But, as different regions have access to different foods, it is misleading to say that Botswana has a unform cuisine. “Bogobe” is comparable to a thick porridge made from either millet sorghum or maize and is often accompanied by a tomato-based relish. This is then complemented by “nama” which is SeTswana for meat and can refer to either beef, goat, lamb or game. Although this is a tasty meal, rest assured you will be greeted with international cuisine at the lodges and camps. European wines can be pricey when purchasing them in Botswana, but that is to be expected. When it comes to beer, you can choose from European-style lagers. The local St. Now that we have covered both wine and beer, you might also want to know about the drinking water situation in Botswana. On safari, most accommodations use bore-hole water and this is usually safe to drink. In fact, it can be of excellent quality.
Botswana has had very strong economic growth since the mid-1970's and benefit from its most valuable natural resource: diamonds. National elections occur at least once every five years. Botswana has a number of tribes across the country, collectively known as Batswana. councils of it’s tribal culture and numerous regional and international economic organizations.
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