The Tswana Alphabet

Q: What is the lateral affricate tlh in Setswana?

The tlh in Setswana represents the voiceless lateral affricate /tɬ/ — a sound produced by placing the tongue tip against the alveolar ridge (as for a t) and releasing air laterally (over the sides of the tongue) rather than centrally. The result is a unique consonant that English speakers find distinctive [3] . The lateral affricate appears prominently in tlhano (five) and many common Setswana words. The related Sesotho language spells the same phoneme as tl . The Zulu and Xhosa equivalent is hl (/ɬ/) — a lateral fricative without the t onset. The tlh of Setswana is the most distinctive phoneme in the Sotho-Tswana language group [3] .

Q: What is the difference between Tswana and Setswana?

Tswana and Setswana refer to the same language (ISO 639-3: tn). Tswana is the exonym (used internationally and in older literature); Setswana is the community's own name — Se- is the Bantu noun-class prefix meaning "language of". The people are Batswana (Ba- = "people of") and the country Botswana means "place of the Tswana people" [1] . South African official use recognises both "Tswana" (in the Constitution) and "Setswana" (the community form). In Botswana, Setswana is the standard form. International databases use "Tswana" but the community strongly prefers "Setswana" [2] .

Q: Is Tswana the national language of Botswana?

Yes — Setswana is the national language of Botswana . English is the official language of government and formal education, but Setswana is the language of everyday life, oral tradition, and national identity for the Batswana people. Since independence in 1966, Setswana has been used in all government communications alongside English [2] . In South Africa, Setswana is one of 11 official languages under the 1996 Constitution, predominantly used in North West Province and Northern Cape. The Electoral Commission of South Africa produces all voting materials in Setswana. Botswana Television and Radio Botswana broadcast extensively in Setswana [2] .

Q: What languages are related to Setswana?

Setswana belongs to the Sotho-Tswana subgroup of Southern Bantu. Its closest relatives are Sesotho (Southern Sotho, spoken in Lesotho and South Africa's Free State) and Sepedi (Northern Sotho, spoken in Limpopo Province). Together these three languages form the Sotho-Tswana branch, all sharing the lateral affricate (tlh/tl) and the Se- prefix [3] . More distantly, Setswana is related to all other Bantu languages — including Zulu, Xhosa, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Tshiluba, Swahili, and Tumbuka — through their common ancestor Proto-Bantu. Pan-Bantu roots like -tatu (three), -tano (five), and -kumi (ten) appear in Setswana as raro, tlhano, and lesome respectively [1] .

Q: What does Setswana mean?

Setswana means "language of the Tswana people". The prefix Se- is a Bantu noun-class marker (class 7/8 in Bantu linguistics) used for languages and abstract concepts. The same prefix appears in Sesotho (language of the Sotho), Sepedi (language of the Pedi), and Seswati (language of the Swati) [1] . The word Tswana itself refers to the people — full form Batswana (Ba- = "people of"). The country of Botswana (Bo-tswana = "place of the Tswana") takes its name from the same root. This prefix system — Se- for language, Ba- for people, Bo- for place — is characteristic of the Sotho-Tswana branch [3] .

Q: What is the ISO 639-3 code for Setswana?

The ISO 639-3 code for Setswana (Tswana) is tn . It shares this two-letter ISO 639-1 code with ISO 639-3, indicating its status as a widely-recognised national language. The code tn is used in South African electoral materials, Botswana government documents, and international language databases [2] . Setswana language research is conducted at Stellenbosch University, Rhodes University, the University of Botswana, and the University of South Africa (UNISA). Setswana has one of the longest traditions of written documentation among Bantu languages of southern Africa, with missionary grammars and dictionaries dating to the 19th century [1] .

Q: What writing system does Setswana use?

Setswana is written in the Latin alphabet . The orthography was first developed by missionaries in the 19th century — notably Robert Moffat of the London Missionary Society, who translated the Bible into Setswana (1857) and produced an early grammar and dictionary. The modern standardised orthography is maintained by language boards in Botswana and South Africa [1] . Setswana uses digraphs and trigraphs for distinctive sounds: tlh (/tɬ/), tsh , kg , ng , and labialized clusters sw and tsw. Tones are phonemic but are not marked in the standard written form. Setswana has one of the longest traditions of written use among Bantu languages in Southern Africa [3] .

Q: What is the noun class system in Setswana?

Like all Bantu languages, Setswana organises its nouns into noun classes marked by prefixes. Each class has a set of agreement prefixes that must appear on adjectives, verbs, and pronouns linked to that noun. The most visible noun-class prefixes in Setswana are Se- (class 7, for languages and abstract concepts), Ba- (class 2, for people), and Bo- (class 14, for place/abstract nouns) [3] . This class system explains the famous triad: Se tswana (the language), Ba tswana (the people), Bo tswana (the place). Other common classes include Le- (singular objects), Di- (plural objects), and Mo-/Me- (for people and trees). Agreement across noun classes gives Setswana its characteristic morphological richness [1] .

Tswana at a Glance

Setswana (Tswana) is the national language of Botswana and one of 11 official languages of South Africa (ISO 639-3: tn). It belongs to the Sotho-Tswana subgroup of Southern Bantu and is spoken by approximately 5–8 million people in Botswana, South Africa's North West Province and Northern Cape, Zimbabwe, and Namibia ^[1]
The community name Setswana uses the Se- prefix — a Bantu noun-class marker meaning "language of the Tswana people". The same prefix appears in Sesotho ("language of the Sotho") and Sepedi ("language of the Pedi"). The people are Batswana (Ba- = "people of") and the country Botswana takes its name from this people ^[1]
Setswana's most distinctive phoneme is the lateral affricate tlh (/tɬ/) — a stop that begins as a voiceless alveolar t and releases laterally rather than centrally. This sound is found in the numeral tlhano (five) and in many everyday words. The related Sesotho language has a similar phoneme written as tl ^[3]
The digraph kg represents a velar or uvular fricative/affricate sequence unique to Setswana and the Sotho-Tswana group. The digraph tsh represents an aspirated ts-affricate. Together, tlh, kg, and tsh define the distinctive consonantal character of Setswana orthography ^[3]
Setswana has been used in democratic processes in Botswana since independence in 1966 and in South Africa as an official language since 1994. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) produces all official electoral materials in Setswana, and it is used in Parliament, courts, education, and broadcasting across both countries ^[2]
Stellenbosch University, Rhodes University, and the University of Botswana maintain active Setswana language research programmes. The Setswana orthography has been standardised by language boards in both Botswana and South Africa, ensuring consistency in official use across borders ^[1]

Tswana Distinctive Consonants (tlh, tsh, kg):

tlh

[tɬ]

tsh

[tsʰ]

[kx]

Tswana Vowels:

[a]

[ɛ]

[i]

[ɔ]

[u]

Tswana Consonants:

[b]

[d]

[f]

[ɡ]

[h]

[dʒ]

[k]

[kʰ]

[l]

[m]

[mm]

[n]

[ⁿd]

[ᵑɡ]

[ᵑk]

[ⁿt]

nts

[ⁿts]

[p]

[pʰ]

[r]

[s]

[ʃ]

[sw]

[t]

[tʰ]

tsw

[tsw]

[w]

[j]

[b]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/ — B as in "bat"

[d]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/ — D as in "dog"; distinct from prenasalized nd

[f]

Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/ — F as in "fun"

[ɡ]

Voiced velar stop /ɡ/ — G as in "go"

[h]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/ — H as in "house"

[dʒ]

Voiced palato-alveolar affricate /dʒ/ — J as in "jam"

[k]

Voiceless velar stop /k/ — K as in "kite"; Tswana: lesome (ten) contains k sound

[kʰ]

Aspirated voiceless velar stop /kʰ/ — K with a strong puff of air; a digraph representing a single aspirated phoneme

[l]

Alveolar lateral approximant /l/ — L as in "lamp"; Tswana: lesome (ten) begins with l

[m]

Bilabial nasal /m/ — M as in "mother"; Tswana: mm is a prenasalized bilabial sequence

[mm]

Geminate or prenasalized bilabial nasal /mm/ — a characteristic Setswana consonant cluster

[n]

Alveolar nasal /n/ — N as in "night"; first element in prenasalized consonants

[ⁿd]

Prenasalized voiced alveolar stop /ⁿd/ — nasal onset fused with alveolar stop; a single phoneme

[ᵑɡ]

Prenasalized voiced velar stop /ᵑɡ/ — a single phoneme; also the velar nasal /ŋ/ in some contexts; Tswana: ngwe (one)

[ᵑk]

Prenasalized voiceless velar stop /ᵑk/ — nasal onset before the k stop; a Bantu characteristic

[ⁿt]

Prenasalized voiceless alveolar stop /ⁿt/ — a single phoneme fusing nasal onset with t stop

nts

[ⁿts]

Prenasalized alveolar affricate /ⁿts/ — nasal onset before the ts affricate; a complex but characteristic Setswana phoneme

[p]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/ — P as in "pin"

[pʰ]

Aspirated voiceless bilabial stop /pʰ/ — P with a strong puff of air

[r]

Alveolar trill or flap /r/ or /ɾ/ — R as in "red"

[s]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ — S as in "sun"; Tswana: seswai (eight) begins with this consonant

[ʃ]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/ — SH as in "shoe"; a digraph representing a single phoneme

[sw]

Labialized alveolar fricative /sw/ — s with simultaneous lip-rounding

[t]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/ — T as in "top"

[tʰ]

Aspirated voiceless alveolar stop /tʰ/ — T with a strong puff of air; not the English TH sound

tsw

[tsw]

Labialized alveolar affricate /tsw/ — the ts affricate with simultaneous lip-rounding; appears in the language name Se-tswana

[w]

Labio-velar approximant /w/ — W as in "water"

[j]

Palatal approximant /j/ — Y as in "yes"

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[1]

One in Tswana — ngwe

[2]

Two in Tswana — bedi

[3]

Three in Tswana — raro (cognate with Zulu -thathu, Swahili -tatu — the pan-Bantu three root)

[4]

Four in Tswana — ne

[5]

Five in Tswana — tlhano (features the distinctive lateral affricate tlh /tɬ/; cognate with Tsonga ntlhanu, Zulu hlanu)

[6]

Six in Tswana — thataro

[7]

Seven in Tswana — supa

[8]

Eight in Tswana — seswai

[9]

Nine in Tswana — robong

[10]

Ten in Tswana — lesome (the Tswana reflex of the pan-Bantu ten root *-kumi; cognate with Swahili kumi, Zulu ishumi, Tumbuka khumi)

[a]

[b]

[d]

[ɛ]

[f]

[ɡ]

[h]

[i]

[dʒ]

[k]

[kx]

[kʰ]

[l]

[m]

[mm]

[n]

[ⁿd]

[ᵑɡ]

[ᵑk]

[ⁿt]

Nts

[ⁿts]

[ɔ]

[p]

[pʰ]

[r]

[s]

[ʃ]

[sw]

[t]

[tʰ]

Tlh

[tɬ]

Tsh

[tsʰ]

Tsw

[tsw]

[u]

[w]

[j]

Expand All Collapse All

What is the lateral affricate tlh in Setswana?

What is the difference between Tswana and Setswana?

Is Tswana the national language of Botswana?

What languages are related to Setswana?

What does Setswana mean?

What is the ISO 639-3 code for Setswana?

What writing system does Setswana use?

What is the noun class system in Setswana?

References:

[1] Stellenbosch University (SU), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. "African Languages — Setswana Language Studies". Retrieved from Stellenbosch University — African Languages
[2] Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). "Setswana Electoral Materials — Official Language Information". Retrieved from Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)
[3] Rhodes University, Department of Linguistics and English Language. "Sotho-Tswana Language Group — Setswana Studies". Retrieved from Rhodes University — Linguistics Department