WHITHER BOTSWANANS MARGINALISED LANGUAGES?
Only Setswana and English have official status in Botswana, whereas other languages are so marginalised some are either on the verge of extinction, if they have not died out already.
The marginalised language are not taught in schools and are confined to their speakers only, who have also become assimilated to Setswana language.
Languages that are marginalised in Botswana include iKalanga, Herero, Mbukushu, Seyei, Sesobeya, various Sesarwa dialects, Ndebele, Zezuru, Xhosa, Nambza and many others.
On this day, when people all over the world are expected to be proud of their mother tongue, enjoying speaking the rich languages they inherited from their ancestors, nothing of that sort will happen.
Instead, proceedings will be in either English or Setswana. There will be no official encouragement for people who speak other languages, especially those in danger of disappearing in the near future.
Expectations are that parents are the ones who should teach their children how to speak their languages, but time and again, this raises questions on what will happen to the languages if all the elders were to die.
While English is the official language and Setswana is the national language, there are over 20 other languages and dialects spoken in Botswana.
Although about 90 percent of citizens speak Setswana as their mother tongue and literacy, which is said to stand at 85 percent translates into spoken and written English, the government is not helping in the revival and preservation of other languages.
While English is the official language and Setswana is the national language, there are over 20 other languages and dialects spoken in Botswana.
Although about 90 percent of citizens speak Setswana as their mother tongue and literacy, which is said to stand at 85 percent translates into spoken and written English, the government is not helping in the revival and preservation of other languages.
According to Wikipedia, among the languages hardest hit by government’s indifference to their marginalisation, are languages referred to as Sesarwa by Tswana speakers.
These languages are Hua, Ani, Ju’hoa, Gani, Gciriku, !Xóõ, Shua, Tsoa and Naro. By 2004, some of these tribes numbered as little as 200.