Sesotho

Sesotho, also known as Southern Sotho, is a Bantu language in the Sotho-Totho subgroup of the Niger-Congo language family. It is the language of the Basotho people and is spoken mainly in Lesotho, where it is the national language, and in parts of South Africa, particularly the Free State and surrounding areas. Sesotho is closely related to other Sotho languages but forms its own standard variety used in education, media, and public life.

Linguistically, Sesotho features the noun class system characteristic of Bantu languages and uses a rich system of verbal affixes to mark subject, object, tense, and mood. The language is tonal, and its phonology includes consonant clusters common to many Southern African languages. The standard written form uses the Latin alphabet with a prescribed orthography taught in schools and used in official publications and literature.

Geographic distribution and status: Sesotho is an official language of Lesotho and is one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, where it is taught in some schools and used in government and media in certain regions. Estimates of total speakers run in the several millions, reflecting its prominence in both Lesotho and parts of South Africa.

History and literature: Sesotho developed from earlier Sotho varieties spoken in the highlands. Standardization progressed through church and educational missions in the 19th and 20th centuries, supported by Bible translation and later by print media, schools, and publishing. Contemporary Sesotho includes a growing body of literature, journalism, and digital content.

Dialects and variation: There are regional and social varieties within Sesotho, with a standardized form widely used in education, broadcasting, and formal communication. Mutual intelligibility exists with related Sotho languages, alongside distinct lexical and phonological differences.