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Category: Thutapuo

Losika (Family and Familial Titles)

Losika (Family and Familial Titles)

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Names and Titles of Family Members and Relatives in Setswana Let’s start with the curious fact is that although there are some direct mappings between English and Setswana titles, there are those that do not have equivalents in the other language. The word cousin, for instance is one interesting concept, which has a lengthy Wikipedia page to itself, explaining (among others) how technically, you are in fact your own uncle’s and grandmother’s cousin, does not have a direct equivalent in Setswana. On…

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TŠHEMA TŠHEMA

TŠHEMA TŠHEMA

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The recently launched Botswana government initiative, aimed at the economic empowerment of the informal sector is rapidly gaining both momentum and public approval. It is one from a barrage (or “mokgokolosa”, as President MEK Masisi prefers) of programmes aimed at improving the lives of Batswana. One thing that really bothers me about it though is the spelling: Chema Chema! For a long time, efforts have been made to emphasise that the Setswana alphabet does not include the letter ‘C’, and…

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Mebala – Colours and Patterns in Setswana

Mebala – Colours and Patterns in Setswana

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The Setswana word for colours is mebala. However, mebala does not directly translate to colours, as it also means colour patterns. In particular, when talking about animal hides. Mebala is the plural for mmala (contracted from mobala – see discussion under Class 1 and Class 3 of Noun Classes). Most names of colours and colour patterns are gender-specific in Setswana. The masculine form is the default version, and is also used to refer to genderless objects, such as soil, trees,…

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150 Animal names in Setswana (part 2)

150 Animal names in Setswana (part 2)

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Today we continue with our quest to have a translation of at least 150 animal names into Setswana. This post continues from last month, where we listed 35 carnivores and 42 prey mammals (totalling 77 animals). As said in the last post, pluralisation in Setswana is usually quite straightforward, as it follows a very principle (as discussed in Ditlhopha tsa Maina [Noun Classes]). However, the use of animal names in folk tales and other familial settings has resulted in a…

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150 Animal Names in Setswana (part 1)

150 Animal Names in Setswana (part 1)

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The focus of today’s post is Setswana names of animals, birds, fish, and arthropods, listed together with their English equivalents. Pluralisation in Setswana is usually quite straightforward, as it follows a very principle (as discussed in Ditlhopha tsa Maina [Noun Classes]). However, the use of animal names in folk tales and other familial settings has resulted in a lot of personification associated with some animals, and this has caused some of these animal names to take a somewhat unorthodox pluralisation….

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Dinako [Time Concepts in Setswana]

Dinako [Time Concepts in Setswana]

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Setswana terminologies and concepts related to time, including traditional markers of times of the day (prior to the use of the 24-hour clock), times on the clock, days of the week, months, seasons, relative times, and other related concepts. A good starting point would be to explain that although we use the Gregorian Calendar and the 24-hour clock to define time now, traditionally Batswana used a lunar calendar, which started at the beginning of the planting season, and their years…

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Dipalo [Numbers and Counting]

Dipalo [Numbers and Counting]

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Numbers and Counting in Setswana [ENG] The Setswana word for numbers is the same word for mathematics. This makes a lot of sense, given that there are basically only thirteen different number words, and in order to get other numbers, you simply just “do the maths”. For instance, 273 is pronounced as 2*100 + 7*10 + 3 (makgolo a mabedi le masome a masupa le boraro). One may observe however, that there are in fact fourteen different listed below, contrary to…

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Ditlhopha tsa Maina (Noun Classes)

Ditlhopha tsa Maina (Noun Classes)

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Noun classes are very important elements of Setswana grammar, and play a pivotal role in determining the correct syntax of a sentence. The spellings of verbs, adjectives, possessives, demonstratives, agreement markers, relative markers, and other grammar constructs are determined by the class to which the subject noun belongs. In fact, this is a characteristic that is common among Bantu languages in general, and creates for a scientific approach to learning them, which is particularly useful for first. To put the cherry…

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