Sotho language

Also known as: Sesotho language, Southern Sotho

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July 23, 2026

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Sesotho, also known as Southern Sotho, is a Bantu language spoken by the Basotho people in Lesotho, Botswana, and South Africa. It is one of the official languages of Lesotho, alongside English.1234

The Sotho language has a rich literary tradition, with early works focusing on oral traditions, historical events, and cultural customs. A significant figure in Southern Sotho literature is Thomas Mokopu Mofolo, whose novels blended oral tradition with psychological realism. Modern Sotho culture has been influenced by Christianity, urbanization, and industrialization, leading to changes in traditional patterns.53

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Benue-Congo languages
Bantoid
…of the population of Angola; Sotho, which has two dialects generally treated as separate languages, northern Sotho (3,800,000) and southern Sotho (4,000,000); and Kituba, a creole based mostly on Kongo, with some 4,000,000 first-language speakers and more than another 1,000,000 second-language speakers.
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…of the population of Angola; Sotho, which has two dialects generally treated as separate languages, northern Sotho (3,800,000) and southern Sotho (4,000,000); and Kituba, a creole based mostly on Kongo, with some 4,000,000 first-language speakers and more than another 1,000,000 second-language speakers.
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African literature
Southern Sotho
The first writer in the Southern Sotho language was Azariele M. Sekese, who gathered Sotho oral traditions and published them in Mekhoa ea Basotho le maele le litsomo (1893; “Customs and Stories of the Sotho”). He also wrote a popular animal story, Bukana…
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The first writer in the Southern Sotho language was Azariele M. Sekese, who gathered Sotho oral traditions and published them in Mekhoa ea Basotho le maele le litsomo (1893; “Customs and Stories of the Sotho”). He also wrote a popular animal story, Bukana…
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