Stories

  1. Tracing the roots of timamollo, the Setswana word for fire extinguisherSetswana, like other Bantu languages, builds much of its working vocabulary through compounding, and timamollo is a textbook example of that habit. The word is…
  2. What a Frequency List Tells Us About Spoken SetswanaA frequency list ranks the words that occur most often in a collection of language data. For spoken Setswana, it can reveal the vocabulary people rely on in…
  3. Translating children’s stories into Setswana: a case studyTranslating a children’s book into Setswana is far more than replacing English words with their dictionary equivalents. A successful edition must carry across…
  4. How Social Media Is Changing Setswana VocabularySetswana has always adapted to new circumstances. Speakers have borrowed, reshaped and extended words as trade, education, religion, migration and technology…
  5. Setswana Colour Words Reveal A Richer Language LandscapeColour vocabulary can look deceptively simple. A learner may begin with words for white, black, red, green and yellow, then assume that every shade has a…
  6. The Lexicographer’s Guide to Handling SynonymsSynonyms look simple until a dictionary maker has to decide whether two words can genuinely replace each other. In everyday speech, people often call words…
  7. Etymological Links Between Setswana and Other Bantu LanguagesWords carry traces of migration, trade, family relationships and cultural change. For Setswana, those traces often become visible when its vocabulary is…
  8. Translating Medical Instructions into Setswana: Accuracy and ClarityMedical instructions are safety documents as much as they are pieces of language. A patient must understand what to take, when to take it, how much to use,…
  9. How Setswana Makes Meaning Smaller Than a HouseWords for buildings often look straightforward until size, purpose, social status and context begin to matter. In Setswana, ntlo and ntlwana are related words,…
  10. A History of the Setswana Dictionary Project at the University of BotswanaThe history of the Setswana dictionary project at the University of Botswana reflects a wider change in African language scholarship. Setswana was once…