Stories

  1. How English loanwords are reshaping Setswana noun classesSetswana, like other Bantu languages of southern Africa, organises its vocabulary through a sophisticated system of noun classes. When English nouns cross into…
  2. Listening to the Voices of Setswana Elders Through Corpus LinguisticsSetswana, one of the dominant languages of Botswana and parts of South Africa, has been documented in dictionaries and grammars for over a century. Yet much of…
  3. Puisano and the living tradition of Setswana conversationPuisano, the Setswana word for conversation, carries layers of meaning that extend far beyond a simple exchange of words. Spoken widely across Botswana and…
  4. Translating Legal Texts: Ensuring Equivalence in SetswanaWhen a Setswana-speaking client signs a contract drafted in English in a Melbourne legal clinic, the words carry weight beyond grammar. The same holds for a…
  5. Crafting Definitions for a Monolingual Setswana DictionarySetswana, a Bantu language spoken across Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia, holds a rich lexical heritage that deserves careful documentation. Writing…
  6. The letter Š in Setswana orthography: a historical perspectiveSetswana, the language of the Tswana people of southern Africa, carries a written tradition that has shifted remarkably over the past two centuries. One small…
  7. Why Translators Need to Understand False FriendsTranslation is often described as the search for equivalent words, yet equivalence rarely means that two terms share exactly the same meaning. Words can…
  8. Setswana Time Vocabulary: Tracing Moso Through BosigoIn the Bantu languages of southern Africa, time unfolds through words that carry both practical markers and deeper cultural meaning. Setswana, spoken widely…
  9. The lexicographer's duty to cultural memoryEvery lasting dictionary carries the fingerprints of its community. The most enduring reference works — from Samuel Johnson's rented garret to the resources…
  10. Crafting a Multilingual Glossary for Botswana's SchoolsBotswana's education landscape reflects the linguistic diversity of a nation where Setswana functions as the national language, English operates as the…