Setswana, spoken by approximately 8.2 million people, is a Bantu language predominantly found in Botswana and South Africa. It belongs to the Sotho-Tswana branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Setswana uses the Latin alphabet with 28 consonants and nine vowels and features three tones: high, mid, and low.
Setswana is an agglutinative language that forms words by adding prefixes and suffixes to roots. It has noun classes and various dialects, including Rolong, Hurutshe, and Kwena. In addition, it is a lingua franca in Botswana and parts of South Africa.
As an official language in Botswana and South Africa, Setswana plays an important cultural role, reflected in its rich oral tradition of proverbs, idioms, and folktales. Notable writers include Sol Plaatje and Bessie Head.
