Setswana
1
8.9
- noun
- I was pleasantly surprised by the creative approach that some of them employed to overcome the cultural gap: they gave, as a mnemonic device, new Setswana names for each of the two colors to keep them distinct in their minds.
Examples
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Most signs in Botswana are written in both English and Setswana.
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The source of this difficulty was, I learned, due to the local language: the same word is used for the colors blue and green in Setswana.
Academic text (2005) -
In Setswana, the national language of Botswana, Makgadikgadi means "vast, open, lifeless land."
Academic text (2006) -
Water is such a precious quantity that the Setswana word for rain, pula, is also used as the currency of the country and as an exhortation in political speeches.
Academic text (2005) -
Ordinary men and women, their methods require special herbs and other materials which generally necessitate seeking the help of a ngaka ya setswana with the required expertise.
Academic text (2000) -
She lived with a host family and learned to speak Setswana.
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The Setswana language has many proverbs that reflect the culture of the Tswana people.
Synonyms
1
8.4
A language spoken mainly in Botswana and western South Africa
A language called Setswana spoken by the Tswana people in Botswana and South Africa
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word Setswana comes from the Bantu prefix Se- meaning 'language of' and Tswana, the name of the people. So Setswana means 'the language of the Tswana', which is why it is the language spoken by the Tswana people and why Botswana means 'land of the Tswana'.