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The Language Situation in Botswana
Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo
Faculty of Education, University of Botswana, Private Bag 0022, Gaborone,
Botswana
This monograph provides an overview of the language situation in Botswana.1 It

describes the language profile of the country, including the number of languages and
dialects spoken, the number of speakers of each language and the various roles each
language plays in society. The paper provides a historical development of language-
in-education policies. The objectives of learning, methods of assessment and language
use in the media also are examined. The third part of the monograph describes
language planning and implementation efforts and the agencies involved in the plan-
ning process and the development of legislation. There is tension between policy
formulation and implementation, and an imbalance in social justice. Majority commu-
nities are treated as minority communities based on the language(s) they speak. While
pressure from the civil society has led government to make progressive policy deci-
sions, there is no intrinsic motivation for their implementation. Non-governmental
organisations are encouraged by these positive policy decisions but their efforts are
frustrated by covertly negative attitudes to change from the leadership. There is a need
for commitment from the leadership to support the preservation of all languages
spoken in Botswana. Currently an assimilationist model permeates the social,
economic, political and cultural aspects of life in Botswana.
Introduction
The monograph has elements of a descriptive study and a case study, in that it
describes the language situation in Botswana. Specifically, it describes the
language profile of Botswana, the spread of Setswana, language planning and
policy activities and both formal and informal efforts to promote and preserve
the languages of the country. Data utilised for this work were collected from
January 1989 to September 1990. This data collection process covered language
planning activities since independence, mainly in the period between 1977 to
1990, when government was in the process of implementing the recommenda-
tions of the first National Commission on Education (NCE 1). The Commission
had reviewed the education system from independence until 1976. It completed
its work in 1977 and its recommendations, contained in the Government White
Paper No.1 of 1977: National Policy on Education, were endorsed by Parliament in
August of the same year (Republic of Botswana, 1977). Data for this monograph
were further updated between June 1996 and May 1998. This was after the
completion of the work of the Second National Commission on Education (NCE
2). This Commission reviewed the education system between 1978 and 1991. The
subsequent endorsement of its recommendations, contained in the Government
White Paper No.2 of 1994: The Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE), came
out in 1994 (Republic of Botswana, 1994). These two documents provide
language policy directions as part of the overall education policy. The study also
has utilised data that were collected for the Directory of Language Bodies in Eastern
1466-4208/00/02 0243-58 $16.00/0 ©2000 L. Nyati-Ramahobo

CURRENT ISSUES IN LANGUAGE PLANNING Vol.1, No.2, 2000
243
244 Current Issues in Language Planning
and Southern Africa coordinated by Kamanakao Association on behalf of the

International Development Research Center, Nairobi office, from January to
September 1999. The study therefore presents the language situation in
Botswana as it was up to October 1999.
Formal interviews with policy makers and practitioners in the schools
provided the data for the formulation and implementation of the language poli-
cies in education and society. Observations from social domains, social services,
the media and the Government Printer’s Department provided data for the
implementation of the language policy in society and the use of Setswana and
English by the government. An analysis of policy documents and literature in the
areas of language planning, bilingual education, literacy, religion, the media and
historical accounts has provided baseline data on language policy formulation
and implementation by both government and non-governmental organisations.
The editors of Current Issues in Language Planning have provided a format for the
presentation of this data to facilitate comparability with other polities.
Background
Botswana is situated in the centre of Southern Africa. It shares borders with
Zimbabwe, to the east, Namibia to the west and part of the north, South Africa to
the south and Zambia to the north (Map 1). It is landlocked and most of its goods
come through South African seaports. It straddles the Tropic of Capricorn in the
Southern African plateau (Republic of Botswana, 1997: 8:3). Botswana is about
1000 m above sea level and the land area is 582,000 km2 (222,000 sq. miles), about
the size of Kenya or France.
Most of Botswana is flat with a few rocky outcrops and undulations (Republic of
Botswana, 1997: 8:3). In the north-west district is the Okavango Delta, an area of
wetlands measuring 16,000 km2 (6106 sq. miles) (Tlou, 1985), with a variety of wild-
life and birds. To the west is the Kalahari desert also blessed with wildlife. In the
central part of the country are the Makgadikgadi saltpans. All of these areas attract
tourists. The climate is often described as arid or semi-arid as the country is situated
close to the high-pressure belt of the southern hemisphere. The minimum rainfall
ranges between 250 mm in the south-west and 650 mm in the north-east. Most
rains come between December and March. There are mainly two seasons: winter
(May to July) and summer (August to April). Minimum temperatures range
between 33 degrees Celsius in January and 22 degrees in July (96–74º F). Maximum
temperatures range between 43 degrees and 32 degrees Celsius (116–74º F).
Botswana’s economy is largely supported by the mining industry. At inde-
pendence, Botswana was considered one of the poorest countries of the world.
However, in 1967, diamonds were discovered at Orapa, one of the largest known
kimberlites in the world, and later at Letlhakane and Jwaneng. Copper and
nickel were also discovered at Selibe-Phikwe. Currently Botswana has three
diamond mines, two copper and nickel smelters, a coal mine, soda ash and a salt
extraction plant. Mining has transformed the economy to one of the fastest grow-
ing in Africa. Available data indicates that in 1994/95 mineral resources contrib-
uted 34% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 74. 9% of the country’s export
earnings. It also contributed over 50% of government revenues (Republic of
Botswana, 1997). The beef industry has contributed to the economy as well. For
The Language Situation in Botswana 245
Map 1 Botswana’s location in Southern Africa and other features (Wayeyi areas,
mining towns)
instance, in 1994/95, it contributed 3.7% of the GDP, a decline from the record
40% before the mining era. Most of the beef is sold to the European Union. The
population of Botswana remains rural and a large part of it depends on agricul-
ture for its living, mainly subsistence farming, crop production and cattle rear-
ing. Agriculture also contributes about two per cent of formal employment.
Other sources of revenue are manufacturing, tourism, transport and construc-
tion. There are efforts to diversify the economy to reduce dependency on
diamonds. These efforts include encouraging foreign investments in areas such
as manufacturing and tourism.
Before the advent of the British to Botswana, the system of governance was
through chieftainship. Each tribe had a chief with absolute powers (Somolekae &
Lekorwe, 1998). Some tribes, which lived in smaller groups, would have a leader
for each group with absolute powers, whom they would refer to as chief or elder.
Chieftainship is hereditary from the male line in most Setswana speaking tribes.
The chief’s eldest son would inherit the position. In matrilineal tribes, such as the
Wayeyi, chieftainship was hereditary from the female line. In other words, the
chieftainship would pass to the chief’s sister’s eldest son. Chiefs command a lot
of respect amongst their people and other tribes. A chief had responsibilities for
his people as well. He had to protect his people from war, hunger and other natu-
ral disasters. He was to perform ceremonies to launch the hunting and the
ploughing seasons. He was a medicine man who would perform certain reli-
gious practices for his people to protect them from disease and mishap. He
would also marry people, distribute land, and mediate disputes (Mgadla &
Campbell, 1989; Mgadla, 1998). Naturally, a chief would have assistants in the
form of sub-chiefs. In most cases, these would be close relatives. He would also
have his mophato (a team of his age peers). The chief had to be generous, sensitive
to the rule of law and had to live up to the expectations of his people. The expres-
sion kgosi ke kgosi ka batho (a chief is only a chief because of his people) was the
fundamental principle. Without the support of his people, he was nothing, and
so it was critical for him not to abuse his powers.
In January 1885, the British enforced an Order in Council that declared their
intention to occupy southern Botswana. In 1890, this order was extended to the
northern part of the country, and actual colonial rule began. The motive behind
the order was to keep the Germans from occupying the area as had already
occurred in South-West Africa in 1884 (Ramsay, 1998). Through this order, Brit-
ain informed Botswana chiefs that the British were coming to protect them from
the Germans. This meant that the protectorate was actually imposed on the
chiefs; it was not requested as has been stated in some historical accounts
(Ramsay, 1998). Three of the chiefs were summoned to England for consultations
on the acceptance of the protectorate. These were Kgosi (Chief) Khama III of the
Bamangwato tribe in the Central District, Chief Gaseitsiwe I of the Bangwaketse
tribe in the south-western part of the country and Chief Sechele I of the Bakwena
tribe. While Khama III embraced the idea, the others accepted it with some
degree of reluctance (Ramsay, 1998). During the period between 1885 and 1965
the country was known as the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The British divided it
into nine reserves each led by its chief. While traditionally the chiefs had had
complete legislative, executive and judicial powers, the Order in Council of 1890
transferred those powers to the British High Commissioner. The chiefs were no
longer recognised as the ‘sovereigns of the soil’. Land concessions were awarded
to the British South African Company, which came in and forced out other
companies. Queen Victoria was regarded as the ‘sovereign of the soil’.
Another Order in Council of 1891 gave more legislative powers to the High
Commissioner to enact laws for the administration of justice. However, he was
cautioned to be sensitive to native laws as long as they were not in conflict with
the interests of the British. In 1895, the three chiefs previously mentioned sent a
petition to London, resisting the erosion of their powers on their own lands, but
this was ignored. By this time, their role had been reduced to the collection of a
hut tax to raise funds for the running of the colony. In 1934 the most direct piece
of legislation, the Native Administration Proclamation, was introduced; it
reduced the powers of chiefs and changed Tswana custom and law. It required
the chief’s successor to be appointed by the whole tribe and to be recognised by
the High Commissioner (Somolekae & Lekorwe, 1998). This eroded the heredi-
tary aspect of chieftainship and subjected the appointment of the chief to the
THE
CONSTITUTION
The Legislature The Executive The Judiciary
H.E.
The President Court of
National H.E. The Appeal
Assembly President
Cabinet High Court
House of
Chiefs VP Magistrates
Courts
Permanent Secretary
to the President
Clerk of National Office of the Attorney General’s Administrator of

Assembly President Chamber Justice
Ministries
Figure 1 Top central government in Botswana
approval of the High Commissioner. It enabled the British to select chiefs who
were sympathetic to their interests and not necessarily to those of their people.
Consequently, the High Commissioner could hire and fire chiefs. The Native
Tribunal Proclamation No. 75 of 1934 further eroded the legislative and judicial
powers of chiefs. Chiefs’ responsibility to hear cases of rape, murder and homi-
cide was removed. These powers were maintained after independence and the
essence of all these pieces of legislation are still alive within the current regula-
tions. Chiefs and sub-chiefs are employees of the Ministry of Local Government
which has the power to dismiss them.
The constitution of Botswana provides every citizen with fundamental rights
and freedoms. It is based on the four national principles of democracy, unity,
development, and self-reliance. Elections are held every five years. It provides
for the legislative, executive and judicial structure (Figure 1). The legislative
Map 2 Botswana tribal distribution by district (Source: Nyati-Ramahobo, 1999a: 83)
structure consists of the national assembly, composed of 40 members of Parlia-

ment, one from each constituency. In addition to elected members of Parliament,
four are especially elected by Parliament to provide for special skills and exper-
tise critical to the proceedings of Parliament. This was the situation in Parliament
after the October 1999 elections. The number of women increased from two to
eight, four of whom are ministers, two are assistant ministers and two were espe-
cially elected.
The legislative branch also contains the House of Chiefs. Currently there are
15 members of the House. Eight of them are Paramount Chiefs of the eight
Setswana speaking tribes (see Table 1 in Note 1), meaning that they are chiefs by
birth. Four are elected sub-chiefs from areas where languages other than
Setswana are spoken that do not fall under any of the eight Paramount Chiefs;
these include the North-east, Kgalagadi, Gantsi and Chobe districts (Map 2).
Those tribes in the North-west, including the Hambukushu, Herero, Subia,
Wayeyi, Baciriku (Baqcereku), and Basarwa are represented and ruled by the
Batawana and are regarded as such (Map 2). The House elects three additional
members by special election. Tribes, whose members do not speak Setswana as
mother tongue, are not allowed to be represented by their Paramount Chiefs.
They have to be represented by someone who speaks Setswana as a first
language. This is an attempt to assimilate everyone into the Setswana language
and culture.
The House of Chiefs is highly symbolic, as its role is to express the total culture
of the country and to influence policy from a cultural point of view. The current
composition of the House has been challenged since independence as it denies
other ethnic groups the opportunity to contribute to the decision-making
process. Furthermore, it violates the democratic principle of representation. The
continued imposition of chiefs and sub-chiefs from one tribe on another has been
a matter of contention since independence. In some areas of the country, even for
some of the eight so-called major tribes, tribe members are ruled by others. This
has provoked some resistance; for example, the Bakgatla living in the Bakwena
area are resisting the Bakwena rule and the Barolong in the Bangwaketsi area are
also resisting Bangwaketsi rule. Many observers have called for an increase in the
numbers in the House of Chiefs to make it more inclusive (Molutsi, 1998a).
The issue of chieftainship has also been highly politicised. Since most people
in the country still hold their chiefs in respect, they tend to vote for the party to
which their chief is sympathetic. As chiefs are government employees, they natu-
rally pay allegiance to the government. This is one of the factors that has led
Botswana to be described as a one party state (Molutsi, 1994). Under these
circumstances, there is little prospect for other parties to gain widespread
support. As long as people respect their chiefs as the custodians of their cultures,
and as long as the ruling party ensures the loyalty of all civil servants, the status
quo is likely to remain (Molutsi, 1998b). Chiefs who have not showed sympathy
for the ruling party have been intimidated. For instance, the paramount chief of
the Bangwaketsi, Chief Seepapitso IV, has been a supporter of the opposition
Botswana National Front (BNF), and that area supports the BNF. Having
supported the opposition for a long time, the Minister for Local Government
suspended him in 1994 (Somolekae & Lekorwe, 1998). It was only after a court
battle that he was returned to a position of power.
As chieftainship is related to ethnicity and language, it is against the above
background that government continues to promote an assimilationist policy. If
everyone were Tswana speaking, then everybody would be loyal to the ruling
party, as long as it is led by a Mongwato (Table 1, see Note 1). After the death of
Seretse Khama, the first president of Botswana, who was the chief of the
Bamangwato tribe, President Masire who is a Mongwaketsi had to appease the
Bamangwato by appointing Seretse’s cousin, Lenyeletsi Seretse to the Vice-Presi-
dency. Equally, in 1999 President Mogae had to appease the Bamangwato by
appointing Seretse Khama’s son, Ian Khama to the Vice-Presidency. Ian Khama
was also expected to use his chieftainship to the Bamangwato throne and his
father’s charisma to win the elections for the ruling party, which had lost face in
the 1994 general elections. Issues of ethnicity, language and chieftainship will
continue to dominate the political debate in the country. The modernist
assimilationist model enshrined within Sections 77 to 79 of the constitution, the
Chieftainship Act and the Tribal Land Territories Act fosters their continued
prominence.
The legislative wing of government is therefore made up of the National
Assembly and the House of Chiefs (Figure 1). There is also the Speaker of the
National Assembly who is elected by the assembly. The Attorney General is also
selected from the National Assembly to advise Parliament on legal matters.
The second wing of the Government is the Executive. It is made up of the Pres-
ident and his cabinet ministers and the Permanent Secretary to the President who
is in charge of the civil service. Finally, there is the Judiciary, which includes the
Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Magistrate Courts and the Administrator of
Justice (Figure 1).
Part I: The Language Profile of Botswana
Theoretical Framework
Skutnabb-Kangas & Phillipson (1989) describe language rights as existing on a
continuum from assimilation to maintenance. On this continuum, there are laws
and regulations, which may prohibit, tolerate, prescribe non-discrimination,
permit or promote the use of minority languages, either overtly or covertly. They
give the United States as an example of a covert assimilation-prohibition situa-
tion based on Senator Huddleston’s draft English language amendment which
reads ‘The English language shall be the official language of the United States’
(Skutnabb-Kangas, 1990: 27). This proposed legislation was meant to assimilate
all other groups to English and prohibit them from using their own languages.
Other languages are not mentioned and that means that they are indirectly or
covertly prohibited.2
An assimilation-tolerance model exists when the law prescribes one language
but provides room for other languages without any commitment to them. An
example of this model is Zimbabwe where minority languages such as Karanga
are used on the radio without any commitment to their development for use in
other social domains. An example of a maintenance-permission continuum on
the other hand, is South Africa. The Freedom Charter of 1955, also upheld in the
current legislation, stated that ‘All people shall have equal rights to use their own
languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs’. The intention is
to maintain as many languages as possible, hence permitting their development.
In the discussion in Part III of this monograph, I note that the constitution of
Botswana is silent on language policy. However, Sections 61(d) and 79(c) of the
constitution state that the ability to speak and read English are requirements for
one to be a member of the House of Chiefs or the National Assembly. This indicates
that English is the only language that is permitted for use in Parliament and the
House of Chiefs. The constitution therefore covertly prohibits the use of other
languages. In 1998, Setswana was permitted to be used in Parliament; this was a
move from prohibition to tolerance for Setswana on the assimilation continuum.

However, the use of other languages is still prohibited. The Botswana case, there-
fore, can best be described as assimilation prohibition, in which speakers of other
languages are prohibited from using their languages while having to assimilate to
Setswana and English. Practice over the past 33 years further indicates that only
Setswana and English are permitted for use in social domains including education.
Le Roux (1997) has described three types of assimilation. The first he calls
assimilation, a one-way process in which minority groups give up their
languages, cultures and traditions and assume those of the dominant group. He
calls this model the ‘ice-cream plus salt theory’. The second is, amalgamation, also
called the melting pot, another type of assimilation in which minority and major-
ity cultures mix to form a new and unique culture, with characteristics distinct
from the original cultures. Finally, he describes structural assimilation or the
‘blender’ approach in which there is total rejection of any kind of grouping on the
basis of religion, language, ethnicity and so on. This is also called the ‘open
community’ ideology. Under this approach, groups have no rights and individ-
ual rights are regarded as the core of social order. Proponents of this approach
believe that group rights restrict individual rights to some extent, and they
regard assimilation and amalgamation as anti-pluralistic. As this monograph
demonstrates, the Botswana government has adopted the assimilation approach
in which speakers of languages other than Setswana must assimilate into the
culture of Setswana speaking groups.
Ruiz (1984) proposed three orientations towards language planning. These
are: language as a problem, a resource or a right. He believes that ‘basic orienta-
tions toward language and its role in society influence the nature of language
planning efforts in any particular context’ (Ruiz, 1984: 15). He defines orienta-
tions as a ‘complex of dispositions toward language and its role – which are
related to language attitudes in that they constitute the framework in which atti-
tudes are formed’ (Ruiz, 1984: 16). Orientations are largely at the subconscious
level but could be inferred from existing policies and practices. As Table 2 indi-
cates, how language planners view language determines the strategies they
employ to address language problems.
… When language planners view language diversity as a problem, they adopt

the assimilation model. In status planning their goal would be to eradicate
minority languages and corpus planning activities would be characterised
by the development of the national language only and neglect of minority
languages. Under the influence of this orientation, acquisition planning
activities would involve teaching and developing materials in the national
language only.
… When planners or policy makers view language as a right, their status plan-
ning activities would include the recognition of minority languages and
give overt permission to speakers of those languages to use them. In corpus
planning, efforts would be made to develop and standardise minority
languages to facilitate acquisition planning. Children speaking minority
languages would be allowed to learn in their mother tongue.
… When linguistic diversity is viewed as a resource, policy statements in
status planning would be geared towards the development, preservation
Table 2 Language planning types, orientations and goals (Nyati-Ramahobo,
1998b: 55)
Orientations
Problem Right Resource
Goals: Assimilation Linguistic Linguistic
affirmation pluralism
Types
Status planning Minority Recognise minority Preserve and
(Language eradication develop as many
functions) languages as
possible
Corpus planning Standardisation of Graphisation and Extension of
(Language the national standardisation of minority languages
structure) language only and minority languages lexically and
neglect of minority sociolinguistically
language
Acquisition Curriculum Curriculum Human resource
planning development and development and development,
(Language teaching of the teaching and material
learning) national language learning in production, literacy
only; learning in minority languages skills
minority languages
and use of as many languages as possible. More languages would be

given functions within the life of the nation, such as for use in churches,
voting, the media and many other social domains, as is the case in South
Africa. Corpus planners would then develop written forms of as many
languages as possible. Acquisition planning process would produce
teaching materials to facilitate learning of these various languages.
Table 2 indicates the relationship between language planning orientations, goals
and types of planning.
Nyati-Ramahobo (1999a) maintains that language planning in Botswana has
been influenced by the orientation of language diversity being viewed as problem,
in which minority languages, cultures and identities must be eradicated. All chil-
dren must learn Setswana and use it as medium of instruction. They must assimi-
late to the Setswana language and culture. Democracy demands that group rights
be granted and, consequently, groups such the youth, women and the disabled are
supported. Similarly minority group rights have to be tolerated and groups should
be allowed to form registered organisations along ethnic and linguistic lines. Such
rights would create tensions between an assimilationist model and democracy.
One of the reasons why ethnic identities have not disappeared is that within a
democracy people can no longer be imprisoned for developing and using their
languages. This issue is discussed further in the role of non-governmental organi-
sations in language maintenance in Part Four of this monograph.
Major and minor languages

English is the official language of Botswana. It permeates the social, economic
and cultural lives of all educated Batswana and the government prefers the use of
English to any other language in the country. Setswana is the main language of
Botswana. Some scholars estimate that it is spoken by about 80% of the popula-
tion as a first language (Obondo-Okoyo & Sabone, 1986, also refer to Map 1).
Others maintain that, taken individually, most Tswana speaking tribes are
minorities in Botswana, while collectively they may or may not form a majority
over non-Tswana tribes taken together (Mpho, 1987). For instance, Parsons
(1985: 27) maintains that the concept of
Tswanadom that is both philosophical and territorial has led many observ-
ers to assume that Botswana is a mono-ethnic state . . . [but] only in so far as
the Tswana minority has successfully imposed its culture on the majority
population of the extreme diverse origins…[and even then] ethnic identi-
ties have not disappeared.
However, because of this imposition, speakers of the eight dialects, which make
up the Setswana language, are regarded as the majority tribes in the country. The
Chieftainship Act, Cap.41: 01 (Republic of Botswana, 1965) states that ‘tribe
means, the Bamangwato Tribe, the Batawana Tribe, the Bakgatla Tribe, the
Bakwena Tribe, the Bangwaketse Tribe, the Bamalete Tribe, the Barolong Tribe
and the Batlokwa Tribe’ (41:3) (refer to Table 1, Category one). The Tribal Terri-
tories Act (Cap.32: 03 (Republic of Botswana, 1965) also defines tribal territory
with respect to these tribes meaning that only those tribes are sovereigns of the
land. Most of these tribes originated from South Africa during the Difaqane wars
in the 1820s and 1830s (Tlou & Campbell, 1984: 101; Ncqocqo, 1979; Ramsay et al.,
1996: 61). The Bakwena, Bangwato and Bangwaketsi are the descendants of
Malope (Tlou, 1998), which in the 1800s became separate tribes by the Difaqane
wars. Currently, the Bangwaketsi live in the south-western part of Botswana
while the Bangwato (or the Bamangwato) live in the central and the Bakwena in
the southern part (Map 2). About 10% of the population now speak Setswana as a
second language (Obondo-Okoyo & Sabone, 1986).
Other tribes speak languages that are regarded as sub-dialects of Setswana.
However, the speakers regard themselves as autonomous tribes. These are the
Babirwa, Batswapong, Bahurutshe, Bakhurutshe and Bapedi. Most of these
tribes also originated from South Africa and live on the eastern border of
Botswana with South Africa. By 1800, the Bapedi had settled throughout the
Central District, and in 1913 the Bakhurutshe moved to the interior of the Central
District (Ramsay et al., 1996: 15). The Bahurutshe live in the Kweneng District
closer to the Southern border of the two countries (Table 1, Category 2 and 3).
Other language groups include Bakalaka, Basarwa, Wayeyi, Hambukushu,
Baherero, Basubiya, Baciriku, Bakgalagadi, Bakgothu, Bashaga and Banabjwa
(Map 2, also Table 1, Category 3). It is estimated that these groups make up about
15 to 20% of the population (Obondo-Okoyo & Sabone, 1986; Janson & Tsonope,
1991: 86–7). They speak different languages that are neither related to Setswana
nor mutually intelligible. The Basarwa group is made up of about seventeen San
ethnic groups who speak different languages (Appendix 1).
All the tribes described in the previous paragraph are regarded as minority
tribes. The terms minority and majority have, by definition, no numerical signifi-
cance in Botswana. What determines whether a tribe is major or minor is whether
it belongs to one of the eight Setswana tribes and speak one of the eight Setswana
dialects. For instance, the Bakalaka are believed to be the largest tribe in the
Central District, and yet they are regarded as a minority tribe because they speak
Ikalanga, which is not related to Setswana. The Wayeyi constitute about 40% of
the population of the Ngamiland district (Anderson & Janson, 1997; also refer to
Kamanakao web-site in the reference section). By contrast, the Batawana consti-
tute one per cent of the population and yet the former are regarded as a minority
tribe and the latter as a majority tribe. The Batawana rule over the Wayeyi, and
the Batawana Paramount Chief represents the Wayeyi in the House of Chiefs.
The government does not recognise the Wayeyi Paramount Chief and this matter
is presently before the High Court. The Balete and Batlokwa have small popula-
tions occupying one village, and yet they are regarded as majority tribes and are
represented by their Paramount Chiefs in the House of Chiefs.
The general pattern is that Setswana speaking groups rule over all the
non-Setswana tribes. The village capital of the major tribe is the capital of all the
other tribes nearest to it. It is the place where government services are provided
irrespective of the distance to be travelled. This is the way in which linguistic
imperialism has penetrated the social and economic lives of those tribes which
do not speak Setswana as a first language. In all national events, the major culture
portrayed is that of the eight major tribes. Minority languages and cultures are
suppressed and their use in public domains is discouraged. These policies are
meant to foster national unity and a national cultural identity. They are congru-
ent with an assimilationist model and are underpinned by an orientation that
views linguistic and cultural diversity as a problem and a threat to national unity.
Language of religion
Amanze (1998: 1) maintains that ‘traditional religion is a living faith among
Batswana today’. This is so because ‘they have revived and continued to observe
a great number of their religious beliefs and practices some of which were
attacked by the early missionaries as evil and detrimental to the spiritual life of
Batswana’. He further observes that people in Africa are ‘born, live and die in
their traditional religions’ (1998: 2). A recent newspaper report has indicated
most Batswana, including the highly educated, still rely on traditional medi-
cine (The Voice, Friday, 21 May 1998). Traditional medicine is closely related to
traditional religion. It is this religion that protects the people from witchcraft,
sorcery, drought, uncertainty, disease, misfortune and other physical, spiri-
tual, economic and social phenomena (Amanze, 1998: 3).
Like most Africans, Batswana believe in one supreme being (Modimo in
Setswana, Urezha in Shiyeyi (Tlou, 1985), or Nyambe in Thimbukushu or Nzimu in
Ikalanga. For all ethnic groups in Botswana this one God is always described in
anthropomorphic terms. He can see, hear, get angry, forgive, answer and so on.
This is reflected in given names of people such as Oarabile (He has answered).
They also believe in ancestral spirits (Badimo) in Setswana, or Wazumu in Shiyeyi.
The dead are considered to continue to exist in a spiritual form, and they serve as
the mediator between the living and God. The spirits can also neglect or punish
the living; they can forgive, protect and come closer to them in times of need.
When they are angry they may bring disease, misfortune, or death. Certain prac-
tices need to be followed to make them happy. These practices have stood the test
of time and people in towns go to villages on weekends to perform such rites.
This phenomenon has maintained a strong bond between the working class in
towns and their traditional villages. While some practices such as initiation cere-
monies have ceased, those practices related to health and fortune continue
despite attempts by the missionaries to abolish them. Some of the practices
include birth rites to protect the child from disease and bad spirits and marriage
rites to ensure that the couples do not divorce.
The priesthood in the African religion includes diviners, medicine men and
rainmakers. Chiefs also hold religious powers. During colonial rule, the British
overtly banned some religious practices. They felt that practices such as bogwera
(male initiation) took a lot of the chiefs’ time from their work for the colony. For
instance, in 1931 Kgosi Sebele II of the Bakwena tribe, a traditionalist, wanted to
follow the bogwera which one was required in order to be a chief or a respected
male adult (Ramsay, 1987). The British collaborated with his relatives who were
against his policy of promoting commoners to chieftainship duties. They used
their complaints to make Sebele II a political prisoner. The real reason was that he
insisted on practising bogwera. Currently, only the Kgosi Linchwe II Kgafela of
the Bakgatla still practises bogwera. As chiefs are now elected and not necessarily
born into ruling positions, their religious powers have been reduced. They act
only as clients to medicine men who strengthen them and protect them from evil
and opposition. In 1998 the Wayeyi informed Kgosi Tawana that they would like
to have their own chief. He said in a kgotla3 meeting ‘I am not afraid that you will
take my chair [meaning chieftainship seat] because I have put some powerful
charms under it and no one can take it away’ (Davies, 1998). It was not Kgosi
Tawana but the medicine men who provided the charms, and that was under-
stood by the Wayeyi. Chiefs no longer have powers to bring rain and provide
good harvest for their people. They have lost their religious powers.
Missionaries from the London Missionary Society (LMS) came to Bechuana-
land (Botswana) in the first half of the 18th century to spread Christianity. The
missionaries’ first task was to convert each of the Paramount Chiefs of the eight
major tribes to Christianity. This practice resulted in the LMS playing a major
role in the development of Setswana both in Botswana and in South Africa. It was
the first language south of Ethiopia to have a translation of the Bible, a task that
was completed by the 1850s (Parsons, 1998). The LMS built three senior second-
ary schools in Botswana that still operate today: Moeding and Moeng Colleges
and Maun Secondary School. They also built hospitals, which continue to
provide medical care. During this period the use of Setswana in religion was
obvious, as morning prayers in schools and hospitals were conducted in
Setswana. When deacons and other church leaders visited hospitals to pray for
the sick, the services were conducted in Setswana. After independence, morning
prayers in schools began to be conducted in English. Christianity has therefore
played a major role in the promotion of Setswana and English in the church and
in the exclusion of other languages in accordance with the assimilationist model.
Chiefs were often tutored by missionaries or local priests who were trained by
and worked for missionaries. For instance, Kgosi Seepapitso II of the Bang-
waketsi was tutored as a child by Moruti (Preacher) Mothowagae Motlogelwa of
the LMS and later went to Lovedale Institute, a missionary school in South
Africa. Religion therefore played a significant role, not only in building schools
but also in schooling the chiefs and teaching them English. This was helpful in
Table 3 Religions and their membership

Religion Membership %
Christians 392, 035 30.00
Bahai 5,000 0.38
Muslims 3,848 0.23
Hindus 2,000 0.15
Buddhists 150 0.01
Sikhs 144 0.01
Source: Amanze (1988: x)
maintaining traditional ways, as some dikgosi (chiefs) like Seepapitso used their
education to resist some of the changes the British wanted to implement. Like
Sebele, he was a traditionalist who believed in Christianity without abandoning
Tswana law and custom (Ramsay, 1987). He spoke English very well and conse-
quently was able to put his point of view to the British. As he himself was fluent
in English, he did not oppose its use in the church along with translations into
Setswana.
While the majority of the people in Botswana believe in their ancestral sprits,
Christianity is the official religion in the country. About 176 Christian denomina-
tions are represented in Botswana (Amanze, 1994). Other religions such as Bahai,
Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are also present (Table 3).
Amongst the Christian churches there are three types (Amanze, 1998: ix): the
mission churches (30.5%), which came because of missionary work in Africa, the
Pentecostal churches (6.58%) and independent churches (64.93%), mainly of
African or specifically Tswana origin (Sic, percentages add to more than 100% in
the original). The latter are mostly a blend of Western and African philosophies
of religion. The independent churches have upheld the African religions and
traditions. Within the mission churches, the largest is the Roman Catholic
Church with 47,000 members followed by the Lutheran church with 24,000
members (Amanze, 1994). A denominational classification of Christian churches
in Botswana includes: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican,
Congregational, Methodist, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Pentecostal and
Independent churches (Amanze, 1999). Their approaches to religion include
the apostolic, the prophetic, the evangelical and the spiritual. While traditional
religious acts such as drinking, concubinage, pre-marital sex, polygamy, and
smoking were not banned, most churches, including independent churches,
discourage such practices, of course with varying degrees of success. The meth-
ods of worship, more especially in independent churches, have blended both
Western and African styles. Dress is formal as it is in the West but the proceed-
ings include African styles such as hand clapping, drumming, dancing and the
use of African music.
Religion has increased the use of Setswana and English. A study conducted by
Nyati-Ramahobo (1991) concluded that most churches use English and Sets-
wana, with the former playing a major role in the proceedings of the church. For
instance, in the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), the
main message of the sermon is delivered in English with translations into
Setswana. Batswana ministers in urban areas use English to deliver their

messages. In making announcements, the secretary may use his/her discretion
as to which announcements are to be in both Setswana and English and which
ones are to be monolingual in Setswana. The church choir sings hymns both in
Setswana and English, while the congregation sings hymns in Setswana. The
Scripture may be read in Setswana or English, but not necessarily the same text in
both languages. The increase in the use of English in urban churches is a result of
an increase in the number of younger church leaders and of a greater participa-
tion of younger parishioners in church activities. However, Setswana is domi-
nant in rural churches.
In the spirit of the assimilationist model in which language diversity is viewed
as a threat to peace, minority languages are rarely used in church. However, in
the 1980s the Lutheran Bible Translators based at Aurora, Illinois and the
Botswana Christian Council have played a significant role in the development of
minority languages such as Ikalanga as discussed below. The translation of the
New Testament into Hambukushu and Ikalanga has led to the informal use of
these languages in some churches in the north-east and north-west of the coun-
try. The development of the Shiyeyi orthography has resulted in the translation
of some hymns into Shiyeyi. These hymns are sung at some funeral services.
Increasingly religion is playing a crucial role in the development of minority
languages and their gradual introduction into rural churches which otherwise
use Setswana in their proceedings. Membership of other religions is essentially
composed of foreigners who use mainly English except for Islam and Hinduism,
which use Arabic or Indian languages.
Socio-linguistic Complexity of the Country

Since independence, the national population and housing census has not
included data on the ethnic and/or linguistic composition of the country. Since
linguistic diversity is regarded as a problem, such data might promote ethnic
awareness and disrupt the assimilation process. Implied in this practice is the
promotion of national identity over ethnic identity. Another reason is that, with
the definition of majority and minority being non-numerically determined, such
data would quickly bring to the attention of the people the fact that what the
government regards as major ethnic groups are actually a numerical minority.
This absence of ethnic and/or linguistic information in the census has hampered
easy access to empirical and scientific data that would provide an accurate
description of the socio-linguistic complexity of the country. Because of this
problem, scholars who have worked on the various languages and ethnic groups
of Botswana have based their information on estimates. Table 4 presents census
data from pre-independence in one district, Ngamiland (Map 2). The 1936 and
1946 censuses were the last to include ethnicity (Tlou, 1985, from Shapera, 1959).
These figures can only serve as a rough guide as these ethnic groups are also
represented in other parts of the country, while other ethnic groups are not repre-
sented in this district. Table 4 indicates that the Wayeyi were the most numerous
group in both periods, and yet by government definition they are considered a
minority tribe.
Tlou (1985) cautions against the use of census figures during that period since
Table 4 Population in Ngamiland by ethnic group in 1936 and 1946

Bantu 1936 (census) 1946 (census)
BaGcereku – 1,513
BaHerero 2,933 5,798
BaKalaka – 728
BaKgalagadi 2,270 1,918
BaRotsi – 744
BaSarwa 3,067 3,704
BaSotho – 42
BaSubiya – 486
BaTawana 7072 8,124
Bayei/Wayeyi/Bayeyi 16,496 13,261
Hambukushu 5,919 5,286
Matebele – 103
Others 4,402 –
Total 42,158 41,707
Source: Tlou (1985: 9)
only major villages were included. The census for 1946 may have been done
during the ploughing season when most people were away in the fields. Another
possible explanation for the decrease between 1936 and 1946 was that the count
was conducted at the height of the conflict between the Bayei (Wayeyi) and
Batawana, just before the 1948 court case. During that period most minority
groups were intimidated and were forced to identify themselves as the
Batawana. This seems to make sense in that the Batawana population was seen to
have increased but others (like BaYei, Hambukushu and BaKgalagadi) had
decreased.
Mpho (1987) presents figures for the 1946 census in the Central District (see
Table 5). The Kalanga were the most numerous in this reserve, and yet at inde-
pendence they were declared a minority and their language was banned from
use in school since it was not Setswana, and recognising it would not promote the
concept of Tswanadom.
Table 6 provides post-independence figures along with the most recent esti-
mates by scholars. The compilation in Batibo et al. (1997) has relied on Anderson
and Janson’s estimates. The figures for Wayeyi could be higher due to denial of
Shiyeyi identity by many Wayeyi at that time. In fact Anderson & Janson (1997:
73) estimate that the Wayeyi could be between 28,000 and 37,000. While the
denial syndrome is not exclusive to the Wayeyi, the Batawana more extensively
subjected them to slavery than any other tribe. Most of them have become assimi-
lated and cannot speak Shiyeyi, while others speak it but do not admit that they
do due to the low status of the language through its association with slavery.
However, things may have changed slightly since 1995, after the formation of the
Kamanakao Association (see Part IV). The figures for the BaHerero could be
much lower. They immigrated to Botswana in 1904/05 (Anderson & Janson,
Table 5 Population of the Bamangwato Reserve (now Central District, see Map 1)
Group Population
Bakalaka 22,777
spalphaBamangwato 20,159
Batswapong 11,237
Babirwa 9,636
San 9,567
Bakhurutshe 5,441
Bakgalagadi 3,963
Batalaote 3,538
Bakaa 3,055
Bapedi 2,572
Baphaleng 2,409
OvaHerero 1,013
Balozi 1,006
Bakwena 892
Baseleka 889
Banajwa 844
Bayei/Wayeyi/Bayeyi 724
Table 6 Estimated number of speakers

Ethnic Group Population & per cent of population
Batibo et al. (1997) Anderson & Janson (1997)
BaHerero 31,000 (1.7) 31,000 (2.2)
BaKalaka 150,000 (11) 150,000 (11)
BaKgalagadi 15,000 (1.4) 10,000+ (?)
BaSarwa 39,800 (2.8) 40,000 (4)
(Khoisan)
BaSubiya 7,000 (0.5) 7,000 (0.5)
BaYei/Wayeyi/Bayeyi 20,000 (1.4) 37,000 (4)
Hambukushu 8,000 (0.6) 6,000+
Batswana* 1,100,000 (79) 1,100,000+ (80)
Others 20,000 (1.4) –
Totals 1,390,800 1,381,000
*Batswana refers to the eight dialects spoken by the eight so-called major tribes. There
have been no data on the numbers for each of these tribes for the past 63 years.
1997) but continued to consider themselves to be Namibians. After Namibia’s

independence in 1996, some moved back, while others remained in various parts
of Botswana. The 1991 population census indicated that 54% of the population of
Botswana live in the rural areas (Central Statistics Office, 1995: 5). Due to the lack
of reliable data, it is difficult to estimate the percentages of each ethnic group

living in rural or urban areas.
The numbers in Table 6 should be treated with great caution; they are esti-
mates based on the 1936 and 1946 census figures for the Ngamiland and Central
Districts only. The discrepancy in the totals confirms that these are only esti-
mates. It is not possible to use figures that are 63 years old to work out current
figures, especially in a situation in which language shift has been accelerated by
deliberate policies. Smieja and Mathangwane (1999) have also discussed the rate
of language shift; Sommer and Vossen (1995) suggest that estimates such as these
may not be reliable. Language shift suggests a shift in self-perception and iden-
tity. The 1991 census did not include ethnic or linguistic information. Secondly,
Batibo and his colleagues relied heavily on Anderson and Janson’s figures.
Hence, they do not provide an alternative level of analysis.
Part II: Language Spread
Development of Language-in-education Policies

Education provision after independence
During the Colonial period, education was provided by only four mission
schools. Few people had access to these schools and at independence there was
an acute shortage of manpower to lead the country. The education sector has
experienced a tremendous amount of expansion during the past 33 years, in
terms of number of students, schools and teachers. In 1974, eight years after inde-
pendence, the first President, Sir Seretse Khama, appointed a commission to
assess the entire education system and make recommendations for implementa-
tion. The National Commission on Education (NCE 1), chaired by Professor
Torsen Husen, then Director of the Institute for International Education at Stock-
holm, started its work in 1975 and brought it to completion in 1977. One of the
major findings of this exercise was that the education sector was expanding in
terms of student enrolment (Table 7). However, a number of problems were
identified including low achievement rates. The Commission stated that ‘schools
are not even achieving their narrow academic objectives well’ (NCE 1977a: 18).
The system was based on European models and has not been changed to
accommodate local needs in terms of curriculum content. Assessment was basi-
cally used for selection into the next level, and ultimately preparing learners for
white-collar jobs. The rapid expansion in enrolment at the primary level (74%)
and at secondary school (a six-fold increase between 1966 and 1976), imposed a
greater demand for increases in teacher training, buildings, equipment and
administrative levels. Thus, while more children were coming into the education
system, not enough was happening to provide for their education. There was a
shortage of manpower in the Ministry of Education. Consequently, schools were
not inspected on a regular basis. There was no curriculum review being carried
out and goals and policies meant to improve the system were not being imple-
mented. The other problem identified was that the Ministry of Education had
Table 7 School enrolment: 1966–1976

Year Primary Secondary University
1966 71,546 1531 0
1967 71,577 1854 0
1968 78,963 2299 0
1969 82,214 3099 0
1970 83,002 3905 0
1971 78,442 4740 42
1972 81,662 5564 70
1973 95,511 6152 132
1974 103,711 7055 201
1975 116,293 8434 289
1976 125,588 9558 465
Source: National Commission on Education (1977: 14)
focused on secondary and higher education in terms of quality issues while

primary education was neglected; for instance, most teachers at the primary
school level were not trained. They were also disparities between urban and
rural areas in terms of the provision of education. For instance, in rural areas
most children had to walk long distances to get to a school, and sometimes they
had to move to a different village to go to school. There were also more untrained
teachers in rural schools and poorer facilities. Finally, children in rural areas
speak non-school languages and have problems comprehending instruction in
the national language.
The Commission made recommendations to address some of the most press-
ing issues facing the education system at that time. Amongst these were the
following.
(1) The need to give priority to primary education as the foundation for other
levels of education; specifically to attend to both quantitative and qualita-
tive issues at this level eg, the curriculum should ensure that each child
acquires basic literacy and numeracy skills.
(2) An increase in opportunity to enter junior secondary education in several
ways was recommended, including part-time study, lifting age restriction
to entrance, expansion of facilities, and the development of teacher training
colleges and more schools. It also recommended the development of a
coherent system between technical and vocational education.
(3) The examination marks for Setswana should be included in the Primary
School Leaving Examinations’ (PSLE) mark, and a compensatory pro-
gramme should be developed for children who speak other languages.
(4) The education system should foster the four national principles of develop-
ment: self-reliance, unity, and democracy – which culminate in the philoso-
phy of Kagisano (social justice). The report this Commission produced was
called Education for Kagisano, and the accepted recommendations are
contained in Government White Paper No. 1, the National Policy on Educa-
tion, passed by Parliament in August, 1977.
Table 8 Education enrolment 1979–1991

Year Primary Junior Secondary Senior Secondary University
1979 156,664 14,165 2,551 –
1984 209,772 23,500 3,864 –
1988 261,352 27,989 12,368 –
1991 298,812 52,866 22,496 –
1997/98 8,302
Sources: National Commission on Education (1993); Central Statuistics Office (1999)
(5) The Commission recommended a change in the education structure from

7:3:3:4 to 7:2:3.4(primary, junior secondary, senior secondary and university).
(6) The Commission recommended the Establishment of the Department of
Curriculum Development and Evaluation.
(7) The Commission also made recommendations on the use of Setswana as
medium of instruction and other language related issues. These will be
discussed in detail in the following section on language-in-education policies.
From 1977 to 1992, the Ministry of Education (Figure 2) tried to implement the
recommendations of the first National Commission on Education and deliver
education for social justice. In 1992, the second President, Sir Ketumile Masire,
appointed the second National Commission on Education (NCE 2), to reassess
the entire system and indicate its strengths and weaknesses with a view to forg-
ing a way forward into the next millennium. This thrust developed in light of the
fact that there had been many societal, economic, political and cultural changes
since 1977. Mr Ponatshego H. Kedikilwe, then Minister of Presidential Affairs
and Public Administration, chaired this Commission. He was the Minister of
Education, and many people thought that he had the opportunity to implement
his own recommendations. However, he later resigned his cabinet post. The
Commission started its work in April 1992 and completed it in 1994. It identifies
key areas where improvements had taken place since the last Commission and
areas that needed attention within the system. The following improvements
were reported to have taken place:
… enrolments had continued to expand (Table 8);
… the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation had been
established, and the curriculum was generally sensitive to the philosophy
of Kagisano;
… there were great improvements in the curriculum and new teaching meth-
ods and approaches had been put in place to facilitate learning;
… universal access to primary education had been achieved and there was
greater access to junior secondary education (Figure 3);
… the Department of Primary Education had been established at the Univer-
sity of Botswana in 1981 to train teachers to diploma level and education
officers to degree level. Thus there was a steady decrease in the number of
untrained teachers from 38.6% in 1978 to 13.3% in 1991.
The following areas still remained problematic:
The Honorable Minister

of Education
Other
Ministries
Permanent University of
Secretary Botswana
External
Agencies
Coordinator
of RNPE*
MLGH
Exams, Research Planning, Statistics

& Testing & Research
Deputy Permanent Sec. Deputy Permanent Sec.

(Support Services) (Educ. Dev. Serv.)
DEPARTMENTS DEPARTMENTS
* The Revised Policy on Education
Figure 2 Structure of the Ministry of Education
… access to senior secondary education was still a problem (NCE 2, 1993:148);

… there was still need for equity in the provision of education between rural
and urban areas;
… there was still an imbalance in the provision of education between second-
ary and primary education. Primary school teachers still had no housing,
the schools were not electrified and there was still a shortage of classrooms.
These problems still persist today. There are still large numbers of
untrained teachers found in primary schools.
The Commission then made recommendations in four major areas:
(1) Equity: Not only was equity necessary between rural and urban areas, and
between primary and secondary education, but also for children with
special abilities or disabilities in and out of school education, and by gender.
Age Level
22
21
Tertiary
of Work
World
Tertiary
20 Institutions
19
Distance
Vocational
18
Training
Education
and
17
Senior Secondary Part-Time
Form 4–5 (2 Years) Study
16
Secondary
15
Junior Secondary School
14
Form 1–3 (3 Years)
13
12
11
10
Primary
Primary School Adult Basic Education
9 Standard 1–7 (National Literacy
(7 Years) Programme)
8
5 Pre-School Early
Currently not in Place Childhood
4 (only run by NGOs) Education
Figure 3 Structure of education and training
It noted the high access rate to primary education by girls, but their high
drop-out rate at junior and senior secondary level. It further noted the
under-representation of females in science-related areas at tertiary level.
Some of the recommendations in this area, including the use of mother
tongue at pre-school level and upon demand at primary level, were rejected
by Parliament, and hence are not contained in Appendix 2.
(2) Quality: Academic achievement at primary school was still very low, with a
slight improvement at secondary level over the years. The Commission
further recommended that the education system should now address qual-
ity issues and reintroduce the 7:3:2:4 system. The development of the teach-
ing profession has been identified as the main strategy for addressing the
quality of education as teachers have the greatest impact on performance.
This development should include enhancing the status of teachers, provid-
ing better working conditions and incentives and improving teacher-train-
ing programmes.
(3) School management: The Commission noted that poorly managed schools
performed poorly, and recommended measures to address this matter. For
instance, the role of head teachers was to be clearly defined as instructional
leaders and the appropriate training was to be provided.
(4) Finance: The Commission noted that the education system required cost
recovery and effective financing systems. The development of educational
managers and review of the delivery system are critical to improving
education.
A total of 134 recommendations were made and those which were accepted are
contained the Government White Paper No. 2 called the Revised National Policy
on Education (RNPE) passed by the National Assembly in April 1994. Since then
efforts have been geared towards implementing these recommendations. Those
recommendations dealing with language are provided in Appendix 2.
The latest available data is for 1997, and this does not indicate how the system
has been performing since the report. However, it indicates minority-dominated
areas such as Kgalagadi, Ngwaketse, Kweneng, Gantsi and Ngamiland have the
highest number of school drop-outs, the highest repetition rates, the highest
number of untrained teachers and the greatest shortage of classrooms (Central
Statistics Office, 1999: 24, 30,36).
Language-in-education policies
At independence in 1966, there was no clear policy regarding the medium
of instruction in schools. However, there was a general understanding that
English (the official language, required by the constitution) would constitute
the medium of instruction. Due to the relatively low qualifications of teachers,
and their inability to communicate in English, the use of Setswana was toler-
ated in lower grades. Other languages, such as Ikalanga, which were taught in
school before independence, were banned from use in school at independ-
ence.
The policy assumed the use of English as the medium of instruction at all
levels, with tolerance for Setswana when communication problems occurred in
Standards 1 and 2. On the other hand, practice indicated that teachers actually
code-switched between Setswana and English throughout the primary and
secondary school levels (NCE, 1977a). Practice further indicated that in the
North-east District, Ikalanga continued to be used as an informal medium of
instruction in schools despite its ban. Despite this reality, some officials in the
Ministry of Education continued to believe that English was the essential
medium of instruction. More efforts and resources were, therefore, allocated
towards the improvement of the teaching of English and its use as the medium of
instruction rather than Setswana, which was at that time a non-examinable
subject. The First National Commission on Education (NCE 1, 1977a: 76) viewed
this situation as one that neglected the national language. It noted that:
The introduction of English as a medium of instruction as early as Standard

3 … clearly discriminated against the national language. The Commission
feels strongly that every nation ought to give a prominent place to its
language in its education system.
The Commission further argued that first language education facilitates not only
early concept formation but also the acquisition of other languages. The
Commission then recommended the use of Setswana for the first four years of
primary education. However, it did not make any recommendations on the use
of minority languages in education, but rather recommended that a compensa-
tory programme should be developed for children who speak other languages.
Komarek & Keatimilwe (1988) conducted a feasibility study for the programme.
They recommended a transitional model of bilingual education, from mother
tongue to Setswana and to English for areas where Setswana is not spoken as
mother tongue. However, the government did not accept this recommendation,
as it would have contradicted the policy of assimilation.
The second National Commission on Education (NCE 2, 1993: 113) reduced
the number of years for Setswana as medium of instruction from four years to
one. This Commission felt that ‘[t]he present language policy denies the child
mastering of the main language needed for better achievement in primary school
and in further education and in working life’. The Commission viewed first
language education as hindering the child’s access to the language of business,
which is English. The argument had little to do with the role of the first language
in the learning process. It also ignored the reality that, before the 1977 policy, low
academic achievement characterised the education system and yet English was
assumed to be the medium of instruction at that time. Hence, first language use
could not be solely responsible for low achievement. This Commission, however,
recommended the use of the first language, including minority languages, at
pre-primary education, but the recommendation was rejected by Parliament.
The language planning processes in Botswana are influenced by an orienta-
tion which views language diversity as a problem, a reversal or negation of
democratic gains, a threat to unity, social harmony and to development
(Nyati-Ramahobo, 1991: 201). The first President, Sir Seretse Khama, informed
the nation that his party ‘stands for a gradual but sure evolution of a nation
state …to which tribal groups will, while in existence, take secondary place’
(Carter & Morgan, 1980: 291). In 1989 the second President, Sir Ketumile Masire,
asked Batswana
… not to spoil the prevailing peace and unity in the country by fighting for
ethnic language groupings to take precedence over Setswana, and that
tribes insisting that their languages become media of instruction within
their respective areas would break up the nation. (Botswana Daily News, 30
June 1989, no 123:1)
These statements reflect an overt prohibition of the use of other languages. Presi-
dent Mogae, then Vice-President, visited the villages of Dukwe and Mosetse in
the Central District to diffuse tension between the Bamangwato and the Bakalaka
tribes after two sub-chiefs from the former were imposed on the latter. A journal-
ist reporting on the visit wrote:
He [Mogae] is reported to have told residents of Dukwi and Mosetse that all
people who live in the Central District should consider themselves
Bangwato, thus justifying Ngwato hegemony over tribes like Basarwa,
Bakalaka, Babirwa, Batswapong and others. …Mogae failed a leadership
test. This was an opportunity for him to rise to the occasion and concede
that there is indeed a rather skewed constitutionalarrangement. Instead, he
continued the tradition of pandering to the whims of the ‘principal’ tribes.
There is sufficient evidence that advocates of tribal equality are all for
national unity, but not at the expense of their integrity. (Moeti, 1998: 9)
This is clearly the assimilatory model of ‘ice-cream plus salt’. The President is
saying these tribes have to melt and give up their cultures and completely assimi-
late into the Ngwato culture. It is overt prohibition of the actualisation of the
cultures of these people. The trend within the ruling Botswana Democratic Party
is to uphold the constitution, discriminating as it may be, and those who point to
this problem are quickly labelled ‘tribalistic’ and ‘engineers of ethnic conflict’. For
fear of being labeled as such, critics tend to remain silent. Because of the push for
monolingualism and monoculturalism by the ruling party, the Revised National
Policy on Education, approved by Parliament in April 1994, contains only those
recommendations of the NCE 2 which deal with teaching of Setswana and
English (see Appendix 2).
It is worth noting that, while the new policy has advocated the use of English
as the medium of instruction (18(a)) at the expense of Setswana, the rest of the
recommendations advocate the use of Setswana in education. Recommendation
3, which calls for the formulation of a comprehensive language policy, could
possibly promote Setswana in other social domains, such as business, technol-
ogy, government, law and in the political structures. It is also worth noting that
recommendation number 46(b) assumes that job opportunities requiring compe-
tence in Setswana are available. Research indicates that such job requirements
are currently rarely found in advertisements as compared to those requiring
competence in English (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1991). This practice constitutes a
major demotivating factor for both learners and teachers of Setswana. The
economic use of Setswana must diversify beyond radio announcers, court inter-
preters and teachers to accommodate Setswana as a language of social mobility
and consequently, must absorb the products of the education system. A compre-
hensive language policy will have to take this issue very seriously in order to
facilitate the implementation of recommendations 31 and 46(b). Five years after
the approval of the policy, none of the recommendations has been implemented,
except that preparations are currently underway to implement 18(a), dealing
with the use of English at Standard 2. More resources continue to be directed
towards the use of English in all social domains including education. This prac-
tice has led scholars and citizens to believe that the government is pushing for
monolingualism in English and, to some extent, recognition of the role of
Setswana.
The language-in-education policy therefore relates to the specific use of
Setswana and English in education. Since none of the recommendations of the
NCE 2 have been implemented, the NCE 1 policy concerning medium of instruc-
tion is still in place. Setswana is therefore the medium of instruction in Standards
1 to 4 while English is taught as a subject in those grades. English then becomes

the medium of instruction in Standard 5 and extends through the tertiary level,
while Setswana is taught as a subject (Republic of Botswana, 1977: 4). This policy
applies to all government schools in the country. Private schools use English as
the medium of instruction from Standard 1 onward, but they have a flexible
policy on the number of years they teach Setswana as a subject. Since independ-
ence, a credit in English has been a requirement in order to matriculate.
However, there are plans to change this policy as from the year 2000. Access to
the university requires a pass in English except for science subjects. A degree in
Setswana is offered in English and a pass in English is required to enter the
programme.
The assimilation model, which is guided by the orientation viewing language
diversity as a problem, is quite evident in the language-in-education policy.
There is an overt prohibition of the use of other languages for learning. Subse-
quently, minority dominated areas continue to be educationally disadvantaged.
The over emphasis on English is meant to expose learners to the language of tech-
nology, social mobility and globalisation. There is tension, therefore, in balanc-
ing the role of the various local languages against Setswana on the one hand, and
between Setswana and English on the other hand. Arthur (1996: 46) argues that
this ‘inequality reflects and perpetuates hierarchical language values in Bots-
wana society, as does the official exclusion of languages other than English and
Setswana from classroom use’. English is most valued and most people would
report that they speak it even if they cannot (Vossen, 1988). This is further
reflected in the allocation of resources in which English receives the greatest
share in terms of qualified teachers, time tabling and, of course, policy direction.
Setswana is second, though policy direction and its recent use in Parliament
recognises it as the national language. Minority languages are the least valued
and are addressed neither by policy nor by practice. Wolfson & Manes (1985)
argue that one’s native language is so much a part of one’s identity that to deni-
grate it is effectively to deny one’s human ability to communicate (foreword).
Devaluing one’s language is equivalent to devaluing that person. In this regard,
assimilationist policies that deny children the opportunity to learn in their
mother tongue are viewed as inhuman.
Objectives and assessment

Syllabi are prepared by Curriculum Development Officers (CDOs) in the
Ministry of Education’s Department of Curriculum Development and Evalua-
tion. Some of the responsibilities of CDOs include setting out the broad goals of
the syllabus, as well as advice on how materials are to be used in the teaching and
learning situation to achieve the objectives of the syllabus.
The objectives of the Setswana and English syllabi are quite similar and can be
summarised as follows. Both syllabi are written in English:
… to help children in acquiring the very necessary skills of listening, speaking,

reading and writing;
… to ensure that children apply these skills in communicating in their envi-
ronment, with other children, adults and the mass media;
… to serve as a basis for further education;
… to lay a sound foundation for the growth of Setswana and English as the
media of instruction;
… to promote creativity on the part of children;
… to encourage the study and preservation of Setswana culture;
… to help children appreciate that good spoken Setswana will be acquired at
home as well as at school;
… to provide a curriculum that will strengthen Setswana as an important
instrument in nation building (Ministry of Education, 1982: 1).
Data from interviews indicate that the main purpose of teaching Setswana is
cultural identity and early concept formation. It is believed that cultural identity
and preservation will be achieved if books are written in Setswana for children in
Standards 1 to 4 (old policy, NCE 1) or in Standard 1 only (new policy, NCE 2).
The question of early concept formation seems to be defined as early as Standard
4. The purpose of teaching English is that it is the language of wider communica-
tion, business and the world of work.
The methodology for teaching both Setswana and English is said to be the
communicative approach. The decision to change to this approach came as a
recommendation from the first NCE, which thought that language teaching
concentrated on grammar and proverbs at the expense of literacy skills of read-
ing and writing. The rationale for this approach is that ‘we don’t expect children
to analyse the language before they can use it’ (Ramatsui, 30 July 1989, personal
communication). It is also necessary for the ten years of the basic education
programme, which seeks to provide children with skills they need in their daily
lives. The communicative syllabi, developed after the Commission’s recommen-
dation, came out in 1982 providing a few communicative topics, but remained
largely structural. However, the syllabi were further revised in 1995. Books that
were developed by publishing companies in 1998 for handling the new syllabi
were based on the communicative approach to teaching and assessment. These
have only been used in schools for one year so far, hence their impact and rele-
vance has not yet been assessed.
Examinations are taken after seven years of primary schooling, three years of
junior secondary and two years of senior secondary education. The first
Commission had recommended continuous assessment and remedial teaching
to enhance performance. These recommendations have not been implemented.
The achievement of universal primary education and ten years of basic educa-
tion have meant that the primary school leaving examinations (PSLE) have
ceased to be a selection tool. About 95.3% of students proceed to junior secondary
school (Central Statistics Office, 1999: xiv). Consequently, examinations have
changed from norm reference to criterion reference. A child’s performance is not
compared with other children, but with a set of criteria.
The new syllabi emphasise that assessment techniques should focus on find-
ing out whether children can read, write, speak and listen. The teacher should
focus on assessing students’ ability to read for different purposes, to write on
different topics for different audiences, to listen and speak in different situations.
If children can perform these four language skills as defined for each skill objec-
tive for each grade level, it automatically means they have the ability to use
language rules at the competence required at the equivalent grade level. The new
syllabus further states that continuous assessment should be an integral part of

the language assessment procedure. For instance, students should be assessed
based on the number of books they have voluntarily read, written reports and
talked about in class. Criterion-reference testing should be useful especially if the
skill objectives are to be used as the assessment criteria. This type of testing was
implemented for the first time in 1997 and there is a general belief that perfor-
mance has improved (Central Statistics Office, 1999: 107). The overall pass rate
has improved when grades C and D form part of the aggregate. However, when
only A and B grades are used to form the overall pass grade there is no improve-
ment. It is appropriate to include students in grades C and D as they are also
admissible to junior secondary school.
While the official approach to language teaching is communicative, there is
evidence that assessment has continued to reflect the structural approach, even
in the wake of criterion-reference testing that has been adopted for all subjects.
All primary school leaving examinations and all other examinations (except for
the subject Setswana) at secondary school level are in English. The attainment
tests for mathematics, English and science which are written at the end of Stan-
dard 4 are in Setswana. Tests on the subject English are written in the English
language. The tests are meant ‘to determine whether children have achieved
basic literacy in Setswana and basic competence in English and Mathematics’
(Republic of Botswana, 1977: 4). However, it is not a pass-or-fail test as there is a
policy of automatic promotion. Rather, the Standard 4 attainment test is meant to
curb the shortcomings of the automatic promotion policy in the sense that it is
intended to identify those children who need extra help before they proceed to,
or when they enter, Standard 5. It is, however, reported that remedial work is not
always provided since teachers either are not trained in remedial teaching or do
not have enough time to do it (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1999a).
Media Languages
The role of the media in national life in Botswana dates back to 1850s (Sechele,
1998). It was part of what was called the ‘Tswana Press’ in South Africa. Sechele
reports that the Tswana Press was:
… a journalism that was based on the Setswana language in the areas occu-
pied by Setswana-speaking people of Bechuanaland protectorate (now
Botswana), Northern Cape, the former Transvaal, and the former Orange
Free State in South Africa. (p. 412)
The printed press written in Setswana contributed to the spread of Christianity

and the acquisition of literacy skills. It also contributed to the quality of life of
Batswana by providing information on events around them. For instance, in
1886, a newspaper called Mahoko a Bechuana published an article about a white
man who delayed village development by selling liquor to the Bakgalagadi tribe
in Lehututu (South Africa). The Abantu-Batho (People) which reported in Zulu
and Setswana played a major role in developing political awareness in the Afri-
can masses and became a strong organ of the African National Congress. There
were also newspapers based in Bechuanaland: Lesedi la Sechaba (the light of the
nation), which was based in the Kgatleng district, the Lebone la Bechuana (the
lamp of Tswana people) and Naledi ya Batswana (the star of the Batswana).
Botswana’s second President, Sir Masire Ketumile was a reporter for the latter.
This paper reported on the chieftainship issue between the Batawana and the
Bayeyi in 1948. All these papers reported in Setswana. While there was no overt
prohibition of the use of other languages, there was no overt permission nor
promotion of these languages in the media either, because the missionaries had
only codified Setswana. It is not clear why, but the Setswana language press no
longer exists, not even in South Africa.
There are currently eight private newspapers in the country. All of them are
written in English. One of them includes pages in Setswana and a column in
Ikalanga. They circulate mainly in larger villages and towns. Since their birth in
1982, the independent media have provided an alternative voice in a country
dominated by government media (Sechele, 1998). Many believe that the inde-
pendent media have exposed corruption, political arrogance, insensitivity, lack
of transparency and accountability on the part of government (Grant & Egner,
1989). Most people believe that it was this media coverage that led to the increase
in opposition seats in Parliament from three to thirteen in the 1994 general elec-
tions (Sechele, 1998). The independent media continued to serve this function in
the 1999 general elections. The landslide win by the ruling party is attributed not
to the fact that Batswana have gained confidence in that party but rather to
in-fighting and the subsequent split of the opposition party twelve months
before the general elections. The ruling party is viewed by many as having run
out of strategies to win elections other than to divide the opposition party. The
twelve constituencies that the opposition won in 1994 still voted for the opposi-
tion in 1999, despite the split. A stronger opposition would have weakened the
ruling party even more than in 1994. The media is seen as central in strengthening
democracy in Botswana.
However, the media have problems which limit their impact. These include
the low levels of literacy in rural areas, self-censorship by some editors for fear of
victimisation, lack of facilities, untrained staff and insufficient motivation on the
part of reporters. The language policy which promotes English and to some
extent Setswana limits the effective flow of information to the rural areas. As a
result, voter and AIDS education are limited to towns and major villages
(Sechele, 1998). Legislation has also limited the freedom of the press. For
instance, in 1995 the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime Act was put
in place to prohibit journalists from reporting on cases that are still under investi-
gation. The Directorate investigates white-collar crimes, including those that
might be committed by ministers.
The Government Printer provides a special service specifically for the govern-
ment. It prints all government documents. Government ministries and depart-
ments place orders which are entered in a register indicating the date the order
was placed, the type of job to be done, the number required and the date the order
was collected. The Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce and Health were
selected for a study to find out the language in which the government communi-
cates with the general public. The Ministry of Agriculture was a suitable choice
since a large portion of the population depends on agriculture, which makes up a
significant part of the economy. In 1982 the government, through the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, introduced the Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) to
encourage ordinary citizens to start small-scale businesses by lending them

money. This policy was designed to create employment opportunities and to
help Batswana to take part in the business world (Republic of Botswana, 1985:
239). One might expect, as a consequence of this policy, that an increase in
communication between the government and the general public, informing
them about these programmes, about how to get started and about future plans,
would occur. The Ministry of Health is an agency that deals with issues that affect
the whole population, not just a segment of it, and especially within the frame-
work of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Thus communication with the people about
health matters is vital and inevitable.
Data collected from the three ministries indicated that 61% of the documents
for public consumption in the Ministry of Agriculture were written completely
in English, while 95% of those for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry were
written in English as well. These English documents included all the forms which
members of the public have to complete when applying for financial assistance.
The Ministry of Health had more bilingual documents (42%) than those either in
English or Setswana. Within the three government ministries, the main language
is English. Thus 100% of the documents which were not for public consumption,
were in English, while 59% of the documents meant for public consumption were
also in English. The government, therefore, communicates on health, agriculture
and commercial issues to the general public in written English. For instance, it is
not unusual to find health posters written in English in the most remote areas of
the country. The forms designed to obtain financial assistance are all in English,
irrespective of the level of education of the applicant (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1991).
This situation is unlikely to change in the next decade.
Programmes aired each week by the government-owned stations were
analyzed to find out the language of broadcasting. The private radio station,
which focuses on the needs of the youth, broadcasts mainly (70%) in English.
Data on the two government stations indicated that 36 (42%) programmes were
in Setswana, 19 (22%) in English and 30 (35%) were in both Setswana and
English. An analysis of the programmes generated by each of the three ministries
previously mentioned was carried out. The results indicated that 62% of the total
number of programmes in the three selected ministries were in Setswana.
The government also owns one newspaper, the Daily News. That newspaper
consists of eight pages, of which six and a half are written in English. The last one
and half pages are translations into Setswana of material on the previous pages.
The government therefore communicates with the general public mainly in
English. It is worth noting that the newspaper does not reach the more remote
areas of the country; as a consequence, only people in major villages and towns
have access to the paper. Based on the data about the newspaper and radio, it
may be concluded that the government seems to prefer Setswana on the radio
and English in written format. Only these two languages are used in the media.
The government has been reluctant to provide radio licences for privately
owned radio stations. For many years, people were made to believe that the
Office of the President was responsible for issuing such licences. This office in
turn kept informing the public that no legislation exists to allow such licencing.
When a young lawyer, Patrick Gunda, took the government to court on this
matter in 1994, it became clear that the Botswana Telecommunications Corpora-
tion was charged with that responsibility. Previous references to the Office of the
President were meant to discourage privately owned radio stations, where
government censorship would be more difficult. Stations could also broadcast in
minority languages. Mr Gunda lost his bid for a radio station licence, as his appli-
cation indicated the intended use of minority languages. This suggests that there
is a covert prohibition on the use of minority languages in the media. Many
attribute the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS in the country to the lack of relevant
information in the languages in which people have high comprehension ability.
Other educational campaigns on issues of national interest also do not reach the
people. Crucial messages reach only about 40% of the population, and this ineffi-
ciency in communication inevitably affects development.
Immigration
The movement of the Bakalaka tribe from Zimbabwe and parts of South Africa
into north-eastern Botswana in the 1600s (Tlou & Campbell, 1984) has rendered
that part of the country mainly Ikalanga speaking. The Kalanga were then
enslaved by the Bangwato tribe and brought to the Central District (Map 2).
Currently, Kalanga people predominantly inhabit Serowe, the capital of the
Bangwato, though most of them have assimilated into Bangwato culture. The
Wayeyi (also known as Bayei or Yei) came to Botswana from Central Africa
through Malawi and Zambia. They settled in a place called DiYei in the Caprivi
Strip (Nambia). Tlou (1985) estimates that they must have come to Botswana
around 1750 or earlier. Murray (1990: 4) estimates that they may have come as
early as AD 1000; others say they came around 1400 (e.g. Gazette, 1999).
Nyati-Ramahobo (1999b) concurs with Murray because the Shiyeyi language
adopted click sounds from Khoisan languages with which they came into contact
in the Okavango delta. For this process to have taken place the two groups must
have lived together for a long time. The Khoisan are believed to be the original
indigenous people of Botswana. The Hambukushu came into Botswana at two
different periods. The first group came between 1876 and 1890 and the second in
1969 because of the war in Angola. The Herero came to Botswana between 1897
and 1906 (Murray, 1987), escaping German rule in the then South-West Africa
(Namibia).
The distributions of Setswana speaking tribes caused by tribal wars and other
social events in the 1800s (Tlou & Campbell, 1984: 57–100) have contributed to the
spread of Setswana to all parts of the country. For instance, the war between the
Bangwato tribal sons in the Central District in 1795 (Sillery, 1965) caused one of the
sons (Tawana) to move into Ngamiland (North-west District) where the Batawana
tribe now live; this is the major way Setswana spread to that part of the country. As
the Batawana ‘imposed themselves’ (Sillery, 1965: 22) on the majority Wayeyi in
the area, they forced them to speak Setswana and punished them for using their
own language. Some of the Wayeyi then escaped into the Central District avoiding
Tawana’s subjugation and sought refuge from Khama III, the chief of the
Bangwato tribe and father of the first President of Botswana,Sir Seretse Khama. He
accepted them on condition that they speak Setswana so as to communicate their
grievances to him effectively and to enable him to defend them at the kgotla during
their court cases and in other important circumstances. Consequently, most
Bayeyi do not speak Shiyeyi. Equally, the Bakalaka were discouraged from
speaking Ikalanga, and most of those in Serowe only speak Setswana.
The movement of the Barolong tribe in the 1600s from Transvaal in South
Africa to the north-east introduced Setswana to that part of the country.
Setswana is, therefore, the lingua franca of the country; most children learn it at
home and at school. This factor made the choice of Setswana as a national
language easier. Foreigners learn the Setswana language and culture at the
Botswana Orientation Center. The spread of Setswana was, therefore, facilitated
by the spread of Setswana speaking groups to other parts of the country. The
spread of Setswana has been further facilitated by its use in school as the only
local language and by the prohibition of the use of all other languages repre-
sented in the country after independence.
Unlike the situation in a number of other African countries, there has been no
significant European or Asian settlement in Botswana; after independence other
nationalities came as individuals and have served as expatriates or have become
citizens. As communities have not formed, language or place of origin is not yet
an issue for these individuals.
Part III: Language Policy and Planning
Botswana’s language policy is not written; it is understood, inferred and

observed from reality. It is referred to in various documents such as the Constitu-
tion as previously discussed, in reports of National Commissions on Education,
in the national development plans, as well as in several curricular materials and
in the media. These sources only refer to it, not defining it or making it the subject
of discussion. They refer to it when addressing other issues related to language
and education. For example, while discussing the qualifications for election to
the National Assembly and the House of Chiefs, the constitution states that:
…a person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the National
Assembly if, and shall not be qualified to be so elected unless …(d) he is able
to speak, and unless incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause, to
read English well enough to under take an active part in the proceedings of
the Assembly. (Section 61(d):00:37 & Section 79(4)(c) 00:46)
Other sections of the constitution allude to language policy when discussing
people’s fundamental rights and freedoms. For instance, Section 10(2)(f) states
that:
Every person, who is charged with a criminal offense, shall be permitted to
have without payment the assistance of an interpreter if he cannot under-
stand the language used at the trial of the charge … (00:11)
At independence, English was indirectly declared the official language through
the constitution, as previously indicated. English is currently used in the judi-
ciary, in administration, in education, and in the business sector and, until late
1998, it was used in Parliament. All government correspondence and records are
in English. All meetings in the civil service are conducted and recorded in
English. It is spoken and read by 40% of the population (Obondo-Okoyo, 1986:
12), mainly by the educated élite living in towns. Setswana is understood to be
the national language, but the constitution makes no reference to it. It is mainly
used in informal settings and in traditional matters.
The national adult literacy programme is conducted in Setswana irrespective
of the existence of other languages found amongst the communities in which it is
operating. The Revised National Policy on Education recommended goals for
out-of school programmes as follows:
(1) To establish a learning society in which education is seen as a lifelong

process.
(2) To guarantee universal access to basic education for school-age children
and adults in order to promote equity and social justice.
(3) To provide opportunities for young people and adults to further their initial
education to higher stages in order to raise the general level of education of
the population.
(4) To provide opportunities for adults to acquire work-related skills that will
improve their productivity and standard of living, and promote economic
growth.
(5) To increase the ability of adults to take part in social, political, cultural and
sporting affairs in order to improve their quality of life and promote greater
participation in the development process. (Republic of Botswana, 1994:
34–5).
The policy calls for the provision of adult education as a life-long learning
process. The policy should also provide opportunities for school-age children
who missed their chance for one reason or another to further their education. It
further calls for an educated and informed society through an increase in learn-
ing opportunities beyond normal schooling. Public education is expected to
make people aware of skills needed for life.
Non-governmental organisations have been pushing for the recognition of the
existence of other languages and ethnic groups (see Part IV). This has to some
extent had an impact on government; e.g. Parliament has passed the following
motions to allow the use of these languages in education and on the radio.
However, there are no efforts being made at the moment to make these motions
into laws or to implement them.
… In 1995 Parliament approved the review of sections 77 to 79 of the constitu-
tion which stipulates that only chiefs of the eight tribes can be ex-officio
members of the House of Chiefs.
… On Friday, 8 August 1997 Parliament passed a motion to allow all
languages to be taught in schools, used on the radio and in other areas as
necessary.
… The second President of Botswana, Sir Ketumile Masire, constituted a task
force to develop a national vision for the country in the new millennium.
The task force, led by the then Manager of the Bank of Botswana and
current Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Baledzi
Gaolathe, produced a document known as Vision 2016. This document
states that ‘there is a challenge to recognise and develop equally all

languages in Botswana’ (Presidential Task Group, 1997: 21, summary
version).
… Vision 2016 further states that ‘Botswana’s wealth of different languages
and cultural traditions will be recognised, supported and strengthened in
the education system. No Motswana will be disadvantaged in the educa-
tion system as a result of a mother tongue that differs from the country’s
two official languages’ (Presidential Task Group, 1997: 5).
All of these parliamentary resolutions are positive signals of a commitment to
pluralism as a necessary ingredient for nation building. They are an acknowl-
edgement of the fact that the suppression of the languages and cultures of
Botswana is not one of the ingredients for democracy or development. Indeed,
suppression of languages and cultures could defeat the government’s purpose,
to build a united and proud nation. As I argued on 26 October 1999 in a panel
discussion for the Millennium lecture series, organised by the Gender Policy and
Programme Committee on Vision 2016, which included government ministers,
the government’s reluctance to implement the actions surveyed above suggests a
lack of political will. It indicates that parliamentary motions may be passed
simply as a result of pressure from the electorate, without any commitment to the
underlying ideals by the government leadership.
Statements made by the three Presidents cited previously in this monograph
indicate that while documents written by professionals provide positive policies,
the political leadership may only accept them with low levels of commitment.
This creates tension between policy and practice. While policies on paper are
progressive and point to reform, practice is conservative. The government seems
to be still committed to the assimilation model and still views language diversity
as a problem. On the other hand, the public calls for the maintenance model and
for an orientation which views the linguistic diversity present in the country as a
resource and a right. Many non-governmental organisations take the view that
language and culture are human rights issues (refer to Part IV).
Language Planning Agencies

In 1979 the Minister of Education constituted the Setswana National
Language Committee (SNLC) to revise the 1937 orthography, which had been
developed in South Africa. This revision was necessary because the orthography
was based on the Setlhaping dialect, which is not represented in Botswana. The
Committee carried out the review and produced the 1981 Setswana Standard
Orthography.
Two years after the publication of the 1981 orthography, users began to
express dissatisfaction with it, indicating the need for yet another revision. The
National Setswana Language Council (NSLC) was formed in 1986 through a
presidential directive and charged to review the 1981 orthography and make the
necessary recommendations with regard to the teaching and learning of
Setswana as a national language. The Council mainly was concerned about the
lack of consistency in the use of the Setswana orthography by authors. Children
were under-performing in Setswana examinations; under-performance was
observable especially among those who spoke languages other than Setswana.
The Council also made some recommendations regarding the low status of
Setswana as compared to English and the resulting deterioration of the Setswana
language and culture. The work of the Council was carried out through four
main committees.
(1) The Book Review Committee was to review books used in schools to ensure
that they were morally acceptable.
(2) The Orthography Committee was to review the 1981 orthography.
(3) The Terminology Committee was to compile all foreign words in order to
coin Setswana equivalents.
(4) The Finance Committee administered funds from the Ministry of Education
for the work of the Council.
Recommendation No.3 of the Revised National Policy on Education said that
‘the National Setswana Language Council be renamed the Botswana Languages
Council and be given new terms of reference including the responsibility for
developing a comprehensive language policy’ (Republic of Botswana, 1994: 13).
The second President of Botswana formed another task force in the Ministry of
Education and charged it with the responsibility for the establishment of the
Botswana Languages Council. This task force was chaired by the Coordinator of
Revised National Policy on Education and former Permanent Secretary in the
same ministry, Mr Jake Swartland (Figure 2). The assignment of the task force
was to state clearly the mission and vision of the Botswana Languages Council, to
formulate its terms of reference, to define its structure membership, and to
suggest its home. The task force began its work in March 1997 and ended in
August of the same year. The report of the task force was presented to Cabinet
towards the end of 1997, but it was not approved. As a result, neither the National
Setswana Language Council nor the Botswana Languages Council are currently
functional as language planning bodies. In other words, formal language plan-
ning activities ended in 1997 after the completion of the work of this task force.
Informal language planning activities carried out by non-governmental organi-
sations that are concerned with the imminent death of their languages are
discussed in the following section.
Part IV: Language Maintenance and Prospects
Intergenerational Transmission of Setswana

There is a widespread popular belief that Setswana is losing ground to
English. While in the past English was confined to formal social domains, and to
conversations involving foreigners, it is not unusual to hear Batswana convers-
ing in English at a bar, in the work place and on the street. Most young people use
at least some English, and a few homes are beginning to use English as the main
medium of communication between family members. Some families are
reported not to be using Setswana at all in the home.4 This process, while slow
and insignificant at the moment, seems to suggest a dark future with Setswana
eventually becoming a language for only the old and the uneducated. This is
indicated by the fact that even adult learners are beginning to demand the intro-
duction of English in the non-formal educational curriculum, since it is now
required for all types of jobs (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1996). This is not surprising,
since, as stated earlier, recommendations meant to enhance the status of
Setswana in education and in society have never been implemented. Janson &
Tsonope (1991: 75–6) note that:
The language has been neglected in the sense that it has been seen mainly as
a part of the traditional society, and by that token not very interesting for
the generation of planners that has been busy leading Botswana on the way
to development. … Official policy shows a degree of indifference to ques-
tions concerning Setswana.
The same can be said for the other indigenous languages of Botswana. It is this
attitude from the leadership that is threatening not only the existence of
Setswana but also its value to future generations.
The radio is an effective means for the intellectualisation of language and for
supporting the transmission of language from one generation to the next. Radio
announcers and members of the public code-switch between English and
Setswana when speaking on the radio. There is no conscious effort to speak pure
Setswana so that the young might be able to learn good Setswana. Consequently,
young people acquire borrowed English words under the impression that they
are Setswana words. The use of English words is common even in cases where
Setswana equivalents exist. For instance, most people seem to prefer the English
word ‘change’ – rendered as chencha – instead of the Setswana equivalent fetola or
fetoga. Young people find it difficult to express themselves exclusively in
Setswana.
On the other hand, a renewed sense of nationhood seems to be growing. This
may be seen from three recent examples:
… the topical debate on the rights of minority groups, which became an elec-
tion issue in 1999 and led to the appointment of the presidential commis-
sion of enquiry into sections 77 to 79 of the constitution, in August 2000;
… the publication of a book on the status of Setswana as a national language;
and
… the fact that Miss Universe for 1999 was from Botswana.
When Miss Universe returned from the success at the Pageant, her first words
were in English and so was her address to the nation, to the great disappointment
of most Batswana. This disappointment was expressed on a radio programme
called Maokaneng, in which the general public discusses issues of national inter-
est by telephone in Setswana. Upon her second visit, Miss Universe was to
deliver her HIV/AIDS message at a concert organised in her honour by the
Ministry of Health. On that occasion she was reduced to tears when the youthful
crowd demanded that she deliver her speech in Setswana. Despite her tearful
claim that it was difficult for her to do so, the crowd insisted and she finally did
(Ndlovu, 1999). Every year Batswana express disappointment that the President
delivers his independence message in English (Kgengwenyane, 1996). This
public attitude could be a signal of a quest for national identity by the general
public.
Other positive signs are:

… as stated earlier, beginning in 1989, one of the private newspapers has
provided an insert in Setswana;
… other newspapers are beginning to accept articles in Setswana as well;
… while Setswana is losing some of its distinctive features, such as idioms and
proverbs, more Setswana words are being coined for new concepts (Ander-
son & Janson, 1997); and
… Setswana continues to be the main language in the traditional courts in
villages and towns alike.
These efforts signal the desire among the people to promote and maintain the use
of Setswana or the natural persistence of Setswana as a dominant language. The
success of various efforts to preserve Setswana will depend on the breadth of
support and/or political will. Should the current official attitude continue,
Setswana is likely to become an endangered language in the next three decades.
The future of other minority languages, which are not recognised by govern-
ment under the assimilation model, is even bleaker (Tsonope, 1995) if current
policy does not change to be more inclusive. The role of the élite in promoting
language death is critical. Most parents see the use of English in the home as facil-
itating the acquisition of English at school, and indeed, it does. As English is
required for matriculation, with limited spaces at senior secondary and tertiary
levels, most parents view the use of Setswana as a medium of instruction as a
contributing factor to low academic achievement. They therefore send their chil-
dren to English medium schools, where all instruction is in English, with
Setswana as a subject. Children from these schools rarely speak Setswana, except
through code-mixing.
Language Death and Language Maintenance

This monograph has demonstrated that, at independence, the Government of
Botswana adopted the orientation that language diversity was a problem and
aimed to eradicate all minority languages. Economic prosperity and the provi-
sion of social amenities such as schools, clinics and roads led many Batswana to
accept this position for a long time. Because of this policy, minority languages
were banned from use in all social domains. Under such circumstances, one
would not be surprised if by now all languages in Botswana were extinct except
Setswana and English. However, as assimilation occurs over a period of time,
and is influenced by factors such as self-esteem, 26 languages (Botswana
Language Use Project, 1996) are still spoken in some parts of the country. Most of
them are spoken by adults over 40 years of age. In some cases, children aged 17
speak the language, while in others, children younger than 17 may only compre-
hend the language. However, Kalanga, Subiya, Thimbukushu, Herero, and some
Khoisan languages are still spoken by young children in some communities.
Vossen (1988) conducted a socio-linguistic survey on language use in
Ngamiland (North-west District) (Map 2). The study included 13 languages in 19
schools situated in 12 villages. While the population of the Tswana (Batawana) is
less than that of all other languages collectively, he observed that most children
in the survey reported a greater knowledge of Setswana than of any other
language. He further observed a general decline in the use of the mother tongue
amongst his informants in some areas, indicating some degree of language shift.
Higher levels of language maintenance were observed amongst the Mbukushu
and Herero in some areas rather than others. He concluded that Shiyeyi was the
most threatened language in Ngamiland, as children no longer spoke it. Work by
Sommer & Vossen (1995) later complimented Vossen’s study.
As indicated previously, the Batawana enslaved the Wayeyi for over 250
years. Even after the abolition of slavery worldwide, the majority of Wayeyi still
continue to be ruled by the minority Batawana, despite their efforts since 1936 to
achieve autonomy. As a result, the Wayeyi suffer from low self-esteem; many
would prefer not to reveal their true identity, but rather say they are Batawana,
particularly to outsiders who have no reason to know anything to the contrary.
Those who can still speak the language are reluctant to use it in public places.
This situation, therefore, implies that Vossen’s data may primarily indicate an
identity crisis and the lack of overt language use but not an accurate picture of
language knowledge. On the other hand, it is also correct to suggest that
language knowledge without language use leads to language death. It is difficult
to say to what extent Shiyeyi is dead, or to what extent revival efforts would be
likely to succeed.
As previously indicated, the attitude of the government towards Setswana is
accompanied by intolerance for all other languages spoken in Botswana. Because
of this suppressive attitude, it is proper to say that all languages in Botswana are
somewhat threatened. Evidence that young people are not able to speak their
first languages is also showing up in other languages including Setswana. Smieja
and Mathangwane (1999) also observed a high degree of language shift amongst
the non-Tswana speakers such as the Babirwa, Kalanga, and Batswapong
towards Setswana and English. A great deal of cultural and linguistic loss among
many minority groups has been observed (Vossen, 1988). This has caused
concern, and some minority groups have begun to form organisations to revive
their languages and cultures. The work of some of these is described in the
following sections.
Informal efforts in language maintenance

Within the Ministry of Labor and Home Affairs is the Registrar of Societies’
Office. Since group rights are granted, through the right to associate, the main
duty of this office is to register non-governmental organisations (NGOs), under
Regulation 5 of the Societies Act No 19 of 1972. In order to be registered, an
organisation must have a constitution, with clear objectives, activities and
membership. It must indicate the specific areas on which it will focus. It must also
state the geographical region in which it will operate. A registered organisationis
a legal entity in its own right; it can sue or be sued. It has the right to receive dona-
tions from individuals and other local and international bodies. In Botswana,
there is a mother body for all registered NGOs, called the Botswana Council of
Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO). Its role is to assist its members
in three main areas: (1) policy research and advocacy; (2) capacity building, and
(3) networking and information dissemination. To become a member of
BOCONGO, an organisation pays an initial enrolment fee and an annual
subscription fee. Benefits include receiving invitations to training programmes,
Table 9 Non-government organisations (NGO) by category
Category Lead NGO
Disability Botswana Council for the Disabled
Women Women NGO Coalition
strightHealth/AIDS Botswana Network for AIDS
Human rights Ditshwanelo
Children and youth Botswana National Youth Council
Agriculture Forum for Sustainable Agriculture
Ecumenical Botswana Christian Council
Community Botswana Comm. Based Network
Media Media Institute in Southern Africa
Source: BOCONGO (1999)
which BOCONGO mounts for its members. For instance, it provides training in
management, accounting and marketing strategies. NGOs may send their
personnel to such seminars free of charge. Other benefits include general dissem-
ination of information on what other NGOs are doing, including work on the
international scene. BOCONGO also places all valuable information on each
member on its own website for dissemination. Once registered with BOCONGO,
an organisation will also have access to donors who are interested in its field.
Currently there are 81 NGOs registered with BOCONGO. It is difficult to tell
the number of those that are not members of the mother body, since data on
these is not readily available. These NGOs fall within nine categories. In each
category, one NGO is selected by BOCONGO to be the lead organisation in that
area (Table 9).
Registration with the Registrar of Societies gives an NGO liberty to operate
within the legal framework, while registration with BOCONGO gives it the
opportunity to network with other bodies with similar interests. BOCONGO
also offers these NGOs a united voice to speak to the government on issues of
mutual interest. Due to the high fees charged by BOCONGO, not all NGOs regis-
tered with the Registrar of Societies are members of the BOCONGO. An organi-
sation dealing with language and or culture would fall under the Human Rights
category; their lead agency is Ditshwanelo (a Setswana word for rights), The
Botswana Centre for Human Rights. Within the framework of the assimilationist
policy, speakers of languages that are not recognised by the government view
this policy as a denial of their human rights, i.e. denial of the ability to access
information in their own languages. Their work therefore focuses on reviving
and maintaining their linguistic and cultural rights. Those dealing with language
from a religious perspective fall under the ecumenical category. Currently, there
are six organisations dealing with language and culture from a human rights
perspective.
The Society for the Promotion of Ikalanga Language (SPILL)

Within the limitations of data reliability, the Kalangas are considered the larg-
est of the so-called minority groups in Botswana. The 1946 census indicated that
there were 22,777 Kalangas in the Bamangwato (Central) District (Mpho, 1987:
134, see Table 5). This excluded those in the North-east District (Table 6).
Kalangas have a strong sense of identity. Currently, they are one of the few
minority groups whose children speak Ikalanga at home, including those in
homes in the upper and middle class areas living in cities and towns. This is quite
phenomenal given that the Bamangwato tribe enslaved them in the 1800s. There
is a popular belief that, due to this oppression, the Kalanga developed a coding
system for gaining access to educational opportunities. When applying for
entrance to schools, each Kalanga application would have a drawing of a peanut
at the lower right-hand-side, their staple food. Education officers who were
mostly Kalanga would then ensure school admission. Many Batswana believe
that this is the main reason they are currently the most highly educated and hold
high government posts. Due to pressure from the Tswana presidents, Kalanga
ministers overtly support the assimilation model, but they covertly support the
promotion of the Kalanga to high positions as an alternative empowerment strat-
egy.
Because of the banning of the Ikalanga language from the educational system
at independence, the language was formally relegated only to the home environ-
ment. For this reason, the culture of the Kalanga people has been slowly disap-
pearing. Based on this realisation, the SPILL was formed by the Kalanga élite in
1981 to develop and maintain the Ikalanga language and culture. Also embed-
ded in the work of the society was the issue of land rights and the right to self-rule
through the chieftainship structure. When SPILL started, it created a negative
reaction from within government quarters. It was perceived as tribalistic and
divisive. There was a strong campaign to shun it and to denounce it as a threat to
the peace and stability prevailing in the country. Those Kalangas who believed in
the movement, saw this as an intimidating strategy to discourage them and
potential donors from developing Ikalanga. There were also divisions amongst
the Kalangas themselves. Some, especially those holding high government posi-
tions, were against the formation of SPILL, at least in public. They feared victimi-
sation at their jobs should their loyalty to government be doubted. Therefore,
while the Kalangas are highly influential in government circles, they could not
use that influence to convince government to allow the use of Ikalanga on radio
or in education, prior to the presentation of the 1997 motion which has not yet
become law.
The SPILL began its work with the revival and revision of the pre-independ-
ence Ikalanga orthography, which was published in 1995. The organisation has
now published a hymnbook in Ikalanga. The New Testament has been translated
into Ikalanga as well. The Mukani Action Campaign (MAC), the educational
wing of SPILL, has developed 14 literacy booklets for informal teaching of
Ikalanga and for future use in schools as soon as government implements the
1997 motion. The MAC also publishes a newsletter and encourages the publica-
tion of news articles in Ikalanga. One of the independent newspapers publishes a
weekly column in Ikalanga. Their major donor, as previously indicated, is the
Lutheran Bible Translators based in the United States, an organisation which has
provided technical support to run an office in Francistown. This office was at the
forefront of the development of the orthography and the translation of the New
Testament. Through the Department of Adult Education at the University of
Botswana, UNESCO is funding a project on the use of minority languages in
adult literacy. The project includes Kalanga and Shiyeyi. With respect to the
Kalanga project, it funds training workshops for members of the MAC as well as
the production of some of the materials. The other source of funding is through
membership fees. SPILL raises funds using several strategies, and the funds are
used to run the daily work. Further details on SPILL are available on the refer-
ence section of their web-site.
One of the issues that the Kalangas have been pushing for is the right to be
represented in the House of Chiefs by their Paramount Chief. As indicated in
Part I, politically, they are regarded as members of the Bamangwato tribe, and
their Paramount Chief is that of the Bamangwato. Within their immediate locali-
ties, they can have Kalanga sub-chiefs. Currently, there is a Kalanga sub-chief in
the House of Chiefs, but he is not regarded as representative of all Kalangas since
he is not a Paramount Chief. The SPILL is, therefore, playing a crucial role in
language planning. It is one of those bodies promoting the orientation to viewing
language diversity as a right and a resource for development.
Kamanakao Association
The Wayeyi live in Ngamiland (North-west District, Map 2). Politically and in
accordance with the assimilation policy, every one in this district is called a
Motawana, since the Tswana speaking Batawana tribe rule them. As indicated
previously, the Batawana subjected the Wayeyi to slavery. There are two main
reasons why the Wayeyi were the most subjected: first there was direct contact
between them and the Batawana on the arrival of the Batawana in Ngamiland;
the second reason was the soft and peace loving nature of the Wayeyi. In 1962,
Pitoro Seidisa (a Moyeyi from Gumare) started some work with Professor Ernst
Westphal of the University of Cape Town to develop the orthography for the
Shiyeyi language. Due to the conflict between the Wayeyi and Batawana over
serfdom, the then Queen Regent of the Batawana, Pulane, ordered the arrest of
Mr Seidisa for presuming to develop Shiyeyi. The Batawana thought that the
development of Shiyeyi might raise the consciousness of the Wayeyi and
strengthen their struggle for freedom from slavery. When Westphal realised the
unacceptability of the Shiyeyi language among the ruling Batawana, he discon-
tinued his work on the language and stated in his will that all the material on
Shiyeyi should be burnt after his death. By the time of his death, the orthography
had been completed, a dictionary was still incomplete and Chapter 8 of the
Gospel of Matthew as well as a few hymns had been translated into Shiyeyi.
After independence in 1966 the language policy continued to discourage the
development and use of any languages other than Setswana. The Kamanakao
Association was founded in 1995 by the Wayeyi élite to continue the work of Mr
Seidisa and Professor Westphal. Its aim was to develop and maintain the Shiyeyi
language and culture. The work on orthography was completed in 1998 and
work on materials production and training is on going. The Association has
produced a draft of an interdenominational hymnbook, a phrase book for teach-
ing Shiyeyi and a booklet containing songs, stories and poems. It also produces a
calendar in Shiyeyi.
The Kamanakao Association has three main sources of funding for its
programmes. The Lutheran Bible Translators funded the development of the
orthography and some of the publications previously mentioned. They continue
to fund the translation of hymns and the translation of the Jesus Film into Shiyeyi.
Currently, plans are under way to translate the Gospel of Luke. The UNESCO
project has three phases concerning the development of Shiyeyi: the first phase
covers the training of secondary school leavers in using the Shiyeyi orthography
to write stories on cultural themes; the second phase will subsume the writing of
the stories and songs, and the last phase will involve writing primers for adult
literacy. Currently, the training is going on simultaneously with story and song
writing. The third source of funding is from the communities. The Kamanakao
Association has nine branch committees throughout the northern part of the
Central District and in Ngamiland. These communities are responsible for the
cultural aspects of the organisation. They organise cultural activities and are also
responsible for hosting the Shikati (Chief in Shiyeyi) Kamanakao5 as he visits the
villages. These committees fund their own activities. They raise funds for the
association through the sale of T-shirts, booklets, bags and calendars and of
course through cultural activities.
The relationship between these two organisations and the government is one
of uneasy tolerance. While the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs authorised
their registration in accordance with the right to associate, they are seen as
moving against the assimilationist policy. This is particularly so in regard to the
chieftainship issue. The Wayeyi élite holding high government posts are torn
between supporting a just cause in which they believe and risking their jobs.
Consequently, they tend to remain neutral and unpredictable. Some Wayeyi,
especially politicians within the ruling party, have been used to campaign
against the work of Kamanakao Association. They have portrayed the Associa-
tion as tribalistic and have worked against the acceptance of Shikati Kamanakao
to represent the Wayeyi in the House of Chiefs. The Wayeyi have taken the
government to court for discriminating against their Paramount Chief. On the
other hand, some Wayeyi élite and academics have been successful in taking the
message of the Association to the people, through the village or branch commit-
tees. The message is understood as linguistic human rights as well as political
rights in terms of representation. After his installation as Paramount Chief of the
Wayeyi, in April 1999, Shikati Kamanakao has taken his role to be that of educat-
ing his people about their rights to develop and maintain their language and
culture through public meetings. His meetings have been attended by Criminal
Investigation Officers from the Police Department to try and intimidate people
attending. After a year of public education campaigns, people now feel free to
attend and participate in village committees and other cultural activities. They
are gaining confidence in demanding their rights to representation. They have
contributed money towards the costs of the lawsuit.
This lawsuit may have some influence in expediting the government’s deci-
sion to review Sections 77 to 79 of the constitution, which discriminate along
tribal lines concerning representation in the House of Chiefs. In February 2000,
an independent newspaper reporter held an interview with President Mogae
that was reported as follows:
Mmegi: Parliament passed a motion for the amendment of Sections 77–79

of the constitution which were deemed offensive but last year during the
elections you said there is no discrimination in terms of tribe. Would I have
a member of my tribe as an ex-officio member of the House of Chiefs in my

lifetime? (the reporter is Kalanga).
President Mogae: I don’t know where you get the impression that I have
gone back on anything. I and Parliament never said that the constitution
discriminates against tribes. We have said those sections you have
mentioned should be amended and I have said yes, if there is any section of
the constitution that causes irritation to any member of our society we must
look at them and amend. We are going to do that. We have appointed a task
force to go around asking Batswana including yourself. It would start work
early next month. (Chilisa, 2000: 19 (11–17 February)).
While the President’s promise is not a new thing, many people believe that the
lawsuit is likely to end the unreasonable delay in action on the constitutional
amendment. However, speculation is rife that the government is lobbying the
general public to accept the status quo. In fact, the President mentioned his own
preference for the status quo during the interview. He said, ‘I have my own views
… the arrangement with regards to the North East, Kgalagadi and Ghanzi is the
type I will be inclined to. It’s more democratic but Batswana believe in chiefs by
birth and I am not going to change that’ (Chilisa, 2000: 19 (11–17 February)).
As stated above (Background section), the areas mentioned here are minority
dominated and they are represented by elected sub-chiefs in the House of Chiefs
and not the Paramount Chiefs by birth of these minority tribes. This is in line with
the assimilation theory that only Setswana speaking tribes can be represented by
their Paramount Chiefs by birth. Minority groups can only be represented by
elected sub-chiefs to ensure that the people elected are sympathetic with the
ruling party policy of assimilation into Tswanadom. In the case of Ngamiland,
the tribes there are represented by the Tswana speaking Batawana chief. Accord-
ing to the Wayeyi, they are not represented, since imposing a Motawana chief on
them and rejecting their Paramount Chief is not democratic. The consultations to
be held with the people are less likely to change the current situation, as lobbying
will follow the elections pattern where people are alleged to have been bribed
and misinformed in house-to-house campaigns. The rural population is less
informed as it has no access to information, and it is likely to accept information
provided by the government. For this reason, the status quo is likely to prevail
after the consultations. On the other hand, should the educated élite make writ-
ten submissions to the task force, and work with NGOs to put pressure on the
government to change, there is a window of opportunity for change. Should the
task force complete its work and the relevant sections be changed, while the
lawsuit is still delayed in court (the hearing had been postponed twice between
October and December, 1999), the ruling of the court would contribute to the
recommendations of the task force. The work of the task force may also lead to
the withdrawal of the lawsuit. Both Kamanakao and SPILL are locally driven and
members of BOCONGO.
The Etsha Ecumenical Community (EEC)

The Etsha Ecumenical Community was an initiative by the Botswana Chris-
tian Council in 1970. The Council is composed of twenty churches and seven
church-related organisations (Hopkins, 1995). It runs a number of ecumenical
projects for disadvantaged groups including the disabled, women, and street
children. The Etsha project focuses on the development and use of the
Thimbukushu language for religious purposes (see Table 1). It utilises reading
material developed in Namibia and by other linguists elsewhere on Thimb-
ukushu to conduct literacy classes at least three times a week for female adults
among the Hambukushu people. Some of its activities include: training in basket
weaving amongst the Hambukushu and Wayeyi females at Etsha, marketing the
baskets outside Botswana, running a pre-school in Thimbukushu, running a
poultry project for out-of-school youth, and running a guest house. This work
has served as a source of inspiration for the revival and maintenance of the
Thimbukushu language in Botswana. Currently, there are efforts to register a
Thimbukushu cultural organisation by the Hambukushu people.
The Basarwa (Bushmen) belong to about 17 main Khoisan language groups
(Appendix 1). They are the indigenous people of Botswana and are nomadic. It is
estimated that there are about 40,000 Basarwa in Botswana, making up about four
per cent of the population. They are mainly hunters and gatherers. Due to their
nomadism, they are found in seven of the eight administrativedistricts (Mazonde,
1997). Their main areas of concentration are Ghanzi, Kweneng, parts of Ngamiland
and Ngwaketsi districts and they have a high degree of language maintenance
(Smieja & Mathangwane, 1999). From time immemorial, the Basarwa have
worked for the wealthy Setswana speaking groups who use them as herd-boys for
low wages, provided mainly in the form of food. They own no land and are ruled
by the Setswana Paramount Chief in whatever area they happen to reside. For
instance, those in Kweneng are considered Bakwena and ruled by the Bakwena
Paramount Chief. Mogwe (1994: 57) best describes the plight of the Basarwa.
The Basarwa are the poorest of the poor.… Why have development
programs aimed at the improvement of their standard of living focused
instead on assimilation or integration without informed choice and with-
out the participation of the Basarwa during both planning and implemen-
tation? … Rampant discrimination against the Basarwa peoples has meant
that they have become marginalised culturally, politically, socially, and
economically.… The state imposes leaders on them who are not of their
culture or language group. This in turn has exacerbated their position of
marginalisation. Attempts to use the law are frustrated because they lack
the operation language of Setswana customary courts.
In 1999, two Basarwa who had been sentenced to death by the high court for
murder; their case was appealed by Ditshwanelo, the Botswana Center for
Human Rights (see Table 9). It was discovered that the Basarwa were not given
an opportunity to speak in their language in court and were not listened to when
they struggled in Setswana to air their unhappiness about their lawyer. The high
court did not listen to their pleas but sentenced them to death. However, in 1999,
the appeals court ordered a retrial. Mogwe argues that the human rights of the
Basarwa have neither been respected nor protected by the state. The state had
argued that Ditshwanelo had no right to represent the Basarwa, further violating
their right to representation by challenging Ditshwanelo’s efforts.
Due to the marginalised status of the Basarwa, many international organisa-
tions have come to Botswana to establish community based development
projects. Three such projects operating under registered organisations will be

briefly described in the following sections. They were a result of external initia-
tives and mainly funded by church organisations in The Netherlands and by
development agencies such as CIDA, UNICEF, World View, the Norwegian
government and others.
The Kuru Development Trust (Kuru)

Fidzani (1998) maintains the distribution of cattle in Botswana is uneven. Only
five per cent of the population own 50% of the national herd, and 45% of the rural
households do not own any cattle. This means that rich cattle owners also own
most of the land. It is therefore difficult for the nomadic Basarwa to own land.
The tourism policy of the government of Botswana calls for their removal from
areas with tourist attractions. In 1979, the government grouped all Basarwa
living inside the Kalahari Central Game Reserve (KCRG) in one place within a
reserve called Xade. In 1986, the government decided to freeze developments in
this area and move the Basarwa outside the reserve to New Xade (Mazonde,
1997). With the support of two external agencies based in The Netherlands, the
Kalahari Support Group and the Kalahari People’s fund, Basarwa communities
in ten villages in the Ghanzi District in 1986 established the Kuru Development
Trust. The main aim of the organisation is to facilitate active participation of
Basarwa communities and individuals in the development process and to
support the acquisition of land and land rights. Mazonde (1997) observes that the
hunger for land has resulted in Basarwa in Ghanzi demanding their own district,
as well as a Mosarwa councillor, a Mosarwa member of the House of Chiefs and a
Mosarwa member of Parliament. The Kuru Development Trust has been sensi-
tising the Basarwa to stand up for their rights and achieve their dreams. They too,
like other groups, need to reap the fruits of democracy. The assimilationist model
has not proved to be fruitful for them. In the 1999 general elections, a Mosarwa
lady stood for council elections in Ghanzi, but unfortunately she lost. A Mosarwa
sub-chief was installed in Xade, but he is not yet a member of the House of Chiefs.
Some of the activities of the Kuru include the development of enterprenial
skills among Basarwa, to promote participatory learning processes for self-
awareness and development. Kuru also promotes agricultural activities by intro-
ducing alternative agricultural methods. Kuru is heavily involved in social
education, language development and cultural identity. It hosts an annual
cultural festival, featuring songs and dances in the Naro and Ju/hoan languages
(Appendix 1). Kuru runs a museum funded by the Bernard Van Leey foundation.
This museum displays the history of the Basarwa and has a good collection of
their artefacts. The trust also collects Sarwa artefacts and markets them at both
national and international levels. The Kuru Development Trust has a language
wing, specifically working on the Naro language through the Naro Language
Project which was started in 1991 and is funded by the Christian Reformed
Churches in the Netherlands (Visser, 1998). By 1997 the project had produced an
orthography and phonology of Naro. A number of publications (e.g. primers, a
dictionary and literacy material) have been produced. The Language Project
runs pre-school classes in Naro; adult literacy classes are conducted in Naro in
the Ghanzi District. Currently, Kuru runs a leather tannery, a carpentry shop, a
fence-building workshop, a silk screen craft production project and workshops

on HIV/AIDS, business skills and negotiation skill in Sarwa languages.
In 1998, Kuru expanded its activities into the Okavango delta. Kuru has estab-
lished an office at Shakawe to provide community development work amongst
the Bugakhwe and Xanikhwe San peoples, the Wayeyi, Hambukushu and
Giriku, with specific focus on the development of cultural tourism. Kuru is
currently assisting these communities to form and register trusts and to apply for
land for tourist activities. The work of this trust has not been easy. Like most
ethnically oriented organisations, Kuru was perceived as inciting the Basarwa to
disobey government orders and to impede the government’s effort to provide
social amenities to the Basarwa at New Xade.
The missionaries from The Netherlands who were working with Kuru were
seen as people who were in Botswana to pursue their own personal interests
rather than those of the Basarwa. Consequently, in 1993 the government issued a
deportation order against Reverend Le Roux for his activities with the Kuru
Development Trust. He was seen to be influencing the Basarwa not to move out
of the Kalahari Game Reserve. While human rights organisations managed to
put pressure on the government to lift the deportation order, they did not
convince the government to reverse the decision to move the Basarwa out of the
KCGR. Eventually the Basarwa of Xade became divided, some supporting the
move to New Xade and others choosing to stay in the Old Xade in the KCGR. The
government has viewed its own policies and efforts as intending to modernise
the Basarwa and bring them into the mainstream. Development agencies, on the
other hand, saw such policies as assimilationist and aimed at eradicating the
languages and cultures of the Basarwa and, most importantly, to disempower
them economically. The removal of the Basarwa from the KCRG to New Xade
meant that they could not hunt and gather fruit, but would be more dependent
on government subsidies. In turn, this would make them loyal to the ruling
party. The assimilationist model is not only intended to assimilate minority
groups into Tswanadom but into the ruling party as well. The covert goal is to
have one language, one nation and one party.
The First People of the Kalahari (FPK)

The First People of the Kalahari was established in 1992 to fight for the land
rights of the Basarwa people, specifically the San/N/Oakhine group (see
Appendix 1). Like Kuru, it was established with the support of the Kalahari
Support Group and the Kalahari People’s Fund. The issue of land rights is funda-
mental to the survival of the Basarwa who are mainly hunters and gatherers. FPK
is one of the organisations trying to address the issue. Its founder, John
Hardbattle, died in 1996 at the height of the New Xade controversy.
While the FPK was formed by an identifiable ethnic and linguistic group, and
some of its activities have included language development, the main objective of
the organisation is the achievement of Basarwa human rights, specifically the
right to own land. The state maintains that the Basarwa, being nomads, have no
right to land (Mogwe, 1994). This defines where they can hunt and gather fruit, as
the non-nomadic groups own and control the land. This has serious conse-
quences for the daily living of the Basarwa. The only option for them is to work
for the wealthy for low wages. FPK serves as a national advocate that strength-
ens, organises and coordinates development projects within the settlements and
communities in Ghanzi towards the acquisition of land and land rights to gather
and hunt. It links these communities to those in neighbouring countries like
South Africa and Namibia. It has an education wing responsible for collection
and dissemination of information on human rights, and monitors human rights
abuses, especially those dealing with game licensing for hunting. FPK’s major
activities include advocacy and negotiating with government for the rights of the
Basarwa. The FPK also has income-generating projects in ostrich and poultry
farming and it runs a cultural centre.
The Basarwa Research Project

The Basarwa Research Project is coordinated at the University of Botswana,
through the former National Institute of Research and Development, now the
Directorate of Research and Development, and in conjunction with the Depart-
ment of African Languages and Literature. The Norwegian government funds
the project, which is aimed at conducting research on the social, linguistic,
cultural, political and economic well-being of the Basarwa within the Southern
African region. The project conducts regional workshops to provide a forum for
scholars to report on their work related to the Khoesan languages and cultures
and other aspects of the San peoples. Western scholars who come to Botswana as
individuals to conduct their studies on the Basarwa are also provided an oppor-
tunity to present their findings at the University of Botswana through this
project. These efforts are helping to revive and maintain the Khoesan languages.
Summary
The work of non-governmental organisations has begun to signal to the
government that there is a language and cultural problem to be attended to. The
Department of Youth and Culture (DYC) was established in the Ministry of
Labor and Home Affairs in 1989, and the Botswana National Cultural Council
(BNCC) was established in 1992 within the Department. The Department has
been charged with the responsibility to develop a national cultural policy.
Currently, there is a consultancy to review the draft of this policy document and,
amongst other things, to review the capacity of and the linkages between institu-
tions dealing with culture, especially the DYC and the BNCC, the House of
Chiefs and NGOs. The consultancy will also provide a state of the art account of
the sociological, historical and linguistic relations of peoples within the cultural
setting of Botswana. This signals a willingness on the part of the government to
begin to address the thorny issues relating to the linguistic and cultural diversity
of the country, and the chieftainship issues within the framework of human
rights and globalisation.
The government seems to be convinced about the role of culture in develop-
ment, and there are plans to develop cultural villages. However, the govern-
ment’s view appears to be that culture can best be preserved through museums
and cultural villages set up for public viewing. Culture is not considered as a way
of life that a community must live as part of national development. There are no
serious efforts to instil language and cultural studies into the curriculum (Milon,
1989; Nyati-Ramahobo, 1998a). Apparently there is also the belief that the
cultures of minority groups can be preserved without the use of their languages.
This constitutes a difficult task, since some crucial aspects of culture can only be
expressed through language. Efforts to revive and maintain Botswana languages
rest with the civil society’s will to work tirelessly despite the government’s resis-
tance. The role of the élite, especially academics, is crucial to the development
and maintenance of the languages of Botswana. One major characteristic of
democracy in Botswana is freedom of speech. Academics, other activists and the
media have taken advantage of this characteristic to take the issues into the
public arena. However, there is another element of our democracy working
against this. While there is freedom of speech, there is no freedom after speech
(Mogwe, 1994). That is, people can talk, but they are not listened to, and there are
a number of subtle ways of victimising those who speak out and who are
employed by the government. It is for this reason that government employees
play rather a debilitating role in the promotion of linguistic and cultural rights of
minority groups in Botswana.
Pidgins and Creoles

When the Wayeyi were enslaved by the Batawana and forced to speak
Setswana, language contact occurred between Shiyeyi and the Sengwato dialect
of the Setswana spoken by the Batawana. This contact resulted in the emergence
of a creole called Setawana – the basic structure of which consists of Sengwato
syntax with a heavy Shiyeyi lexicon – which is now accepted as a dialect of
Setswana. For instance:
Ba ne ba ile go shaora.
(They went swimming).
Shaora is a Shiyeyi word for swimming.
Ha o bua maxambura ke tla go caka

(If you say nonsense I will axe you (hit you with an axe).
Maxambura is the Shiyeyi word for nonsense and caka is to axe someone.
While the Setswana equivalent for such words may exist in other parts of the
country, to people in Ngamiland only the Shiyeyi words exist, and this is the
normal way of speaking. They would never use words such as go thuma for swim-
ming as it is used in the southern part of the country. As this creole variety has not
been studied, it is difficult to say whether it is in fact a creole or whether it is a
dialect with some Shiyeyi lexical code-switching. As a result of the low status of
the Wayeyi, and the movement of more people from the north-west (Maun area)
to work in the south (see Map 2), there seems to be a movement towards standard
Sengwato dialect and towards an avoidance of Shiyeyi words at all costs.
However, the old and uneducated population continues to use this mixture.
Anderson & Janson (1997) discuss Tsotsitaal and question whether or not it is
spoken in Botswana. A number of factors may be responsible for the importation
of this pidgin language into Botswana from South Africa:
… the movement between the two countries for economic activities is a
constant factor;
… families are divided across the border;
… there was the influx of South African refugees into Botswana during the
apartheid era;
… Batswana watch South African television.
As a result, Tsotsitaal is spoken by the youth in towns, especially those in the
southern part of the country, to almost the same extent that they speak American
English. Currently, these phenomena are confined to the youth who switch to
normal Setswana when speaking to adults. The current situation concerning
pidgins and creoles in Botswana is that none of the varieties have really been
studied by scholars in a detailed manner.
Probable Future Directions

The debate about ethnic and linguistic inequality has been going on for a long
time in Botswana. A motion to review Sections 77–79 of the constitution was first
debated in Parliament in 1988. The opposition party lost the motion and one
member of Parliament from the ruling party remarked ‘we defeated them’
(Republic of Botswana, 1988: 511). The discourse of hegemonic power was stron-
ger at that time. Within government circles, therefore, there is the ‘them’ and ‘us’
mentality. This does not seem to augur well for democracy and social justice.
Tswadom was seen to have settled in, and the chances for the minorities to assert
themselves to change the constitution were seen as slim. However, the discourse
changed in 1995. The same parliamentarian who dominated the debate in 1988,
and concluded with the above utterance, did not say a word during the 1995
debate. The ruling party had lost ten seats to the opposition in the 1994 general
elections. In this debate, parliamentarians from minority groups from both the
ruling and the opposition parties presented their case powerfully during this
discussion. One from the ruling party said:
… each one of us will want to appear and to be recognised in the eyes of the
law, especially the supreme law of the country, as being equal to his breth-
ren.… Our circumstances now require that we amend sections 77, 78, and
79 of the Constitution so that other tribal interests are presented. That
would ensure that our republic has characteristics of a true republic. A
Constitution should reflect those characteristics … there should be no
notion, no impression created in the mind of anyone that some persons or
some groups or some tribal interests are superior than others. If we do, or
allow for such a situation, there is bound to be social disharmony in our
country. (Republic of Botswana, 1995: 86–7)
The motion was passed in 1995, as stated in Part III, mainly due to pressure from
the opposition parties and vocal members of the ruling party who supported it.
The majority of Tswana parliamentarians from the ruling party barely accepted
the motion, but the discourse of hegemonic power has subsided. This tension
explains why there have been no efforts to implement it to date. On the other
hand, the pressure from non-governmental organisations working to promote
minority languages and cultures has intensified continuously over the past four
years. The current situation is that, while non-governmental organisations are
encouraged by such positive policy statements to push for reform at the imple-
mentation level, the efforts of those NGOs are frustrated by the covertly negative
attitudes of the leadership. This situation is likely to continue to limit the impact
the non-governmental organisations might have. With this kind of tension, it is
difficult to predict the future directions of language development and usage in
Botswana.
In discussing whether the 1999 general elections were issue-driven, one news-
paper stated that:
…[p]erhaps the only issue that was articulated effectively is the one relat-
ing to ethnic inequality. . . . The opposition, in particular, seems to have
been effective in presenting its case to the electorate. . . . And it would
appear that many people in the affected areas were bought into it. (Mbuya,
1999: 15)
Many opposition parties promised the electorate that, if elected to power, other
languages would be taught in schools, and sections of the constitution, which
discriminate on the basis of tribal affiliation, would be reviewed. However, an
analysis of the election results indicated that people in minority dominated areas
voted for the ruling party. Four factors have been alleged to be responsible for this:
(1) Internal conflict amongst opposition parties which went on until the date of
the election left the electorate with no choice but to elect the devil they knew’
(2) The ruling party has exploited the ignorance of the rural poor who have no
access to the media. It is alleged that the people were informed in house to
house campaigns that the constitution had been amended to incorporate
laws on ethnicity and gender.
(3) There were also allegations of bribery – the use of money and the deliveries
of drought-relief foodstuffs in some villages during the election week.
(4) In his tour of the country just a week before elections, the President
informed his audiences that the constitution does not discriminate. This
created the impression that it had been amended, thus confirming the infor-
mation provided in the house-to-house campaigns. In fact, many Wayeyi
were happy that their Shikati would be admitted to the House of Chiefs, and
so they voted for the ruling party.
Should these allegations be true (though they are not new), then change is less
likely to be achieved through the parliamentary process. In a country where
more than 40% of the population lives below the poverty datum line (Jeffris,
1997), this practice is likely to continue for some time, at least until there is a
strong and united opposition.
One of the organisations advocating ethnic and language rights has taken
the government to court for discriminating against their Paramount Chief, by
refusing him membership of the House of Chiefs. Should the government win
the case, the issue is unlikely to go away, and the debate may go to higher levels.
The government has demonstrated intolerance on the issue, and it is most
unlikely to accede to the demands of non-Setswana speaking tribes. Whether
the government accepts change or not, many languages are likely to be
preserved and enhanced through the work of non-governmental organisa-
tions. It is necessary for these non-governmental organisations to work
together and to seek the support of the human rights groups, in order to exert
more pressure on government. Members of Parliament who are from minority
groups hold the passport for change. Should they stand firm on their word
during the debate of the motion to amend Sections 77 to 79 of the constitution,
the government is likely to act quickly. However, should they feel threatened,
change will be slow and painful.
The very principles of unity and democracy which all the ethnic and linguistic
groups of Botswana embraced at independence, which subsequently resulted in
the acceptance of the modernist/assimilationist paradigm into Tswanadom, are
the very principles providing them good grounds to assert and not relinquish
their subnational identities. After 33 years of independence, the issue of nation-
hood is no longer in question. The question now is what has this democracy and
nationhood achieved for every one of us. Attempts to react to this question
clearly demonstrate that the concept of Tswanadom has relegated some
members of this nation to a low and unacceptable status, economically, politi-
cally and culturally. For this reason, the democracy for which Botswana is well
known and respected is challenged. The orientation to view linguistic and
cultural diversity as a problem is counterproductive to democratic gains. The
option is to move quickly from overt assimilationist models to true pluralistic
models, in which both group rights and individual rights are guaranteed, and
democratic principles of representation are respected.
Correspondence
Any correspondence should be directed to Dr Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo,
Faculty of Education, University of Botswana, Private Bag 0022, Gaborone,
Botswana (ramaholn@mopipi.ub.bw).
Notes
1. The name of the country is Botswana, the people are Batswana, one person from
Botswana is a Motswana and the national language is Setswana. This formula for
prefixing applies to the eight Setswana speaking tribes, who are represented by their
paramount chiefs:
Table 1 Linguistic groups

Category 1 (The eight Setswana speaking tribes)
Name of tribe (plural) Dialect/language Individual
Bamangwato/Bangwato Sengwato Mongwato
Bakgatla Sekgatla Mokgatla
Batawana Setawana Motawana
Balete Selete Molete
Batlokwa Setlokwa Motlokwa
Bakwena Sekwena Mokwena
Bangwaketsi Sengwaketsi Mongwaketsi
Barolong Serolong Morolong
The formula also applies to those tribes whose languages are close to Setswana
but are not considered to be dialects of Setswana (some are represented by
elected sub chiefs from their own tribes – the four areas, while others are not
represented by their own people but by the paramount chief in that area).
Category 2 (Tribes with languages close to Setswana)

Bakgalagadi/Makgalagadi Sekgalagadi Mokgalagadi
Babirwa Sebirwa Mmirwa
Batswapong (Baseleka) Setswapong Motswapong
Bahurutshe Sehurutshe Mohurutshe
Bakhurutshe Sekhurutshe Mokhurutshe
Bakgothu Sekgothu Mokgothu
Bashaga Seshaga Moshaga
Bangologa Sengologa Mongologa
Batlhwaring Setlhwaring Mo tlhwareng.
Batalaote Setalaote Motalaote
Bakaa Sekaa Mokaa
While tribes who speak languages that are not related to Setswana at all did not
originally follow this formula over time the formula has been applied to them.
The original name is supplied and the ‘tswanalised’ version is bracketed.
Category 3 (Tribes not related to Setswana)
Ovaherero (Baherero) Herero (Seherero) Herero (Moherero)
Wayeyi (Bayeyi)/Bayei Shiyeyi (Seyeyi) Muyeyi (Moyeyi)
Hambukushu (Ma/ Thimbukushu (Se-) Hambukushu
Bambukushu) (Mombukushu)
Kalanga (Ma/Bakalaka) Ikalanga (Sekalalaka) Kalanga (Mokalalaka)
Subia (Ma/Basubia) Subia (Sesubia) Subia (Mosubia)
Ciriku (Ma/Baciriku) Othiciriku (Seciriku) Mociriku
Ba/Masarwa (includes 13 Sesarwa Mosarwa
Khoisana languages)
Ba/Manajwa Senajwa Monajwa
Note: The alternative prefix Ma- is used to demean the tribe. Languages spoken by
tribes in Categories 2 and 3 are considered minority languages.
2. A more detailed description of the ‘English only’ situation can be found in Kaplan and
Baldauf (in press).
3. A traditional meeting place where the chief hears cases, consults and informs his
people about development matters in the village.
4. Contribution from a participant at a symposium on ‘The Quality of Life in Botswana’
organised by the Botswana Society, 15–18 October 1996.
5. The name of the Chief is the same as the name of the Association.
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Appendix 1: Main Khoisan Language Groups (in brackets are

sub-groups)
Ju/hoan
Xani
Tcg’aox’ae (or = Kx’au//’ein or ‘Kxc’au/ein)
Dxana
Dcui
Naro: (//Ana: Naro, //Gana, /Gwi, Khute)
Qgoon
San/N/Oakhine
Nama
Shua: (Xaise, Deti, Cara, Shua, Ts’ixa, Danisi, Bugakhwe, Xanikhwe)
Tshwa: (Tshwa, Kua, Tshauwau, Heitshware)
Tchuan
¹ Hua
Hai//om
!Xoo
!Kwi: (/Xam, = Khomani, //Xegwi and //Ng!’e)
Tshu
Appendix 2: Recommendations related to Setswana and English

(National Policy on Education, March 1994)
Recommendation 3 [para. 2.3.30]
With respect to language policy, the Commission recommends that the
National Setswana Language Council be renamed the Botswana Languages
Council and be given revised terms of Reference, including the responsibil-
ity for developing a comprehensive language policy (p. 13)
Recommendation 18 [para.4.4.31]
With respect to the teaching of languages in primary school,
(a) English should be used as the medium of instruction from standard 2 as
soon as practicable (p. 59)
(d) Setswana should be taught as a compulsory subject for citizens of Botswana
throughout the primary school system. In-service training programs should
commence immediately to improve the teaching of Setswana as a subject (p.
18)
The Commission recommends the following statement of goals for the
three-year junior secondary program: The goals of the Junior Certificate
Curriculum are to develop in all children
– Proficiency in the use of Setswana and English language as tools for effec-
tive communication, study and work
– an understanding of society, appreciation of culture and sense of citizen-
ship; etc. (p. 21)
With respect to Junior Certificate curriculum,
(b) each student should take eight core subjects, namely, English, Setswana
Social Studies etc.
(d) in addition each student should select a minimum of two and a maximum of
three optional subjects. At least one of the subject selected should be from
each of the following groups of subjects:
(ii) Third language (p. 63)
In order to improve the teaching of Setswana, the Commission recommends
that:
(a) teachers should be exposed to as many language teaching methods as possi-
ble so as to provide a variety for the teacher and the learner, with emphasis
on communicative approaches, and therefore make Setswana more interest-
ing as a subject (p. 26)
(b) information on job opportunities other than teaching, e.g. in the media,
professions and as translators, Court interpreters, and Parliamentary trans-
lators, should be more extensively disseminated. With some guidance
students at school level would then take their study of the language more
seriously, recognising opportunities for development in the language (p.
66)
(c) the University of Botswana’s Department of African Languages and Litera-
ture should play a leading role in guiding academic presentations in
Setswana and cooperate with the Faculty of Education in promoting the
teaching of Setswana.(p. 26)
Recommendation number 70 [para.7.6.9]
With respect to the development of a core curriculum for students in tertiary
education institutions, the Commission recommends the following compo-
nents:
(d) a module on Botswana’s culture and values, within the context of heteroge-
neous African cultures, noting the uniqueness and universals of Botswana’s
ways of life (p. 34)
(c) the primary teacher training curriculum should prepare teachers to handle
adequately some of the innovative methods such as Breakthrough to
Setswana, Project Method, continuous Assessment, Guidance and Coun-
seling, Special Education, Remedial Teaching, especially to support
assessed progression (p. 45)
Recommendation 101 [Para.10.5.13]

(e) admission requirements should be reviewed to allow experienced primary
school teachers holding COSC/GCE to be recruited for training as Setswana
Teachers (p. 46)
Recommendation 103 [para.10.5.19]
(a) Setswana teacher training should be included in the category of critical
human resource shortage alongside the Science and Technical fields of
study in the proposed Grant/Loan Scheme (p. 46)
(b) Setswana teachers should enjoy enhanced entry salary and parallel progres-
sion similarly to Science and Mathematics teachers (p. 46)
The Author
Dr Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Education at
the University of Botswana. She obtained her PhD in Applied Linguistics at the
University of Pennsylvania in 1991. She served as head of the Department of
Primary Education for four years. She was also Coordinator of the Educational
Research Network in Eastern and Southern Africa (ERNESA) for three years, and
Chairperson of the Botswana Educational Research Association. Her major
publications include The Girl Child in Botswana (UNICEF) and The National
Language, a Resource or a Problem (Pula Press). Her areas of interest are
language-in-education, language and ethnicity, educational research and female
education.

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The Language Situation in Botswana

This monograph provides an overview of the language situation in Botswana.1 It

1466-4208/00/02 0243-58 $16.00/0 ©2000 L. Nyati-Ramahobo

and Southern Africa coordinated by Kamanakao Association on behalf of the

The Legislature The Executive The Judiciary

Cabinet High Court

Clerk of National Office of the Attorney General’s Administrator of

Figure 1 Top central government in Botswana

Map 2 Botswana tribal distribution by district (Source: Nyati-Ramahobo, 1999a: 83)

structure consists of the national assembly, composed of 40 members of Parlia-

Part I: The Language Profile of Botswana

move from prohibition to tolerance for Setswana on the assimilation continuum.

… When language planners view language diversity as a problem, they adopt

and use of as many languages as possible. More languages would be

Major and minor languages

Table 3 Religions and their membership

Source: Amanze (1988: x)

Setswana. Batswana ministers in urban areas use English to deliver their

Socio-linguistic Complexity of the Country

Table 4 Population in Ngamiland by ethnic group in 1936 and 1946

Source: Tlou (1985: 9)

Table 6 Estimated number of speakers

1997) but continued to consider themselves to be Namibians. After Namibia’s

of reliable data, it is difficult to estimate the percentages of each ethnic group

Part II: Language Spread

Development of Language-in-education Policies

Table 7 School enrolment: 1966–1976

Source: National Commission on Education (1977: 14)

focused on secondary and higher education in terms of quality issues while

Table 8 Education enrolment 1979–1991

Sources: National Commission on Education (1993); Central Statuistics Office (1999)

(5) The Commission recommended a change in the education structure from

The Honorable Minister

Exams, Research Planning, Statistics

Deputy Permanent Sec. Deputy Permanent Sec.

* The Revised Policy on Education

Figure 2 Structure of the Ministry of Education

… access to senior secondary education was still a problem (NCE 2, 1993:148);

Figure 3 Structure of education and training

The introduction of English as a medium of instruction as early as Standard

1 to 4 while English is taught as a subject in those grades. English then becomes

Objectives and assessment

… to help children in acquiring the very necessary skills of listening, speaking,

syllabus further states that continuous assessment should be an integral part of

The printed press written in Setswana contributed to the spread of Christianity

encourage ordinary citizens to start small-scale businesses by lending them

Part III: Language Policy and Planning

Botswana’s language policy is not written; it is understood, inferred and

(1) To establish a learning society in which education is seen as a lifelong

states that ‘there is a challenge to recognise and develop equally all

Language Planning Agencies

Part IV: Language Maintenance and Prospects

Intergenerational Transmission of Setswana

Other positive signs are:

Language Death and Language Maintenance

Informal efforts in language maintenance

Source: BOCONGO (1999)

The Society for the Promotion of Ikalanga Language (SPILL)

Mmegi: Parliament passed a motion for the amendment of Sections 77–79

a member of my tribe as an ex-officio member of the House of Chiefs in my

The Etsha Ecumenical Community (EEC)

projects. Three such projects operating under registered organisations will be

The Kuru Development Trust (Kuru)

fence-building workshop, a silk screen craft production project and workshops