Languages of Lesotho

Woman with a protest sign in Sesotho, Maseru

Official| Sesotho, IsiXhosa, SiPhuthi and English
Minority| IsiXhosa, SiPhuthi, IsiZulu
Immigrant| Afrikaans
Signed| Lesotho Sign Language
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Source| Ethnologue
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Culture of Lesotho

History

* Monarchs
* Lifaqane
* Free State–Basotho Wars
* Basuto Gun War
* 1970 coup d'état
* 1986 coup d'état
* 1991 coup d'état
* 1994 coup d'état
* South African intervention
* 2014 political crisis

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Lesotho, a country in Southern Africa, is home to several languages, including SiPhuthi, Sesotho, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu and English, — all, except for English, belong to the Niger–Congo language family.[1]

## National and official languages

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The official languages of the Kingdom of Lesotho are Sesotho, English, isiXhosa, and SiPhuthi.[2][note 1] Sesotho was recognized as the national language by the National and Official Languages Bill, ratified by the National Assembly of Lesotho on 12 September 1966, which also established Sesotho and English as the country's then two official languages[1][3], ammended on 12 August 2022 to add the further two official languages, IsiXhosa and SiPhuthi. The country's language policy before the ammendment promoted bilingualism[4].

Sesotho is the first language of more than 90 percent of the population[5] and is "used widely as a medium of communication" in day-to-day speech.[6] English is reserved for official interactions,[6] such as "government and administration"[7].

Before the official language ammendment, primary education of children would take place in Sesotho for the first three years, with English becoming the medium of instruction in the fourth year of primary school.[7][8] Competence in English is "particularly important ... for educational, political, social and economic transactions in the subcontinent"[9] and facilitates obtaining employment within Lesotho and abroad.[10]

## Minority and immigrant languages

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A minority of Basotho, estimated to number 248,000 as of 1993[update], speak IsiZulu, one of the eleven official languages of South Africa.[11] SiPhuthi, a Tekela language closer in phonology to SiSwati, an official language of South Africa and Eswatini, is spoken by 43,000 Basotho (as of 2002[update]).[11] IsiXhosa, a Zunda Nguni language and official language of South Africa, is spoken by 18,000 people in Lesotho.[11] Speakers of these minority languages typically also speak Sesotho.[7]

Afrikaans, spoken mainly in South Africa and Namibia, is an immigrant language.[11]

## See also

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* Languages of South Africa
* Languages of Eswatini

## Notes

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Footnotes

1. ^ The people of Lesotho are called Basotho (sing. Mosotho), where "ba-" indicates plural; see Rosenberg, Weisfelder & Frisbie-Fulton 2005, p. 12 and Van Wyk 1998, p. 54.

Citations

1. ^ a b "Lesotho". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
2. ^ "Lesotho Government Gazette Number 73". Retrieved 26 July 2025.
3. ^ Rosenberg, Weisfelder & Frisbie-Fulton 2005, p. 319
4. ^ Legère, Fitchat & Akindele 2002, p. 109.
5. ^ Baker & Prys Jones 1998, p. 270.
6. ^ a b Baker & Prys Jones 1998, p. 315.
7. ^ a b c Baker & Prys Jones 1998, p. 361
8. ^ "Basic Facts". The Embassy of the Kingdom of Lesotho – Tokyo, Japan. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
9. ^ Legère, Fitchat & Akindele 2002, p. 114.
10. ^ Webb 1995, p. 96.
11. ^ a b c d Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2009). "Languages of Lesotho". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2011-07-04. Retrieved 3 October 2010.

## References

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* Baker, Colin; Prys Jones, Sylvia (1998). Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. Multilingual Matters. ISBN 978-1-85359-362-8.
* Dalby, Andrew (2004) [1998]. Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-11569-8.
* Deprez, Kas; Du Plessis, Theo; Teck, Lut (2001). Multilingualism, the Judiciary and Security Services: Belgium, Europe, South Africa, Southern Africa. Van Schaik. ISBN 978-0-627-02508-2.
* Itano, Nicole (2007). No Place Left to Bury the Dead. Simon & Schuster.
* Legère, Karsten; Fitchat, Sandra; Akindele, Femi Dele, eds. (2002). Talking freedom: Language and democratisation in the SADC Region. Windhoek: Gamsberg Macmillan.
* Rosenberg, Scott; Weisfelder, Richard F.; Frisbie-Fulton, Michelle (2005). Historical dictionary of Lesotho. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
* Van Wyk, Gary (1998). African Painted Houses: Basotho Dwellings of Southern Africa. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-0-8109-1990-7.
* Webb, Victor N., ed. (1995). Empowerment through language: a survey of the language situation in Lesotho and selected papers presented at the Second International LiCCA Conference, the LiCCA (Lesotho) report. LiCCA Research and Development Programme.

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Languages of Lesotho

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