275 km away
The Zulu of South Africa's townships and major cities. Heavily code-mixed with English, Tsotsitaal, and other Bantu languages.
Setswana
Also known as: Tswana
A Sotho-Tswana Bantu language and the national language of Botswana. Closely related to Sesotho, with substantial speaker communities in South Africa's North West and Northern Cape provinces.
Shareable facts
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Setswana?
Setswana is a dialect of the Tswana language.
Where is Setswana spoken?
Setswana is primarily spoken in Botswana, South Africa.
Which region is Setswana associated with?
Setswana is part of the East & Southern Africa region on DialectAtlas.
Is Setswana known by other names?
Yes — Setswana is also referred to as Tswana.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →368 km away
The Sotho-Tswana variety of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in north-eastern South Africa. One of the eleven official languages of South Africa; mutually distinct enough from Sesotho to be treated separately.
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A Bantu language of the Soutpansberg region in Limpopo, South Africa, and adjoining south-western Zimbabwe. One of the eleven official languages of South Africa; around 1.3 million speakers.
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A Bantu language of the Limpopo lowveld, spoken across north-eastern South Africa, southern Mozambique, and south-eastern Zimbabwe. Around 7 million speakers.
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A Sotho-Tswana Bantu language and the national language of Lesotho. Also one of the official languages of South Africa, where it is widely spoken in the Free State and Gauteng.
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A Nguni Bantu language of south-western Zimbabwe, descended from a 19th-century offshoot of Zulu. Around 2 million speakers, centred on Bulawayo and Matabeleland.