National and Official Languages
Sotho (Sesotho or Southern Sotho), a Southern Bantu language, is the national language of Lesotho and is spoken by most Basotho. It 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 Sotho and English as the country's two official languages. The country's language policy promotes bilingualism, and Chapter 1 of the Constitution of Lesotho states:
The official languages of Lesotho shall be Sesotho and English and, accordingly, no instrument or transaction shall be invalid by reason only that it is expressed or conducted in one of those languages.Sotho is the first language of more than 90 percent of the population and is "used widely as a medium of communication" in day-to-day speech. English is reserved for official interactions, such as "government and administration", although the use of Sotho in politics, religion, and the mass media is growing.
Primary education of children takes place in Sotho for the first four years, but English becomes the medium of instruction in the fifth year of primary school. Competence in English is "particularly important ... for educational, political, social and economic transactions in the subcontinent" and facilitates obtaining employment within Lesotho and abroad. Although "efforts are made to ensure that Basotho children" learn to read, speak and write English, many Basotho complete only "basic primary education remain monolingual in Sesotho".
Read more about this topic: Languages Of Lesotho
Famous quotes containing the words national, official and/or languages:
“Nothing is so well calculated to produce a death-like torpor in the country as an extended system of taxation and a great national debt.”
—William Cobbett (1762–1835)
“I was perfectly certain that I had nothing to offer of an individual nature and that my only chance of doing my duty as the wife of a public official was to do exactly as the majority of women were doing ...”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)