A language does not stay alive because we say we love it. It survives when it is used at home, in schools, in stories, in shops and in everyday conversation. Somarela Setswana is putting books at the centre of that mission.
GAZETTE REPORTER
Want to keep Setswana alive? Start with a book.
Then read it. Read it to your children. Buy another one. Write one. Publish one. Speak the language after closing the book.
That is the deceptively simple idea behind Somarela Setswana, a literacy and literature campaign led by University of Botswana senior lecturer and linguist Dr Naledi Kgolo-Lotshwao.
STEP ONE: MAKE IT READABLE
For Kgolo-Lotshwao, language preservation cannot stop at the classroom door.
Growing urbanisation and the dominance of English-language reading material can influence what children choose to read and which language becomes their default.
Her response is to give Setswana more space on the bookshelf. Her four books — Ithute Setswana – Learn Setswana, Ithute Kgomo, Loeto lwa ga Lobone go ya Morakeng and Lewa le le Ntle — combine familiar Botswana experiences with vocabulary development and literacy.
The point is not simply to teach Setswana. It is to make children want to spend time in it.
STEP TWO: USE IT EVERYWHERE
Keeping a language alive also means creating reasons for people to use it beyond school.
Learn Setswana – Ithute Setswana opens the door to international residents, workers and students, while Kgolo-Lotshwao encourages families and communities to read, speak and write Setswana in everyday life.
Schools, parents, corporates, embassies and NGOs can also help by sponsoring books or incorporating locally produced literature into corporate gifting.
That creates another important ingredient: a market for Botswana’s writers, illustrators and publishers.
STEP THREE: KEEP CREATING
The next chapter is already coming. Dikgomo tsa Botswana, a coffee-table book, is expected in the first quarter of 2027.
For Somarela Setswana, the destination is bigger than literacy.
A language does not stay alive because we say we love it. It survives when we use it. That means turning Setswana from something children study into something they choose for stories, imagination, knowledge, creativity and fun.
The Somarela Setswana meet-and-greet with Kgolo-Lotshwao takes place Wednesday, 7 October, from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Botswana Craft.