Introduction

The divergence of Sesotho occurred after some speakers of the common ancestor of the Sotho-Tswana languages left the former Transvaal Province (now Gauteng) Highveld. The separation of this group from the other speakers of the common ancestor of the Sotho-Tswana languages had an effect on the variety they spoke. Developing in isolation from the other varieties of Sotho-Tswana, the variety spoken by this group, which would later be named Sesotho (or by its exonym of Southern Sotho), acquired features that would distinguish it from its ancestor and the other dialects of Sotho-Tswana. The situation affected all aspects of grammar – the phonology, the morphology, the syntax and the lexicon.

This chapter discusses these issues – the migration that led to the variety that eventually became the Sesotho language and the attributes acquired by this variety during the course of its development. However, due to the considerations of space, the chapter will limit itself to the phonology thereof. The other aspects of Sesotho grammar, such as its morphology, will be discussed in Chapter 5.

The Migration that Led to the Divergence of Sesotho

The migration that led to the divergence of Sesotho from the common ancestor of the Sotho-Tswana languages occurred around the early 15th century. During this period, some members of one of the most ancient Sotho-Tswana clans, the Bafokeng, crossed the Lekwa/Vaal River (also referred to as Noka e Tshehla – ‘Yellow River’ – by some Sesotho speakers) and came to settle in the region around Vrede in the former Orange Free State Province (now Free State) (Ellenberger & Macgregor 1912). In Free State, the Bafokeng intermingled with the San – Barwa