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Languages of Botswana
Languages of Botswana
	Sign in English and Setswana at the National Botanical Garden of Botswana
Official	English
National	Setswana
Recognised	Kalanga, Kgalagadi, Shona, Mbukushu, Ndebele, Tshwa, !Xóõ
Foreign	Portuguese, Danish, Swahili, German, Afrikaans, French, Arabic
Signed	American Sign Language; Danish Sign Language; German Sign Language
Keyboard layout	QWERTY;

The official language of Botswana is English, while Setswana is considered to be a national language.^[3] English, which was inherited from colonial rule, is the language of official business and most written communication. Most of the population speak Setswana, but over 20 smaller languages are also spoken. Some of the country's languages are in danger of becoming extinct.

Official and national languages

The official written language of Botswana is English.^[3] Most written communication and official business texts are written in English. The language of the Tswana people—Setswana—is the country's national language, and is spoken by most of the population.^[4]

Other languages

Aside from English and Setswana, other languages are spoken in the country. Over 90% of the population speak a Bantu language as their first language.^{[citation needed]} According to the CIA's World Factbook, the most common Bantu languages spoken are Setswana (73.3% of the population), Kalanga (17.2%), Kgalagadi (2.4%), Shona (1%) Mbukushu (1.6%) and Ndebele (1%). 1.7% speak Tshwa (a Khoe language) and 0.1% speak !Xóõ, a Tuu language (both non-Bantu).^[5] English is spoken by 2.8% as their first language, and a small number speak Afrikaans.

The number of individual languages listed for Botswana is 31.^{[who said this?]} All are living languages. Of these, 26 are indigenous and 5 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 4 are institutional, 9 are developing, 8 are vigorous, 9 are in trouble, and 1 is dying.^[6]

Languages spoken

Languages of Botswana
Languages			Per cent
Setswana			77.3%
Sekalanga			7.4%
Shekgalagadi			3.4%
English			2.8%
Sesarwa			1.7%
Sembukushu			1.6%
Ndebele			1.0%
Seherero			1.0%
Afrikaans			0.4%
Sesubiya			0.3%
Seyeyi			0.2%
Other Asian			0.4%
Other European			0.4%
Other African			0.1%
Other			0.1%

References

^ Lucas, Ceil; Schembri, Adam C. (February 12, 2015). Sociolinguistics and Deaf Communities. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107051942 – via Google Books.
^ Monaghan, Leila Frances; Nakamura, Karen; Schmaling, Constanze; Turner, Graham H. (August 16, 2003). Many Ways to be Deaf: International Variation in Deaf Communities. Gallaudet University Press. ISBN 9781563681356 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b "About Our Country". Gov.bw. Retrieved 2022-04-17. Botswana has a number of tribes across the country, collectively known as Batswana. The official language is English and Setswana is the national language, although there are other spoken languages.
^ Mwakikagile 2009, p. 75.
^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
^ "Botswana". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-07-17.