Standard languages have become a very important instrument of communication
in most multilingual countries. Botswana is one of the Southern African
countries that have a number of languages, hence the need for a standard
language was chosen. Setswana consists of a number of dialects but none of
these dialects has been used as a basis for standard Setswana; instead, dialects
have been combined to form a standard variety. The aim of this study is to
investigate and discuss the problems regarding the state of standard Setswana in
Botswana, and the processes followed in standardising Setswana in Botswana.
A questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. Eight schools from
different educational levels, namely primary schools, junior secondary schools,
senior secondary schools and colleges of education were chosen for the study.
The study was limited to Setswana teachers and to the National Setswana
Language Council (NSLC) members. Two different questionnaires were
designed for these respondents.
The study has revealed that although standard Setswana exists in Botswana, the
variety is not well known by most of the Batswana and they do not use it.
Batswana do not seem to take standard Setswana seriously, as they think it does
not benefit them economically. However, the study indicates that most Setswana
teachers value the standard variety and would like other Batswana to take it
seriously and regard it as an important communicative tool. The study found that
one of the problems that hinders the progress of implementing standard Setswana
in schools is the lack of suitable material. The National Setswana Language
Council faces the same problem.
Another problem identified during the research is that some respondents cannot
differentiate between standard Setswana as a variety of Setswana and Setswana
as a language. This indicates that the Batswana were never made aware of the
standard variety nor of its importance; hence, it is not adequately known and
used in high public functions.
The study also analysed the National Setswana Language Council, the body
responsible for Setswana language issues in Botswana. The Council deals with
the whole process of language standardisation, as well as the accuracy and
proficiency of language use. However, the study revealed that of the four stages
in the process of standardization; (selection, elaboration, codification and
acceptance), the Council seems to have succeeded with selection and a part of
codification. The orthography has been standardised but not yet published. Other
stages, such as acceptance and elaboration, need to be revisited.
The study consists of six chapters. Chapter One outlines the purpose of the study
as well as the problem statement. The sociolinguistic profile of Botswana and the
Setswana language profile are also discussed. Chapter Two presents the
theoretical framework, while Chapter Three discusses the historical background
of the Setswana-speakers, the history of Setswana and the development of
standard Setswana by the missionaries. Methods and techniques of data
collection are dealt with in Chapter Four, while Chapter Five presents data
analysis and interpretation. Summary, fmdings, conclusion and recommendations
are presented in Chapter Six.