Also Known As:
Seputhi, Sephuthi, Phuthi
Dialects & Varieties
Southern Tekela Nguni is Alive: Reintroducing the Phuthi Language
Southern Tekela Nguni is Alive: Reintroducing the Phuthi Language
Vulnerable
80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~20,000
Native Speakers Worldwide
Domains of Use
Domain Of Use 2
Used in some non-official domains along with other languages, and remains the primary language used in the home for many community members.
2
Transmission
Transmission -1
All members of the community, including children, speak the language.
-1
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
No results found.
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
"Politically, Phuthi has no institutional status at all, in either Lesotho or South Africa. It is not recognized as a language of any sort (official, national, regional, local) in either country's national census... In conversational exchanges between Phuthi and non-Phuthi speakers, the non-Phuthi language always dominates: broadly this is Sotho in Lesotho and Xhosa in Sinxondo and the Transkei... On the more hopeful side, I observed that Phuthi speakers in Sinxondo and Mpapa use the language with each other in most situations, regardless of age."
Location and Context
Countries
Lesotho, South Africa
Location Description
"Spoken in southern Lesotho, and sparsely in the northern Transkei."
Government Support
None
Institutional Support
No results found.
Speakers' Attitude
Positive
Other Languages Used By The Community
Sotho, Xhosa
Number of Other Language Speakers:
All
Domains of Other Languages:
With non-Phuthi speakers
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
None
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
"The language has never been committed to writing."
Recent Resources
Message informatif
No results found.