Analysis of the language techniques and thematic - University of the ...

When coming to the Sesotho language, it may seem rather difficult to say exactly what it
is. The most possible and acceptable response would be that it is a mixture of different
related dialects spoken by different clans under the leadership of Moshoeshoe I.
Ellenberger (1912:34) points out that the dialect of Bapeli was Sesotho, though it was
harsh and crude compared to the soft and graceful Sesotho of Bakuena and Bafokeng.
This feeling is shared by Wells (1994: 29) who writes:
This Sesotho language was a mixture of the Sekoena of the
ruling clan, the Sefokeng of the original Sotho occupiers of
the land and Setlhaping (Setswana) usages added by the
missionaries. The standardization of written Sesotho under
the missionaries had a powerful unifying effect on the
succeeding generations of the diverse clans that constituted
his nation and helped confirm a Basotho identity.
As indicated above, Sesotho as a language, during the time of King Moshoeshoe I, played
an important role in unifying his people, and enabled him to rule a united nation with one
medium of communication. But, that practice did not rule out the fact that individual
groups spoke and retained their languages under Moshoeshoe I.
Another difficult question worth answering relates to the practices that are labeled
Sesotho customs and Sesotho traditions. According to Basotho, Sesotho does not only
refer to the language but to anything that distinguishes a Mosotho from other tribes or
nations. That is, in Sesotho, when we say ka Sesotho or rona Basotho (according to
Sesotho or we Basotho), the understanding is that, we try to express our feelings that
relate to customs and traditions that identify the ways in which the Basotho do things. To
elaborate on this notion, Coplan (1992: 6 & 53) writes:
… the domain of Sesotho includes not only the language
but the entire self-identified culture of the Basotho nation
both as theory and as practice. Most broadly, Sesotho is
Basotho… a people’s conceptions and perceptions of
themselves and of their situation in society and history,
formulated in the terms and the occasions of their culture.
Sesotho is localized types and qualities of things and local
styles of enactment. Sesotho becomes a precious resource,
a reservoir of identity, self-expression, and social
entitlement that appears crucial to any meaningful form of
national survival.
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