Sesotho is spoken in Lesotho and adjacent parts of South Africa. It is characterized by CV syllable structure, 9 short vowels (including mid vowel harmony raising), an extensive consonant system with a 3-way voicing distinction (voiced, voiceless, voiceless aspirated), a rich inventory of fricatives and affricates, a palatal-alveolar click, and syllabic nasals and liquids. It also has two tones (High and (default) Low), as well as an extensive grammatical tone system, including tone sandhi effects. There are two orthographies (developed by different missionaries), one used in Lesotho, and the other used in South Africa. There are only a few studies of children’s acquisition of Sesotho – mostly by Demuth and colleagues, examining aspects of both phonology and morphosyntax. In general, most segments are acquired by around 3 years, though there has been little detailed research on some of the phonological processes, and little clinical research regarding disorders.

Key words:
Sesotho, multilingual, communication, speech, language, children’s development, interdisciplinary, international communities, assessment, intervention

Book chapter:
Demuth, K. Matlosa, L., & Qhala, T. (2025). Sesotho speech development. In S. McLeod (Ed.). The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press.

Language overview presentation:

• Demuth, K. Matlosa, L., & Qhala, T. (forthcoming). Sesotho: Multilingual children’s speech development. Charles Sturt University, Australia. https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/languages

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goals