Langenesis

Niger-Congo family

Sesotho (Southern Sotho)

c. 1500 CE – today Living

Sesotho (Southern Sotho) (c. 1500 CE – today) is a living Niger-Congo language. Lineage: Proto-Niger-Congo → Proto-Atlantic-Congo → Proto-Benue-Congo → Proto-Bantu → Proto-Sotho-Tswana → Sesotho (Southern Sotho).

See Sesotho (Southern Sotho) on the interactive map
Speakers
5.6M (5,600,000)
ISO 639-3
sot

Sotho-Tswana language, national language of Lesotho and official in South Africa.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Niger-Congoc. 10,000 BCE – 7,000 BCE
  2. Proto-Atlantic-Congoc. 7,000 BCE – 5,000 BCE
  3. Proto-Benue-Congoc. 5,000 BCE – 3,500 BCE
  4. Proto-Bantuc. 3,000 BCE – 1,000 BCE
  5. Proto-Sotho-Tswanac. 500 CE – 1500 CE
  6. Sesotho (Southern Sotho)c. 1500 CE – today

Sister languages 1

Also descended from Proto-Sotho-Tswana.

Sources