Language, culture and beliefs:
Language: The difference between Northern Sotho and Sepedi
Northern Sotho, or Sesotho sa Leboa, is one of South Africa’s 11 official languages, and consists of up to 30 different dialects, one of which is Pedi. Much confusion surrounds this term, as Sepedi, the language spoken by the Pedi people, which has been often referred to as Northern Sotho, which is incorrect.
The confusion between Northern Sotho and Pedi probably arises from the fact that the missionaries who developed the orthography for Northern Sotho mainly had contact with the Pedi people. However, Northern Sotho or Sesotho sa Leboa, is not the same as Sepedi. Sepedi is the language of the Pedi people, also known as the BaPedi.
Sepedi is closely related to the official language of Setswana or Tswana, and the dialect of Setlokwa and the similar Sotho language, Sesotho sa Borwa, or Southern Sotho. Sepedi is mainly spoken in the northern parts of South Africa, including the provinces of Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and the North West province.
Settlements
Early Pedi settlements were divided into kgoro (pl. dikgoro), which are groups centred around agnatic [from the father’s side] family clusters. According to research by Peter Delius, members of a kgoro were not always strictly agnatic, and according to circumstances other non-relatives were known to be accepted into a kgoro.
A kgoro consisted of a group huts built around a central area which served as meeting-place, cattle byre, graveyard and ancestral shrine. These were ranked in order of seniority. Each wife of a polygynous marriage had her own round thatched hut, which was joined to other huts by a series of open-air enclosures called lapa encircled by mud walls.
Older boys and girls would be housed in separate huts, which are referred to as ‘age sets’, and were an important element of Pedi social hierarchy.
Greetings and Courtesies
Good morning – Dumelang
Good afternoon – Dumelang
Good evening – Dumelang
Hello – Dumela
How are you? – O kae? (singular), Le kae? (plural)
I am fine – Ke gona
I am fine, thank you – Le nna ke gona, ke a leboga
Asking for help
Asking for help – Ke kgopela thuso
Help! - Thušang
Emergencies
Emergency – Tšhoganetšo
Danger - Kotsi
Numbers
Days of the week
Sunday – Lamorena
Monday – Mošupologo
Tuesday – Labobedi
Wednesday – Laboraro
Thursday – Labone
Friday – Labohlano
Saturday – Mokibelo
Months of the year
January – Pherekgong
February – Dibokwane
March – Hlakola
April – Moranang
May – Mopitlo
June – Phupu
July – Mosegamanye
August – Phato
September – Lewedi
October – Diphalane
November – Dibatsela
December – Manthole
Seasons of the year
Summer – Selemo
Autumn – Lehlabula
Winter – Marega
Spring – Seruthwane/Sediba