Motswana, noun
/mɔˈtswa(ː)na/, /mɒˈtswɑːnə/
- Forms:
- Also MoTswana, and (formerly) Motsoana.
- Plurals:
- Batswana, baTswana, and (formerly) Motswanas.
a. Tswana sense 2 a. b. A citizen of Botswana. Also attributive, passing into adjective See also Bechuana sense 1.
1953 A. Sandilands Intro. to Tswana p.xiI..express my gratitude..to the multitude of Batswana men, women and children who have..taught me what I know of their language.
1965 J.D. Jones in Setswana Dict. (1982) p.iiiA dictionary of this nature..needs to be..informed by a genuine understanding of the life and customs of the Batswana.
1975 W.F. Lye Andrew Smith’s Jrnl 1834–6Index, baTswana, (rendered Bechuana, Bachuana, Bituana, Bishuana etc.) A major division of the Sotho peoples including most of the communities north of the Orange River and east of the Caledon.
1982 Voice 20 June 2Mr Joseph Mazibuko said he had changed his surname so that he could be reclassified as a MoTswana.
1984 Rand Daily Mail 21 Feb. 9The nearly 1,5-million Batswana who live permanently in South Africa should not be compelled to become Bophuthatswana citizens.
1985 Drum Aug. 4It is not only Batswana who are living in fear of another commando raid by South Africa but several refugees are also..apprehensive. They fear that another raid..will force..the Botswana government to move them out.
1987 City Press 25 Oct. 26There are moves to sell Bophuthatswana overseas as a free country...There is a belief that the Batswana are essentially a peace and freedom-loving people. There is Botswana, Africa’s only democracy,..a shining example of this.
1987 C. Clayton in Staffrider Vol.6 No.4, 14Bessie Head was buried in Serowe, Botswana...She was..an ‘exile’ who rebuilt her personal identity amongst the multiracial benevolence and co-operative effort of Batswana society.
1990 Sunday Times 1 July 3Lady Ruth had already warned her son and Margaret about the trouble their marriage may cause among the tribal Batswana people.
1990 Weekly Mail 14 Sept. (Weekend) 7How could they believe that the jigsaw pieces of land allocated to the baTswana were enough to be a homeland for all of them when they obviously couldn’t cope even for a weekend with a gathering of a fraction of all the baTswana.
1991 Weekend Argus 26 Jan. 8The aim of virtually every Motswana is to own cattle...A number of Batswana are becoming increasingly concerned over the depredations of the cattle industry on the environment and on Botswana’s unique heritage of wildlife.
1992 P. Cullinan Robert Jacob Gordon 114 (caption)An artist’s impression of a Batswana kraal, taken from Gordon’s ‘great map’.
Tswana2 a.
A citizen of Botswana. Also attributive, passing into adjective
Copyright © 2019 Dictionary Unit for South African English.
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