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44-496: Mokhotlong's role as a police post first brought people to this part of Lesotho in 1905. It developed into a trading center for the people of the Highlands region. However, it was preserved from major development by its separation from the rest of the country. Not until 1947 was radio contact established with Maseru , the capital city. In the next few years an air strip was built and a road cleared through town to link Mokhotlong to

88-409: A subtropical highland climate ( Köppen climate classification Cwb ) with warm summers and cool, dry winters. The mountain range is host to activities including hiking trails, horse trails, rock climbing, white water rafting, fly and trout fishing, golfing, bird and game watching, safaris, and much more. In addition to regular activities, Mokhotlong hosts the annual High Altitude Summer Marathon at

132-476: A subtropical highland climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cwb ), with the city being categorised by warm, rainy summers and cool to chilly, dry winters. The average mean daily temperature during summer — from December to March in the Southern Hemisphere — is 22 °C (72 °F). During winter, between June and September, the average temperature is 9 °C (48 °F). The hottest month

176-592: A language or dialect very closely related to modern Sesotho, the Zambian Sotho–Tswana language Lozi is also sometimes cited as a modern dialect of Sesotho named Serotse or Sekololo . The oral history of the Basotho and Northern Sotho peoples (as contained in their liboko ) states that 'Mathulare, a daughter of the chief of the Bafokeng nation (an old and respected people), was married to chief Tabane of

220-598: A rare form of vowel-height (alternatively, advanced tongue root ) harmony. In total, the language contains some 39 consonantal and 9 vowel phonemes . It also has a large number of complex sound transformations which often change the phones of words due to the influence of other (sometimes invisible) sounds. Sesotho makes a three-way distinction between lightly ejective , aspirated and voiced stops in several places of articulation . The standard Sesotho clicks tend to be substituted with dental clicks in regular speech. The most striking properties of Sesotho grammar, and

264-501: A set of idioms but used with the grammar and inflexion rules of another language (usually Sesotho or Zulu ). It is a part of the youth culture in most Southern Gauteng townships and is the primary language used in Kwaito music . The sound system of Sesotho is unusual in many respects. It has ejective consonants , click consonants , a uvular trill , a relatively large number of affricate consonants , no prenasalised consonants , and

308-511: Is January, with temperatures between 15 and 33 °C (59 and 91 °F). During the coldest month, July, the temperatures range from −3 to 17 °C (27 to 63 °F). The average rainfall ranges from 3 mm in July to 111 mm (4.4 inches) in January. The latest (2016) census lists the city's population at 330,760, or around a tenth of the entire population of the country, and half of

352-569: Is also the name given to the entire Sotho-Tswana group, in which case Sesotho proper is called "Southern Sotho". Within the Sotho-Tswana group, Southern Sotho is also related to Lozi ( Silozi ), with which it forms the Sesotho-Lozi group within Sotho-Tswana. The Northern Sotho group is geographical, and includes a number of dialects also closely related to Sotho-Lozi. Tswana is also known as "Western Sesotho". The Sotho-Tswana group

396-612: Is boosted by the presence of government offices. 29°17′19″S 29°03′56″E  /  29.288495°S 29.065568°E  / -29.288495; 29.065568 Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho . It is also the capital of the Maseru District . Located on the Caledon River , Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border . Maseru had a population of 330,760 in

440-512: Is in turn closely related to the other Southern Bantu languages, including the Venda , Tsonga , Tonga , Lozi which is native to Zambia and the other surrounding Southern African countries and Nguni languages , and possibly also the Makua (zone P) languages of Tanzania and Mozambique . Sotho is the root word. Various prefixes may be added for specific derivations, such as Sesotho for

484-662: Is located in Maseru. It has a capacity of between 20,000 and 25,000 people. The stadium is mostly used for football matches and houses the Lesotho national football team , but also holds events in athletics . 12 out of 16 of the teams playing in the Lesotho Premier League reside in Maseru. As of 2020 , 36 out of the 51 championships contested in the league have gone to Maseru-based teams. Most successful of these have been Matlama FC with ten championship wins and

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528-476: Is no discernible dialect variation in this language. However, one point that seems to often confuse authors who attempt to study the dialectology of Sesotho is the term Basotho , which can variously mean " Sotho–Tswana speakers ", "Southern Sotho and Northern Sotho speakers ", "Sesotho speakers", and "residents of Lesotho." The Nguni language Phuthi has been heavily influenced by Sesotho; its speakers have mixed Nguni and Sotho–Tswana ancestry. It seems that it

572-399: Is primarily driven by livestock rearing and subsistence agriculture , though neither of these fully supports most families. Arable land in this mountainous region is a scarce resource. Agricultural production only sustains families from three to nine months of the year. Families cover the gap largely through livestock and remittances from employed family members. However, livestock distribution

616-522: Is skewed with 60% of the livestock owned by 10% of the population; approximately 35% of the community have no livestock. General income is small, given both poor educational opportunities and the high unemployment rate in Lesotho and in South Africa (especially this part of South Africa). Consequently, a large segment of the population is seriously poor. This is exacerbated by HIV/AIDS , which ravages

660-504: Is sometimes treated erroneously as a dialect of Sesotho called "Sephuthi." However, Phuthi is mutually unintelligible with standard Sesotho and thus cannot in any sense be termed a dialect of it. The occasional tendency to label all minor languages spoken in Lesotho as "dialects" of Sesotho is considered patronising, in addition to being linguistically inaccurate and in part serving a national myth that all citizens of Lesotho have Sesotho as their mother tongue. Additionally, being derived from

704-414: The 1998 parliamentary elections in Lesotho led to suspicions of vote fraud and a military intervention by South Africa , much of the city was damaged by riots and pillaging. The cost of repairing the damage done to the city was estimated at two billion rand (US$ 350 million), and until almost 2008, the effects of the riots could still be seen within the city. Maseru is located in northwest Lesotho by

748-496: The 1998 political uprising have been rebuilt. The New Lehakoe National sports centre, which is in between the central Bank of Lesotho and the colonial parliament building is equipped with tennis courts, swimming pools, conference centres, bars and gymnasiums. In November 2009, Pioneer Mall opened, providing Maseru with a South African style shopping mall, with many stores,such as a four-screen cinema-which later closed- and restaurants. Pioneer Mall opened way for more modern buildings in

792-632: The Free State–Basotho Wars when Basutoland became a British protectorate. Maseru is located at the edge of the "conquered territories" relinquished to the Orange Free State (now the Free State province of South Africa) as part of the peace terms. It was located 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of Basotho King Moshoeshoe I 's stronghold of Thaba Bosiu , the previous de facto capital. A bustling market town soon grew around

836-723: The Multi Fibre Arrangement the textile industry in Lesotho has diminished. The city's products once included candles , carpets and mohair products but these have been overshadowed by South African industries. Most places of worship in the city are Christian churches and temples, including churches of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa , Zion Christian Church , Anglican Church of Southern Africa , and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maseru (including its cathedral, Our Lady of Victories Cathedral ). There are also Muslim mosques. Most of

880-590: The Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken in Lesotho , and South Africa where it is an official language . Like all Bantu languages , Sesotho is an agglutinative language that uses numerous affixes and derivational and inflexional rules to build complete words . Sotho is a Southern Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zone S (S.30) . "Sotho"

924-928: The South African border, denoted by the Mohokare River , also known as Caledon River. The two countries are connected by a border post at the Maseru Bridge, which crosses the river. On the South African side, Ladybrand is the town closest to Maseru. The city lies in a shallow valley at the foot of the Hlabeng-Sa-Likhama, foothills of the Maloti Mountains . The elevation of the city is listed as 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) above sea level. The city has an area of around 138 square kilometres (53 sq mi). Maseru has

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968-469: The Vaal Triangle – where multilingualism and polylectalism are very high. Sesotho is one of the twelve official languages of South Africa , one of the two official languages of Lesotho and one of the sixteen official languages of Zimbabwe . Sesotho is one of the many languages from which tsotsitaals are derived. Tsotsitaal is not a proper language, as it is primarily a unique vocabulary and

1012-672: The (Southern) Bakgatla (a branch of the Bahurutse , who are one of the most ancient of the Sotho–Tswana tribes), and bore the founders of five tribes: Bapedi (by Mopedi), Makgolokwe (by Kgetsi), Baphuthing (by Mophuthing, and later the Mzizi of Dlamini , connected with the present-day Ndebele ), Batlokwa (by Kgwadi), and Basia (by Mosia). These were the first peoples to be called "Basotho", before many of their descendants and other peoples came together to form Moshoeshoe I 's nation in

1056-453: The 2016 census. The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the country became a British protectorate in 1869. When the country achieved independence in 1966, Maseru retained its status as capital. The name of the city is a Sesotho word meaning "red sandstones". Maseru was founded by the British as a small police camp in 1869, following the conclusion of

1100-784: The Maseru Bridge border post west towards Ladybrand and Bloemfontein . An international airport called the Moshoeshoe I International Airport is nearby, at Thoteng-ea-Moli, Mazenod. The National University of Lesotho is located in Roma, 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Maseru. The commerce in the city is centred on two neighbouring central business districts , which have developed around Kingsway and serve as major employment centres. The western business district holds larger office buildings, department stores and several banks. The eastern business district hosts mainly smaller businesses, markets and street vendors. The central business districts are

1144-680: The Royal Palace in Maseru, was the first paved road in Lesotho. Having previously been just a dirt path, it was renovated in 1947 for the visit of members of the British Royal Family . It remained the only paved road in the country until Lesotho's independence in 1966. Two main roads lead outside of Maseru, Main North 1 to the northeast and Main South 1 to the southeast toward Mazenod and Roma . The South African N8 road leads from

1188-772: The Sotho language and Basotho for the Sotho people . Use of Sesotho rather than Sotho for the language in English has seen increasing use since the 1980s, especially in South African English and in Lesotho. Except for faint lexical variation within Lesotho, and for marked lexical variation between the Lesotho/ Free State variety and that of the large urban townships to the north (such as Soweto ) due to heavy borrowing from neighbouring languages, there

1232-604: The area. Maseru initially functioned as the state's administrative capital between 1869 and 1871, before administration of Basutoland was transferred to the Cape Colony . During their rule between 1871 and 1884, Basutoland was treated similarly to territories that had been forcefully annexed, much to the chagrin of the Basotho . This led to the Gun War in 1881 and the burning of many buildings in Maseru. In 1884, Basutoland

1276-735: The city, the likes of Maseru mall and City Square centre There are some colonial era buildings around the centre of the city, most notably the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maseru , and the Anglican St. John's Church. Other sights include the Royal Palace, the Parliament building and the State House. Lesotho's national stadium , the multi-purpose Setsoto Stadium ,

1320-430: The city. After 1966 Maseru experienced rapid expansion: its area increased around sevenfold, from around 20 square kilometres (7.7 sq mi) to the current area of 138 square kilometres (53 sq mi), due to incorporation of nearby peri-urban villages to the city proper. The annual population growth rates remained around 7% for several decades, before tapering off to around 3.5% between 1986 and 1996. After

1364-413: The early 19th century. The situation is even further complicated by various historical factors, such as members of parent clans joining their descendants or various clans calling themselves by the same names (because they honour the same legendary ancestor or have the same totem). An often repeated story is that when the modern Basotho nation was established by King Moshoeshoe I , his own "dialect" Sekwena

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1408-498: The end of the year. The route runs through the Maloti Mountains and is characterized by its views of surrounding mountains and villages. The route has many steep ascents and descents. There are also half marathon and 10k events, in addition to the full marathon. Mokhotlong is also on the route of the annual Roof of Africa Rally, an off-road motorcycle rally. Finally, Mokhotlong is home to the highest-elevated diamond mine in

1452-508: The football team of the Royal Lesotho Defence Force , with eight championship wins. List of sister cities of Maseru, designated by Sister Cities International . 29°19′S 27°29′E  /  29.31°S 27.48°E  / -29.31; 27.48 Sesotho Sotho ( / s ɛ ˈ s uː t uː / ) Sesotho , also known as Southern Sotho or Sesotho sa Borwa is a Southern Bantu language of

1496-411: The largest employment centres within the city. Maseru's economy is one that is growing at a very rapid speed, which is notable particularly in terms of foreign investment and tourism since independence from Britain, and economic ruin when political violence broke out in 1998. Since the riots, the city has worked hard to undo the damage caused. Maseru's industry is split into two main areas. The one to

1540-466: The north of the central business districts along Moshoeshoe Road holds flour mills and other major companies. The other industrial sector lies to the south of the central business districts, at the Thetsane district, and houses mainly textile and footwear companies. Up until 2004 Maseru had a growing textile industry supported by and invested in by Chinese manufacturing concerns. Since the expiration of

1584-638: The other hand, Doke & Mofokeng claims that the tendency of many Sesotho speakers to say for example ke ronngwe [kʼɪʀʊŋ̩ŋʷe] instead of ke romilwe [kʼɪʀuˌmilʷe] when forming the perfect of the passive of verbs ending in -ma [mɑ] (as well as forming their perfects with -mme [m̩me] instead of -mile [mile] ) is "a relic of the extinct Tlokwa dialect". According to the South African National Census of 2011 , there were almost four million first language Sesotho speakers recorded in South Africa – approximately eight per cent of

1628-472: The population. Most Sesotho speakers in South Africa reside in Free State and Gauteng . Sesotho is also the main language spoken by the people of Lesotho , where, according to 1993 data, it was spoken by about 1,493,000 people, or 85% of the population. The census fails to record other South Africans for whom Sesotho is a second or third language. Such speakers are found in all major residential areas of Metropolitan Municipalities – such as Johannesburg , and

1672-464: The region. Despite its poverty, few aid organizations work in Mokhotlong. Touching Tiny Lives provides nutritional and medical support to vulnerable children. GROW works with villages to increase agricultural production, support OVC households to improve livelihoods, capacity building, climate change adaptation strategies, etc. In Mokhotlong City, the Mokhotlong district capital, formal employment

1716-513: The rest of Lesotho. Even so, Mokhotlong continued to be outfitted with provisions and supplies by pony trek from Natal, South Africa , via Sani Pass. An hour and a half drive north of Sani Pass, Mokhotlong is located 270 km from Maseru and 200 km from Butha-Buthe . The source of the Senqu River , Lesotho's largest river, is near Mokhotlong, impacting the landscape throughout the town and surrounding district. Mokhotlong experiences

1760-515: The total urban population. The population of the city was at 98,017 by the 1986 census, and 137,837 by the 1996 census, demonstrating the early rapid expansion of the city after independence. A railway line , built in 1905, bridges the Mohokare River to connect Maseru with Marseilles on South Africa's Bloemfontein – Bethlehem main line. Kingsway, the road joining the former Leabua Jonathan Airport, now Mejametalana Airport and

1804-483: The traditional thatched-roof mud-brick houses, called rondavels , have been replaced with modern housing and office blocks which have a tint of traditional architecture. There have recently been some new buildings in the centre of the city, particularly the building across LNDC centre which now house shops, offices and the new building of the Ministry of Health which was completed in late 2007. Buildings destroyed in

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1848-440: The world, Letseng diamond mine , which can be toured, and is often frequented by local students as part of their course of study. Its diamonds have the highest per carat price of any kimberlite mine, and with the capacity to process more than 5 million tonnes a year and recover about 100,000 carats, it is the seventh largest in the world. Three of their diamonds are among the world's top twenty rough diamonds. Mokhotlong's economy

1892-465: Was chosen over two other popular variations Setlokwa and Setaung and that these two still exist as "dialects" of modern Sesotho. The inclusion of Setlokwa in this scenario is confusing, as the modern language named "Setlokwa" is a Northern Sesotho language spoken by descendants of the same Batlokwa whose attack on the young chief Moshoeshoe's settlement during Lifaqane (led by the famous widow Mmanthatisi ) caused them to migrate to present-day Lesotho. On

1936-529: Was restored to its status as a Crown colony , and Maseru was again made capital. When Basutoland gained its independence and became the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1966, Maseru remained the country's capital. Prior to Lesotho's independence, Maseru had remained relatively small; it was contained within well-defined colonial boundaries and had little room for growth, while the British had little interest in developing

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