The Jeliya catalogue uses Sesotho sa Leboa / Sepedi / Northern Sotho. Glottolog indexes the corresponding language as Pedi (pedi1238). Its ISO 639-3 code is nso. [1]
Draft — awaiting native-speaker review
Northern Sotho includes a range of varieties. Sepedi can refer specifically to Pedi as well as to the standard language in some contexts.
Opening retained from the existing catalogue; awaiting editorial and speaker review.The Jeliya catalogue uses Sesotho sa Leboa / Sepedi / Northern Sotho. Glottolog indexes the corresponding language as Pedi (pedi1238). Its ISO 639-3 code is nso. [1]
Glottolog associates this record with the following country codes: BW, ZA. Catalogue locations do not enumerate diaspora or second-language use. [1]
No dated, scope-checked speaker estimate has been approved for this page.
The catalogue classification follows this sequence: Atlantic-Congo → Volta-Congo → Benue-Congo → Bantoid → Southern Bantoid → Narrow Bantu → East Bantu → Southern Bantu → Nuclear Southern Bantu → Dimsuffix Southern Bantu → Sotho-Tswana (S.30) → Northern Sotho → Sepedic. [1]
The Glottolog bibliography includes a linguistic description attributed to Appleyard, John Whittle 1847 and a more recent one attributed to Kotzé, Albert Ewald 1995. These are publication dates, not language origins. [1]
Latin standard is largely disjunctive and normally omits tone. Retain diacritics in source spellings.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.PanSALB provides a national spelling and orthography resource collection. A language-specific rule, edition date and regional scope must be checked before it is applied to a learner’s answer. [2]
High/low tone, mid-vowel distinctions and aspiration/ejective contrasts are important; inventories vary within the Northern Sotho cluster.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.A reviewed alphabet, sound-by-sound IPA guide and reference recordings are still needed.
Awaiting a cited, language-specific contribution and speaker review.
SVO, Bantu class concord and verbal extensions; grammatical tone and clause structure need full-sentence study.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.Standard Northern Sotho / Sepedi with locality identified
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.Named child varieties in this record include Dzwabo, Gananwa, Kgaga, Koni, Kopa, Lobedu, Masemola, Matlala-Moletshi, Khutswe, Pai (Pedi), Pulana, Pai-Pulana-Kutswe. These labels do not select Jeliya’s teaching variety. [1]
An entry separates the headword, part of speech, senses and cited examples. A variant is another documented form; a synonym is a different word with a related meaning. Derived expressions can have their own entry. Follow source links and variety tags before using a form.
Search the everyday spelling and check tone-marked forms. ɛ, ɔ, ɲ and ŋ are letters, not removable accents. Search tolerance does not mean two spellings are the same word. Save an entry to keep its stable identity in your wordbook.
Open the dictionaryAwaiting a cited, language-specific contribution and speaker review.
Editorial adaptation: Jeliya
Language reviewer: awaiting appointment
Last revision: 10/12/2026
Harald Hammarström, Robert Forkel, Martin Haspelmath and Sebastian Bank
CC BY 4.0
Source checked: 10/12/2026Pan South African Language Board
Source checked: 10/12/2026Kotzé, Albert Ewald 1995
Source checked: 10/12/2026