Tlh or hl: An orthographic dilemma for the literate Northern Sotho speakers
Authors: Modiba Mantsha , Chokoe Sekgaila 
Published: July 2024

Northern Sotho, like other members of the Sotho language group (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho and Western Sotho), differs when it comes to the pronunciation of the phonemes: hl, tlh and ṱlh ([ɬ], [tlʰ] and [ṱlʰ]. There is still a problem of choosing which of the aforementioned phonemes to use when writing Sesotho and Northern Sotho words, whilst Setswana uses only one grapheme, /tlh/. This impasse has affected the Northern Sotho literate community to the extent that when it comes to the writing of words, one chooses any of the following two graphemes, /hl or /tlh/, without following the rules. This article explains the cause of such variations and how this can be corrected. To come with a tangible solution, phonotactics as a phonological theory, was applied, where ‘a representation is well-formed by virtue of where it came from, not what it is’ (Goldsmith, 1995:4). The study will employ a descriptive qualitative research design, where the participants who are literate Northern Sotho speakers, mostly university students and teachers, including Northern Sotho authors, provided the data. The findings of the study showed that a majority of the respondents found it tough differentiating between the graphemes /hl/ and /tlh/. To combat this problem, the paper reminisced on the possibilities of resuscitating the rules of grammar as postulated in Northern Sotho Terminology and Orthography No. 4 of 1988. SENAGANWA Sesotho sa Leboa, bjalo ka ye nngwe ya dipolelo tša sehlopha seo se bego se tsebja e le tša sehlopha sa Sesotho (Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho sa Borwa le Sesotho sa Bodikela), se fapantšha pitšo ya medumopolelo ye e latelago: hl, tlh le ṱlh ([ɬ], [tlʰ] le [ṱlʰ]. Bothata bjo bo lego gona ke tirišo ya medumopolelo ye ya ka godimo ge go ngwalwa lelemeng la Sesotho sa Leboa gammogo le go leleme la Sesotho. Ge e le leleme la Setswana lona ga le na bothata, le diriša modumotlhaka o nnoši fela, e lego modumotlhaka wa /tlh/. Tlhakahlakano ye ya napa ya dira gore baboledi ba polelo ye ya Sesotho sa Leboa ba se sa šala melao ya popopolelo morago ge ba ngwala, mongwe le mongwe a no kgetha modumotlhaka wo mongwe le wo mongwe wo a o ratago, /hl/ goba /tlh/. Taodišwana ye e hlalosa phapantšho ye e lego gona ya medumotlhaka go leka go tloša kgakanego ye. Gore se se kgonege, go šetšwe morago molawana wa tšhutelelano ya medumo, fao medumo ye mengwe e gapeletšegago go fetoga ge e swanetše e be kgauswi le mengwe, fao go ya ka Goldsmith (1995:4), medumo e dumelegago go ya ka gore e tšwa e le kae, e sego e tlwaetšwe e le efe. Taodišwana ye e latetše mok-gwanyakišišo wa boleng, fao bakgathatema e bilego baboledi ba Sesotho sa Leboa bao ba kgonago go ngwala le go bala. Bontši bja tshedimošo bo tlišitšwe ke baithuti ba diyunibesithi, barutiši gammogo le bangwadi ba dipuku. Go tšwa nyakišišong ye, go lemogilwe gore bakgathatema ba bile le bothata bja go farolo-gantšha medumotlhaka ya /hl/ le /tlh/. Go lokiša se, nyakišišo e lekile go tsošološa tsebo ya melao ya thutapopopolelo bjalo ka ge e boletšwe ka go Sesotho sa Leboa: Mareo le Mongwalo No. 4 ya 1988.