Sepedi
/səˈpeːdi/noun
Sepedi is a Southern Bantu language spoken primarily in South Africa and commonly known in English as Northern Sotho.
Did you know?Sepedi is one of South Africa’s 11 official languages, although “Northern Sotho” is also widely used as an English label for the standardized language.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu period
Proto-Bantu
*ci-/si-
“A reconstructed noun-class prefix associated with languages, speech, or cultural categories in many Bantu languages.”
Early Bantu languages
Bantu
se-
“A Southern Bantu form of the language-related noun-class prefix, later used in names such as Sepedi and Sesotho.”
Precolonial period
Northern Sotho
Pedi
“The ethnonym referring to the Pedi people; the ultimate origin of the name is uncertain and disputed.”
19th Century
English and Southern Sotho usage
Northern Sotho
“An English geographical label for related Sotho varieties spoken north of the traditional Sotho heartland.”
20th Century
Sepedi
Sepedi
“The standardized name for the language variety associated especially with the Pedi and neighboring Northern Sotho communities.”
Modern English
English
Sepedi
“The established name of the South African language, also called Northern Sotho.”