Midvaal writer compiles Sesotho Dictionary

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Thatelo Levy Phohlele, a resident of Midvaal, has just published a first-of-its-kind Sesotho Dictionary. The dictionary contains definitions of Sesotho words, and also provides an English translation of each word.

Phohlele began working on the “Bukantswe” Sesotho dictionary in 2009, and completed the task in August 2014; he was delayed several times along the way when viruses attacked his computer causing him to have to re-start. He began working on the initiative as a part-time project, but in 2014 decided to focus on it as his main work.

Phohlele says that he did not start out with the intention of writing a dictionary – he just began to write down a collection of Sesotho words that he gathered from a Sesotho Bible. He later began compiling words from nature, including categories like wild animals and plants, and during this process, he decided he could grow this project into a proper dictionary.  The sources he used include the Bible, his parents, elders, and other Basotho people from the Free State and Lesotho, who still speak a pure form of Sesotho. 

Phohlele belongs to the Inhlanganiso Writers Association, which is an NGO composed of writers based in the Vaal Triangle.  Inhlanganiso provided support the Phohlele through the workshops, mentoring, motivation, meetings and writing assistance that they provide.

Midvaal’s Mayor, Councillor Bongani Baloyi, has pledged a donation towards covering the cost of printing 1000 copies, so that the residents of the Vaal and surrounds can start to purchase, and benefit from, these very valuable dictionaries. The dictionary is about 170 pages long and is a first edition of its kind. It was published by Thaleripho, and is available at the cost of R150.