Why BOT50 is wrong and BOTS50 is correct.

There is a perfectly good reason why BOTS50 rolls off your tongue with such ease compared to BOT50. You may have heard people say “I come from Bots” and never: “I come from Bot”. Why? It comes down purely to linguistics, specifically Setswana linguistics. To brand the whole campaign as BOT50 was a most terrible mistake. It is no wonder Batswana keep saying BOTS50 anyway!

Let me explain it this way and please forgive me for some linguistics jargon: The name BOTSWANA is made up of three syllables bo, tswa, and na. The second syllable [tswa] starts with the Setswana consonant /ts/. Yes in Setswana /ts/ is a single consonant. Technically this consonant in linguistic-speak is a voiceless alveolar affricate. In the name Botswana /ts/ is labialised (fancy word for produced with rounded lips!), indicated by the following /w/. Enough with linguistics mumbo jumbo.

Remember…