I thought it was going to perish': the remarkable revival of an endangered language in Lesotho

"Tsotleho Mohale was addressing a group of people gathered on a mountainside still damp from an intense rainstorm that morning. The peaks on the other side of the steep valley were draped in cloud. Mohale was speaking in siPhuthi, a language spoken by just a few thousand people in parts of southern Lesotho and the north of South Africa's Eastern Cape province, about the plants he used and the ailments he cured as a traditional healer."

"The questions came from Sheena Shah, a British linguist, and were translated into siPhuthi by Mohale's grandson Atlehang. Shah's German colleague Matthias Brenzinger was filming the exchange. The two academics have been travelling regularly to Daliwe, a remote valley in Lesotho about 15 miles from the nearest paved road, since 2016, working with local interpreters and activists to document siPhuthi."

"Observing the encounter was a senior healer, Mathabang Hlaela. Initially she had refused to be interviewed, wary of foreigners stealing knowledge that she had been amassing since 1978. But after briefly disappearing into her corrugated iron hut, she re-emerged adorned with beads a thick belt, headbands and multistringed necklaces and declared that she too wanted to be interviewed in her native language."

Tsotleho Mohale spoke in siPhuthi on a rain-damp mountainside about medicinal plants and ailments he treats as a traditional healer. The exchange was translated into siPhuthi by his grandson Atlehang while a German colleague filmed. Linguists have regularly visited Daliwe, a remote Lesotho valley about 15 miles from the nearest paved road, since 2016, collaborating with local interpreters and activists to document siPhuthi. Senior healer Mathabang Hlaela initially refused to be interviewed for fear of outsiders stealing knowledge accumulated since 1978, but later appeared adorned with beads and requested an interview in her native language. Community members showed pride and willingness to help with recordings.

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