Language use practice in Botswana designates English as the official and international language, and Setswana as the national and inter-ethnic language. However, the reality is that Botswana is home to 28 indigenous languages. Except for Setswana, these languages play no functional role in public or formal communication and are marginalized by current language practices. This absence of a formal language policy leads to the dominance of English and Setswana, creating a language conflict where marginalized and minority languages struggle to survive, a situation lamented by Batibo (2015). Without a language policy, there is no framework to promote these languages or functionalize their use, leading to language endangerment, and ultimately, language death (Chebanne, 2020; Batibo, 2015). This chapter discusses Botswana's language conflict using theoretical models from Batibo (2015) on language decline and Nyati-Ramahobo (2004) on language as a resource or problem. It argues that Botswana is losing its linguistic diversity, and endangering the existence of its ethnic languages through restrictive language practices in English and Setswana, described as 'glottophagy,' where larger languages absorb the speakers of minority languages through systematic language shifts encouraged by educational practices.

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