Tsotsi is a Sesotho, Pedi or Tswana slang word for a "thug" or "robber" or "criminal", possibly from the verb "ho lotsa" "to sharpen", whose meaning has been modified in modern times to include "to con"; or from the tsetse fly, as the language was first known as Flytaal, although flaai also means "cool" or "street smart".
It was originally known as Iscamtho or Isicamtho[dubious – discuss] (from Zulu, it is a combination of the class 7 prefix isi- here representing language — see Noun classes in Zulu; with a derivation of ukuqamunda [uk’u!amunda], meaning 'to talk volubly'), but it is now more often referred to as Ringas (from English ringers, as in people forming a ring to chat).
The Zulu-based and Sotho-based varieties are the most widespread in Soweto, but one can actually build Iscamtho over any grammar of the South African Bantu languages, such as Xhosa, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda and others.
But the youth abandoned it in the 1970s, when Afrikaans came to be no more associated with the power of the state, as it had been so far, but was recognized as the language of apartheid and oppression (especially after the 1976 Soweto Uprising).
A number of Afrikaans terms from Tsotsitaal have maintained in Iscamtho (such as niks, vandag, goed, maat,"daso", "darr", vrou, vriendin, mooi).
Due to the popularity of Soweto among Black South African youth, and due also to the importance of Soweto-based artists in the foremost post-apartheid culture, kwaito, Iscamtho has been spreading to other township youths in the country, and different tsotsitaals have been enriched with typically Iscamtho material.
For male speakers however, the language quickly acquired a meaning of city-slickness and street-wisdom, and mastering it was the proof that one knew the urban environment well enough to cope and not be threatened.
However, as Tsotsitaal became the symbol of the cultural life of Sophiatown (before the area was cleared of its residents in the mid-1950s) it was adopted by a number of women.
But as native speakers of Iscamtho refuse to be discriminated against, they often impose their language in exchanges, and consider it as respectful as any other.
Because they are associated with urban thugs and the criminal subculture, tsotsitaals and Iscamtho are seen by many as a South African form of gangsta slang.
Because of their urban nature and form, tsotsitaals came to be emblematic of the attitudes of post-apartheid South African black poor youth that were largely apolitical, concerned mainly with a representation of success and wealth.
Today, kwaito music using tsotsitaal and more especially Iscamtho can be heard on national radio stations such as YFM (for Youth FM).
Through the media, and considering the symbolic power of Soweto over black township youths, Iscamtho is influencing young speakers of tsotsitaals in South Africa, and many adopt the words or expressions they discover on television or in kwaito.
As a consequence, first-language Iscamtho-speakers face inequalities compared to the rest of the population, as they might be tried in a language which is not the one they master best.
More often than not, when celebrated in the media capacity or space, tsotsi taal speakers are presented in a manner in which the older generations of such a culture would be described; fairly violent, conniving and restless.
This kind of media portrayal usually spreads the logic; like all marginalized and unofficial languages; that there is not or cannot be a voice of reason, intelligence, love or even respect among its speakers.
When a fellow tsotsi taal speaker sees and meets another; a very profound sense of respect and belonging can be witnessed.