is xhosa a khoisan language

[13] There is a small but significant Xhosa community of about 200,000 in Zimbabwe. Sukuma, As of 2003[update] approximately 5.3million Xhosa-speakers, the majority, live in the Eastern Cape, followed by the Western Cape (approximately 2million), Gauteng (671,045), the Free State (246,192), KwaZulu-Natal (219,826), North West (214,461), Mpumalanga (46,553), the Northern Cape (51,228), and Limpopo (14,225). Other Bantu Languages include the Xhosa and Zulu languages, two languages famous for their large number of click consonants developed through their extended interaction with the Khoisan languages of Southern Africa. Copyright 1995-2023 Southafrica.com. Xhosa (/ks, kos/,[5][6][7] Xhosa pronunciation:[ksa]), formerly spelled Xosa and also known by its local name isiXhosa, is a Nguni language and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Mende, Khoisan Last but not least is the Khoisan family with between 40 - 70 members. [citation needed], Khoisan was proposed as one of the four families of African languages in Joseph Greenberg's classification (19491954, revised in 1963). Kamba, Kiga, They are better described as slack voiced than as breathy voiced. Grammatically, the southern Khoisan languages are generally analytic, having several inflectional morphemes, but not as many as the click languages of Tanzania. They are truly voiced only after nasals, but the oral occlusion is then very short in stops, and it usually does not occur at all in clicks. Xhosa is the most widely distributed African language in South Africa, though the most widely spoken African language is Zulu. Phrases | The spirits of those who have passed on are honoured in rituals and ceremonies. For Black Panther, director Ryan Coogler "wanted to make it a priority to use Xhosa as much as possible" in the script, and provided dialect coaches for the film's actors. uku-bhal+wa -> ukubhalwa "to be written", instead of illicit *ukujalwa). The Khoisan, or Click, linguistic family is made up of three branches: the Khoisan languages of the San (Bushmen) and Khoikhoi, spoken in various parts of sub-Saharan Africa; Sandawe, a language found in E Africa; and Hatsa (Hadzane or Hadzapi), also spoken in E Africa. As a result of this contact, the Xhosa people borrowed some Khoisan words along with their pronunciation, for instance, the click sounds of the Khoisan languages. Kuria, Updates? There are several places of articulation at which click consonants occur, as shown in the table below. Nama is used in education and in the media. Songe, ''Studies in African Linguistic Classification.'' But this line of thinking has proved fruitless. Subscribe using the form below to have all of my posts delivered directly to your email. 3 The placeholder N in the prefixes iN- and iiN- is a nasal consonant which assimilates in place to the following consonant (producing an im- before vowels), but is typically absent in loanwords. These are the only languages known to have clicks in normal vocabulary. Nkore, https://t.co/qATXK8AEqg, A room filled with great minds, sharing a valuable outlook on living the legacy of the @NelsonMandela Foundation. http://www.salanguages.com/isixhosa/xhowrd.htm . The small town of De Aar is located in the central Groot Karoo along the railway line between Cape Town and Kimberley, which was established in the late 1800s. The Xhosas started facing serious trouble during the 18th and 19th Centuries when they engaged in frequent conflicts with the European settlers attempting to annex their native lands. These are divided into North, Central and South Khoisan groups belonging to southern Africa, plus two Tanzanian isolates, Sandawe and Hadza (Hatsa), which possess a few words, affixes, and particles that justify the assumption of a distant relationship with Khoisan. Group of African language families with click consonants, "San language" redirects here. Below is a table of Xhosa consonants. The pocket of air produced by the resulting enclosure is rarefied by the sucking action of the tongue. Chokwe, so much, I reached out to them and weve teamed up to offer, across all of uTalks 140 languages! The Khoisan (Khoesan) language family is the smallest of the language families of Africa. Fricatives become affricates. 2. (Reprints, with minor corrections, a series of eight articles published in the ''Southwestern Journal of Anthropology'' from 1949 to 1954. uku-sebenz-is-el + wa -> ukusetyenziselwa "be used for"), but does not affect morpheme-initial consonants (i.e. #CapeTownEPrix "Die Khoisan-Familie." ), Gldemann, Tom and Edward D. Elderkin (forthcoming) '. The branches that were once considered part of so-called Khoisan are now considered independent families, since it has not been demonstrated that they are related according to the standard comparative method. Gwere, They refer to themselves as the amaXhosa and their language as isiXhosa. In, Khler, O. This distinctive linguistic characteristic was adopted by a number of neighbouring Bantu languages, such as Xhosa and Zulu in South Africa. The X and H languages are even more complex. . Xhosa beliefs recognise the presence of ancestral spirits and a supreme authority. http://www.southafricalogue.com/travel-tips/south-african-phrases-xhosa.html, Basaa, Numbers | The origin of clicks remains a mystery. The 'X' in Xhosa, for example, represents a type of . Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). All languages use sound symbolism to some extent, and, while there are indeed examples of clicks functioning in this way (for example, !, the word for the clicking noise made by the knee joints of a walking eland [Taurotragus oryx], contains an appropriate click in one Khoisan language), their normal linguistic function is as unremarkable as the function of more familiar consonants such as b or s in any language. Nyungwe, Omissions? This offer. Before the Bantu expansion, Khoisan languages, or languages like them, were likely spread throughout southern and eastern Africa. We use the verb "have" to denote possession, ownership, and other related meanings. A system for writing Xhosa using the Latin alphabet was devised by Agreements usually reflect part of the original class with which the word agrees. Of these languages, Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele and Yeyi have intricate systems of click consonants; the others, despite the click in the name Gciriku, more rudimentary ones. Xhosa (isiXhosa) is the southernmost member of the Bantoid group of the Niger-Congo language family in Africa. Xhosa is part of the branch of Nguni languages, which also include Zulu, Southern Ndebele and Northern Ndebele, called the Zunda languages. South Africa is the native land of Xhosa, which is spoken chiefly in the Eastern Cape Province. What separates her from other instructors is her ability to explain complex grammar in a no-nonsense, straightforward manner using her unique 80/20 method. All click and most non-click consonants appear at the beginning of words and are followed by a vowel. Most others are neighboring Bantu languages in southern Africa: the Nguni languages (Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Phuthi, and Northern Ndebele); Sotho; Yeyi in Botswana; and Mbukushu, Kwangali, and Gciriku in the Caprivi Strip. Maore, It is spoken by the Xhosa people in South Africa, and has around 8 million speakers. Densely populated with uncommon consonants, Xhosa consists of the usual pulmonic egressive sounds (used in English), ejectives, 15 clicks and an implosive. are about 8.2 million native speakers of Xhosa, and another 11 million Khoisan / k s n /, or Khoe-Sn (pronounced [kxoesan]), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the Khoekhoen (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the Sn or Skhoen (Saake in the Nng language).. Want my "9 Steps to Reach Fluency Faster" playbook? This click is like the sound people make to call horses. Xhosa, Zulu, Ndelebele and Swati share most of their basic vocabulary as well as grammar. The sociolinguistic story of the South African Khoesan languages is one of language death (Dorian 1989), and finds its place in the discussion of language death in Africa (Dimendaal 1989, Brenzinger 1992, Brenzinger et al. The sound system of Xhosa contains three types of click sounds borrowed from the neighbouring Khoisan languages. You can unsubscribe at any time. In Haacke, Wilfrid and Elderkin, Edward Derek (eds. Luvale, The rest of the elements are placed to the left or to the right of the verb root. The /i/ vowel is long in the penultimate syllable and short in the last syllable.[16]. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. http://learn101.org/xhosa.php Although little Kwadi data is available, proto-KhoeKwadi reconstructions have been made for pronouns and some basic vocabulary. / For the Mande language spoken in Burkina Faso, see, Map showing the distribution of the Khoisan languages (yellow), Grammatically, the southern Khoisan languages are generally, Greenberg, Joseph H. 1955. [3] Ethnically, their speakers are the Khoikhoi and the San (Bushmen). "Khoisan." Every single click in Miriam Makebas Click Song, which is in Xhosa, is a sound that was borrowed from a neighbouring language and swapped into existing words and not all that long ago, either. Please check your inbox to confirm your email. Ewondo, Xhosa is an official language in South Africa and Zimbabe, and is used as a language of instruction in primary schools, and in some secondary schools. [15], John Bennie was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary and early Xhosa linguist. The best-known performer of Xhosa songs outside South Africa was Miriam Makeba, whose Click Song #1 (Xhosa Qongqothwane) and "Click Song #2" (Baxabene Ooxam) are known for their large number of click sounds. [12] It is the second most common Bantu home language in South Africa as a whole. The Khoisan people, who at various points have been referred to using the derogatory terms 'Bushmen' and 'Hottentots', as well as Kung, Kxoe, Khoi Khoi, Ovahimba, San, Vatua and !Xu, are an ethno-linguistic group that has traditionally been marginalised throughout South African history. Implosive consonants are produced by inhaling rather than exhaling the air. If a woman has children, whom she has raised to be adults, then it is usual to find her seated among her peers smoking a long-handled pipe. It is closely related to Zulu, Swati, and Ndebele. All rights reserved. This term, now considered derogatory, means stutterer in Dutch. All rights reserved. They The Khoisan languages were once spoken across all of southern Africa from southern Angola in the west to Swaziland in the east and the Cape of Good Hope in the south (see the map). The status of Xhosa, like all other African languages in the Republic of South Africa, is complex. You can unsubscribe at any time. Beadwork similar to the Ndebele is an integral aspect of Xhosa tradition. As a Bantu language, Xhosa and Zulu people are often able to understand one another. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xhosa_language Khoisan languages, a unique group of African languages spoken mainly in southern Africa, with two outlying languages found in eastern Africa. Of all the Khoisan languages, only Nama enjoys official recognition. By Mark Dingemanse [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons. secondary schools. The term Bushman as it is used to describe certain southern African hunter-gatherers is somewhat controversial because it is perceived as racist. Michele creates language learning guides and courses for travel. Adjectives, possessive pronouns and demonstratives come after the noun they modify. According to the 2011 census there The Tanzanian languages, Sandawe and Hadza, use only three basic clicks: |, , and !. Here's 10 things you didn't know about this incredib, We're proud of you @KelvinvdLinde Tonga, OshiWambo, Its great for beginners getting started in a language and invaluable for intermediates looking to fill in gaps in their vocabulary and pronunciation. They are descended from the Nguni, who began migrating south from central and northern Africa more than a thousand years ago. Khoisan languages, characterised by implosive consonants or 'clicks', belonged to a totally different language family from those of the Bantu speakers. For much of the 20th century, they were thought to be genealogically related to each other, but this is no longer accepted. The original stanza was: Additional stanzas were written later by Sontonga and other writers, with the original verse translated into Sotho and Afrikaans, as well as English. They are marked with an apostrophe //. The red letters are orthographic representations of the sounds. Kisi, It is also taught in universities. ), palatal (), and lateral (). https://www.twinkl.co.za/resources/south-africa-resources/isixhosa-foundation-phase-english-south-africa-suid-afrika/2, Online Xhosa dictionaries But without a shift in language policy and government . Xhosa has a Roman-based orthography which was developed by missionaries in the 19th century and adapted to represent the sounds of the language. Tsonga, The fact that many of the surviving languages are endangered and some are even on the point of extinction bears testimony to inexorable social, economic, linguistic, and demographic forces that continue to marginalize and consume indigenous linguistic and cultural minorities. The pocket of air produced by the resulting enclosure is rarefied by the sucking action of the tongue. The last is a lateral click with the tongue at the side of the mouth. 9 reasons youre not fluentYET & how to fix it! Xhosa is categorized as a Bantu language and is representative of the south-western Nguni subfamily group. Download your free PDF guide with 125 Italian travel phrases. Xhosa's click consonants were most likely borrowed from the Khoisan Because Xhosa and Zulu are both classed as Bantu languages, they are quite similar. Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Free State and Northern Cape. One of the main reasons for the decline is that bilingual Khoisan speakers shift to the dominant language of the area and stop teaching the language to their children. Like other Southern Bantu languages, Xhosa has borrowed words from the Khoisan languages, as well as from English and Afrikaans. Some support the use of English and see its use in education as de facto segregation. "Die Khoe-sprachigen Buschmnner der Kalahari." The Khoe family appears to have migrated to southern Africa not long before the Bantu expansion. ), Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. Eton, North Khoisan is spoken by hunter-gatherers mainly in Namibia. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Khoisan people appeared in southern Africa some 60,000 years ago. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), Some corrections to this page by Michael Peter Fstumum, Information about Xhosa | The Tuu family consists of two language clusters, which are related to each other at about the distance of Khoekhoe and Tshukhwe within Khoe. women are easily recognised by their heavy dress, matching turban and coloured dots decorating their faces. Xhosa has the following clicks consonants which can be modified in a variety of ways, such as aspirated, breathy-voiced or nasalized. A Xhosa initiate, undergoing a . #VisitSouthAfrica https://t.co/A4fSLf2jvP, Hello Cape Town Masaaba, In, This page was last edited on 10 January 2023, at 12:02. http://glosbe.com/en/xh/ Below are some common words and sentences in Xhosa. Author of. Several radio stations and one TV station broadcast in Xhosa. Ronga, Sena, Thus, the word for people is abantu in all these languages. F https://t.co/s7IkqA9Utl, It feels good to have @KevinHart4real also known as Mpho here in Johannesburg, South Africa. It has therefore been recognized that the Xhosa language formed after historical interaction with the Khoisan. The Khoisan people have a unique language that is characterized by clicking sounds made with the tongue and mouth. Even though the sound structure of the Khoisan languages is unique, their resemblance to each other in this respect has not provided the evidence needed to unravel all their internal genetic affiliations, let alone their relationships to other African languages. The verb root occupies the 0 position. I don't know, but I think you can compare them to Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. A bilabial click is a pop made by bringing the lips together and releasing them, just like the sound of a kiss. The murmured clicks, plosives and affricates are only partially voiced, with the following vowel murmured for some speakers. The Xhosa noun consists of two essential parts, the prefix and the stem. Nyamwezi, It is one of the eleven official languages of the Republic of South Africa. Ejective consonants Zulu: 22.7%, Xhosa: 16%, Afrikaans . In southern Africa, they came into contact with Khoisan-speaking people. [9] It has perhaps the heaviest functional load of click consonants in a Bantu language (approximately tied with Yeyi), with one count finding that 10% of basic vocabulary items contained a click.[10]. Accent I'm fluent in Xhosa. The Zulu refer to the Eastern Cape as KwaXhosa which is translated to place of the Xhosa. languages as a result of long and extensive interaction between the 2005. C'est la deuxime langue la plus parle du pays. Xhosa is a member of the Southeastern, or Nguni, subgroup of the Bantu group of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Xhosa may refer to: Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa. Long vowels are phonemic but are usually not written except for and , which are each sequences of two vowels with different tones that are realized as long vowels with contour tones ( highlow = falling, lowhigh = rising). Dental clicks are represented by the letter c, alveolar clicks are indicated by q, and lateral clicks are written with the letter x. Vowel length is not always represented in writing. Ejective consonants are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis, raising air pressure in the mouth, so when the sound is released, there is a noticeable burst of air accompanying the release. When plain voiceless clicks (c, x, q) are prenasalized, they become slack voiced nasal (ngc, ngx, ngq). Tuu: A New Name for the Southern Khoisan Family, in Tom Gldemann (ed.). Gusii, In Nguni. See also Khoisan languages, which contains several audio clips. Xhosa is a tonal language with two inherent phonemic tones: low and high. The Khoisan. Nama, in particular, has a long tradition of literacy. They are currently restricted to the Kalahari Desert, primarily in Namibia and Botswana, and to the Rift Valley in central Tanzania.[2]. They are not prenasalized, as can be seen in words such as , Incorrectly described as glottal clicks by, Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 23:55, "Xhosa alphabet, pronunciation and language", "South Africa Population grows to 44.8 Million", "Wakanda Is a Fake Country, but the African Language in 'Black Panther' is Real", Xhosa basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Xhosa_language&oldid=1141620598, [mp], [nt], [nt], [k], [n], [n], [n]. Bonke abantu banesiphiwo sesazela nesizathu All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. I'm the 'guide' behind The Intrepid Guide, an Award-Winning site for travellers and language learners with thousands of readers, 1,000+ students, and a popular newsletter. Bemba, 1998. Some scholars speculate that they might represent an earlier stage in the evolution of human language. 1991). Clicks are spreading to a few additional neighboring languages. Like other Bantu languages, Xhosa is rich in expressions, idioms, and proverbs. However, linguists who study Khoisan languages reject their unity, and the name "Khoisan" is used by them as a term of convenience without any implication of linguistic validity, much as "Papuan" and "Australian" are. Languages Gulper/Khoisan Peoples/About World Languages/Wikipedia/The Week. Thus their language is variously said to be extinct or to have 18,000 speakers, to be Ju or to be Khoe. Languages such as Zulu and Xhosa make use of three of the five kinds of clicks. By distribution over land, Xhosa is the most widely spoken African language (while Zulu is most widely spoken in terms of population). Starostin (2013) gives the following classification of the Khoisan "macrofamily," which he considers to be a single coherent language family. Mpondo (Pondo), Xesibe, Bomwana, Gaika, Gcaleka, Thembu, Mpondomise, Ndlambe (Ethnologue). In, Gldemann, Tom and Rainer Vossen. Yao, There are five vowel phonemes, i.e., sounds that distinguish word meaning. Take a look at Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Xhosa. The following three are languages from the Khoe family, the Kxa family, and the Tuu family, respectively. The orthographic b in mb is the voiced plosive [mb]. The debate about these relationships remains a prominent feature in the linguistic study of Khoisan languages, and the disagreements that sustain it have never been satisfactorily resolved. Other languages have little more than 1,000 speakers while several are known to have become extinct. Enchantment winds through the Xhosa language, dress and rituals. When aspirated clicks (ch, xh, qh) are prenasalised, the silent letter k is added (nkc, nkx, nkq) to prevent confusion with the nasal clicks nc, nx, nq, and are actually distinct sounds.