Although mutually intelligible, they are considered to be separate languages for political and cultural reasons. Tuu: A New Name for the Southern Khoisan Family, in Tom Gldemann (ed.). The Bantu languages adopted the use of clicks from neighboring, displaced, or absorbed Khoisan populations (or from other Bantu languages), often through intermarriage, while the Dahalo are thought to have retained clicks from an earlier language when they shifted to speaking a Cushitic language; if so, the pre-Dahalo language may have been something like Hadza or Sandawe. Featuring handcraft https://t.co/GiM3yZdgvg, Situated in Cape Town Hope street studios, lies the excellent & craftmanship of David Dindi Leather collection, a s https://t.co/zlW7cX54f8, Self-taught designer Nondwe Nyathi of Indwe Designs, draws inspiration from the elegant Blue crane, its stately pre https://t.co/Srk6KNK2lM, Cool Tabs A sustainable & profitable business owned by Aretha Doyle, re-purposes soda can tabs and transforms them https://t.co/qCZyAieYy7, SA Tourisms sustainability village at AGES showcases proudly S.A eco and environmentally friendly products. The verb is modified by affixes to mark subject, object, tense, aspect and mood. This came about because South African actor John Kani, a native of the Eastern Cape province who plays Wakandan King T'Chaka, speaks Xhosa and suggested that the directors of the fictional Civil War incorporate a dialogue in the language. Haya, Otherwise, they tend to be tenuis (plain) stops. Below are some common words and sentences in Xhosa. It forms part of the ornamentation that reflects the different stages of a womans life. In Nguni. The breathy voiced glottal fricative [] is sometimes spelled h. The ejectives tend to be ejective only in careful pronunciation or in salient positions and, even then, only for some speakers. Updates? They are typologically very similar to the Kxa languages (below), but have not been demonstrated to be related to them genealogically (the similarities may be an areal feature). This distinctive linguistic characteristic was adopted by a number of neighbouring Bantu languages, such as Xhosa and Zulu in South Africa. It forms part of the ornamentation that reflects the different stages of a woman, s life. Mwani, This process can skip rightwards to non-local syllables (i.e. 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. "Toward reconstructing Proto-South Khoisan." Khoisan languages Bushman languages, also called San languages, loose grouping of languages that confusingly have been considered to be a separate group within the Khoisan languages. Nyungwe, Because Xhosa and Zulu are both classed as Bantu languages, they are quite similar. If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. 2 is- and iz- replace isi- and izi- respectively before stems beginning with a vowel, e.g. [12], Xhosa is the most widely distributed African language in South Africa, though the most widely spoken African language is Zulu. Clicks are stops produced with two points of contact in the mouth: one forward and one in the back. Fang, The Xhosa language is a member of the Bantu family and is closely related to Zulu. Various parts of speech that qualify a noun must agree with the noun according to its gender. In South Africa a variation of this process allowed the Khoisan languages to exert a powerful linguistic influence on the dominant languages before they disappeared, leaving Afrikaans and some Bantu languages with a number of distinctive Khoisan features. There are books, magazines and newspapers in Xhosa, as well as TV and radio programmes, films, plays and songs. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The Kxa family is a relatively distant relationship formally demonstrated in 2010.[11]. [13] There is a small but significant Xhosa community of about 200,000 in Zimbabwe. 2. The South African Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts in Xhosa on both radio (on Umhlobo Wenene FM) and television, and films, plays and music are also produced in the language. Grazie! These sounds were borrowed from the Khoisan languages of the original inhabitants of the area. [12] It is the second most common Bantu home language in South Africa as a whole. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'omniglot_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_1',141,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-omniglot_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Download an alphabet chart for Xhosa (Excel). , "A Lexicostatistical Approach towards Reconstructing Proto-Khoisan", "From modern Khoisan languages to Proto-Khoisan: The Value of Intermediate Reconstructions. At the secondary level, instruction in schools serving Xhosa-speaking students is in English. The next are the alveolar clicks with the tongue tip and palate. is that you can jump around their extensive library of topics and choose what you want to learn, when you want, and at your own pace. While palatalisation occurred historically, it is still productive, as is shown by palatalization before the passive suffix /-w/ and before diminutive suffix /-ana/. Besides pulmonic egressive sounds, which are found in all spoken languages, it has a series of ejective stops and one implosive stop. Total number of users in all countries is 19.2 million (. [8] Despite their shared clicks, the Khoisan languages diverge significantly from each other. Xhosa language, Xhosa formerly spelled Xosa, a Bantu language spoken by seven million people in South Africa, especially in Eastern province. Ancestors of the Xhosa migrated to the east coast of Africa and came across Khoisan-speaking people; "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". [3] Ethnically, their speakers are the Khoikhoi and the San (Bushmen). 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. Photography and infographics cannot be used without permission.Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms and Conditions, Language Learning for Travellers & Heritage Learners, Italian Travel Phrases Cheat-Sheet! It is a Methodist hymn written in Xhosa by Enoch Sontonga in 1897. De Aar is the commercial center for the wool production and livestock farming industry in this semi-arid region of South Africa. No change when the following consonant is itself a nasal. Xhosa is rich in uncommon consonants. There are five places of articulation at which click consonants occur. The Xhosa themselves are somewhat ambivalent about the use of their language in education. Digo, The spirits of those who have passed on are honoured in rituals and ceremonies. The following table lists the consonant phonemes of the language, with the pronunciation in IPA on the left and the orthography on the right: In addition to the ejective affricate [t], the spelling tsh may also be used for either of the aspirated affricates [ts] and [t]. The majority of languages which contain clicks originate with the Khoisan languages. Of all the Khoisan languages, only Nama enjoys official recognition. South Africa is the native land of Xhosa, which is spoken chiefly in the Eastern Cape Province. Xhosa, which is also known as Xosa or Koosa, is a clicking language. These are typically written with characters such as and . Clicks are quite versatile as consonants, as they involve two articulations of the tongue which can operate partially independently. The last is a lateral click with the tongue at the side of the mouth. Take a look at Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Xhosa. Copyright 1995-2023 Southafrica.com. These famous click sounds are found in Khoisan languages (alternative names include Khoesaan or Khoesan). Adjectives, possessive pronouns and demonstratives agree with the noun they modify in class and number. [12] However, this classification is not widely accepted. Omissions? A certain headdress will be a worn by a newly married girl, while a woman who has just given birth to her first child will wear a different, Xhosa beliefs recognise the presence of ancestral spirits and a supreme authority. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Most syllables end in a vowel, and there are no consonant clusters. http://www.gononda.com/xhosa/, Xhosa phrases work in Xhosa was published in 1823. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Ethnologue lists 27 Khoisan languages which are spoken by half a million people or less. 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. Thus their language is variously said to be extinct or to have 18,000 speakers, to be Ju or to be Khoe. High tone is represented in writing by an acute accent over the vowel, i.g., , low tone is indicated by by a grave accent, i.g., . Tonga, No idea what a clicking language is? Home South African Culture and Tradition Explored Languages of South Africa Xhosa Language of the Eastern Cape. Bonke abantu banesiphiwo sesazela nesizathu are about 8.2 million native speakers of Xhosa, and another 11 million The pocket of air produced by the resulting enclosure is rarefied by the sucking action of the tongue. The onset cluster /kl/ from phonologized loanwords such as, The unwritten glottal stop is present in words like, In informal writing, this murmured consonant can sometimes be seen spelled as, sebenz + -is + -el +wa -> setyenziselwa [setenziselwa] (used for), This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 23:55. Konjo, There are a number of print publications in Xhosa, or in Xhosa and English. Mandekan, Watch this video of Miriam Makebas singQongqothwane in Xhosa, also known as The Click Song. The origin of Khoisan click consonants and their peculiarly African provenance therefore remains a mystery. The sound system of Xhosa contains three types of click sounds borrowed from the neighbouring Khoisan languages. Breathy-voiced consonants The Xhosa language is properly referred to as isiXhosa. (Their numbers have been included under Nama above.) [1] [2] Khoisan is defined as those languages that have click consonants and do not belong to other African language families. Xhosa beliefs dictate that people turn to a diviner or healer, usually attired in a headdress and shawl of fur, when needing advice on how to deal with the spirits, help with illnesses, or, ward off evil from unnatural forces such as the, a potentially malevolent goblin who attacks at night. 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. In Voeltz, Erhard Friedrich Karl (ed.). Xhosa has three basic clicks . Michele creates language learning guides and courses for travel. 1. Kuria, Only a few consonants, such as /b/, /m/, /n/, /r/, and /l/ can appear between vowels, and even fewer can appear at the end of words. An estimated 15% of Xhosa vocabulary is of Khoisan origin. The name Khoisan derives from the name of the Khoikhoi (people people or real people) group of South Africa and the San (Bushmen) group of Namibia. Do you think English would be more interesting with similar click sounds? As a balance to consonant complexity, strict rules restrict clicks and most of the non-clicks to the beginning of a word being followed always by a vowel. By creating an account, I agree to theTerms of service and Privacy policy. Xhosa is a Bantu language spoken in South Africa, mainly in the nangokweemfanelo. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 1991). That is, da may be pronounced [da] (or, equivalently, [da]). Omniglot is how I make my living. Xhosa beliefs recognise the presence of ancestral spirits and a supreme authority. Planning a trip? Aspiration is lost on obstruents; ejection is added on voiceless consonant. The term Bushman as it is used to describe certain southern African hunter-gatherers is somewhat controversial because it is perceived as racist. Xhosa (formerly spelled Xosa) is an official language of South Africa, natively spoken by around 7.9 million people which is about around 16% of the population of South Africa. Their language is often called the 'click ' language because of its three dominant clicks, which entered the isi Xhosa language when the Nguni arrivals mixed with the Khoisan. 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).. MustGo.com. It is also taught in universities. The Khoisan languages ( / ksn /; also Khoesan or Khoesaan) are a number of African languages once classified together, originally by Joseph Greenberg. Therefore, the absolute duration of voicing is the same as in tenuis stops. Kamba, Xhosa is a tonal language with two inherent phonemic tones: low and high. However, the Dutch used the word stotteraarto more specifically describe the clicking sounds used in the Khoisan languages. 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. In, Gldemann, Tom and Rainer Vossen. ), palatal (), and lateral (). A certain headdress will be a worn by a newly married girl, while a woman who has just given birth to her first child will wear a differently styled headdress. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Xhosa-language. 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. The numerous click consonants have been borrowed from Khoi or San words. Like what you see? The language of instruction at universities in South Africa is English or Afrikaans (to a diminishing extent[21]), and Xhosa is taught as a subject, both for native and for non-native speakers. Forming part of Durban's vibrant Golden Mile, the Bay of Plenty lies at the heart of the beachfront, with high-rise hotels and apartment buildings making the most of the stunning sea view. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site. Anthony Traill noted the Khoisan languages' extreme variation. Zulu, Languages written with the Latin alphabet, if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'omniglot_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_2',147,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-omniglot_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'omniglot_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_3',147,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-omniglot_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0_1'); .large-mobile-banner-1-multi-147{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none !important;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:7px !important;margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;margin-top:7px !important;max-width:100% !important;min-height:50px;padding:0;text-align:center !important;}. The word lives on, however, in the names of several African animal and plant species, such as the Hottentot Fig or Carpobrotus. There is a series of six dental clicks, represented by the letter c, similar to the sound represented in English by "tut-tut" or "tsk-tsk"; a series of six alveolar lateral clicks, represented by the letter x, similar to the sound used to call horses; and a series of alveolar clicks, represented by the letter q, that sound somewhat like a cork pulled from a bottle. Makhuwa, Sukuma, 2. Nama, in particular, has a long tradition of literacy. #VisitSouthAfrica https://t.co/EHxIRKzU37, RT @FIAFormulaE: The Rainbow Nation 2003. By Mark Dingemanse [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons. 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. Nyemba, ", Commission for Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Community Rights, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khoisan_languages&oldid=1132757639, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Ehret, Christopher. Starostin (2013) accepts a relationship between Sandawe and Khoi is plausible, as is one between Tuu and Kxa, but sees no indication of a relationship between Sandawe and Khoi on the one hand and Tuu and Kxa on the other, or between any of them and Hadza. The release of the forward closure results in a pop-like sound. Start learning here! [8] Xhosa is spoken as a first language by approximately 10 million people and as a second language by another 11 million, mostly in South Africa, particularly in Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng, and also in parts of Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Interestingly, the word Xhosa is from the Khoisan language and means "The angry men". films, plays and songs. Xhosa language, Xhosa formerly spelled Xosa, a Bantu language spoken by seven million people in South Africa, especially in Eastern province. Author of, Professor Emeritus, Department of Linguistics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Northern Sotho, Khoisan languages, a unique group of African languages spoken mainly in southern Africa, with two outlying languages found in eastern Africa. Most have no written record. Southern Khoisan languages have a very high ratio of words containing clicks as compared to those that do not contain them. 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. Janina Brutt-Griffler claims, "given that such colonial borders were generally arbitrarily drawn, they grouped large numbers of ethnic groups that spoke many languages." The red letters are orthographic representations of the sounds. the Ndebele is an integral aspect of Xhosa tradition. The San were formerly called Bushmen, (from . Forms of "Nga" ##. 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.
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