Nǀu language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nǀu | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | South Africa | |
| Total speakers: | 10 | |
| Language family: | Khoisan Tuu Nǀu |
|
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | — | |
| ISO 639-3: | ngh | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
Nǀu or Nǀuu is a Khoisan language spoken by the ǂKhomani people in South Africa.
Nǀu belongs to the Taʼa-ǃKwi language family, with ǀXam being its closest relative. The slash symbol in these names represents a click like the English interjection tsk! tsk! used to express pity or shame; "Nǀu" is pronounced like noo, with a tsk pronounced in the middle of the /n/.
Alternate names or dialects include ǃKabee, ǀʼAuni, ǁKxau, ǁNgǃke.
Nǀu prospered through the 19th century, but encroaching non-ǃKwi languages and acculturation threatened it, like most other Khoisan languages. The language of the ǂKhomani was mainly displaced by Afrikaans and Nama, especially after they started migrating to towns in the 1930s and found themselves surrounded by non-Nǀu speaking people. In 1973 their language was declared extinct, and the remaining ǂKhomani were evicted from the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park.
In the 1990s, ǂKhomani elders became upset that the language was dying out. It was thought that the language might already be extinct. They finally located 101-year old Elsie Vaalbooi, who could still speak Nǀu. Linguist Anthony Traill interviewed her in 1997. The South African San Institute soon became involved in the pursuit of information on the Nǀu language, and with the help of Vaalbooi they tracked down 25 other people scattered by the eviction who were able to speak or at least understand the language. Thabo Mbeki handed over 400 km² of land to the ǂKhomani in 1999, and 250 km² of land within the park in 2002. Vaalbooi came up with the Nǀu motto of Sa ǁʼa ǃainsi uinsi (We move towards a better life) for her rehabilitated people. Today there are 20 living speakers, and 8 of the people who speak it fluently live in the Western Cape province signed over to them. Linguist Nigel Crawhall is documenting the language. However, the younger generations of ǂKhomani are proud Nama speakers, and have little affinity to Nǀu, so there is little chance of saving the language.
[edit] External links
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