Mbukushu language

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Mbukushu
Thimbukushu
Native to Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zambia
Region Okavango River
Native speakers
35,000  (1997–2006)[1]
Niger–Congo
  • Atlantic–Congo
    • Benue–Congo
      • Southern Bantoid
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mhw
K.333[2]

Mbukushu or Thimbukushu is a Bantu language spoken by 45,000 people along the Okavango River in Namibia, where it is a national language; in Botswana; in Angola; and in Zambia, where it is an official regional language. It appears to be an divergent lineage of Bantu.[3]

Mbukushu is one of several Bantu languages of the Okavango which have click consonants. Mbukushu has three: tenuis c, voiced gc, and nasalized nc, as well as prenasalized ngc, which vary between speakers as dental, palatal, and postalveolar (The Bantu Languages, 2003:37). It also has a nasal glottal approximant.

References

  1. Mbukushu reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. Bantu Classification, Ehret, 2009.

External links


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