Tshwa language

Tsoa
Kua
Hiechware
Native to Botswana, Zimbabwe
Native speakers
 4,100 Tshwa and Shua (2008)[1]
Khoe

  • Kalahari (Tshu–Khwe)

    • East
      • Tsoa
Dialects
  • Hiechware
  • Cua
  • Cire Cire
Official status
Official language in
 Zimbabwe (as 'Koisan')
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Either:
hio – Tsoa
tyu – Kua
Glottolog tshw1239[2]

Tsoa or Tshwa, also known as Kua and Hiechware, is an East Kalahari Khoe dialect cluster spoken by several thousand people in Botswana and Zimbabwe. (This language group is not to be confused with Tswa (Xitswa), a Bantu language in Mozambique which has the alternate spelling Tshwa.)

One of the dialects is Tjwao (formerly Tshwao), the only Khoisan language in Zimbabwe, where "Koisan" is a language officially recognised in the constitution.

Dialects

Tsoa–Kua is a dialect cluster, which is still poorly studied but seems to include:

Phonology

The Cire-cire (not cited) dialect has the following consonant inventory:

Consonant phonemes of the Cire-cire dialect (not cited)
Bilabial Dental Alveolar Lateral Post-
alveolar		 Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal click    ᵑǀ    (ᵑǃ)    ᵑǁ    (ᵑǂ)
Oral click ǀ ᶢǀ ǀʰ (ǃ ᶢǃ ǃʰ) ǁ ᶢǁ ǁʰ (ǂ ᶢǂ ǂʰ)
Glottalized click    ǀˀ    ǁˀ
Affricate click    (ǀqχ)    (ǁqχ)
Nasal stop    m    n
Oral stop p   b t   d k   ɡ q    ʔ   
Affricate    dz tʃ   dʒ
Fricative s   z ʃ    χ   
Approximant    l

The clicks have a very uneven distribution: Only a dozen words begin with one of the palatal clicks (ǂ), and these are replaced by dental clicks (ǀ) among younger speakers. Only half a dozen words start with one of the alveolar clicks (ǃ), and half a dozen more with one of the affricated clicks. These rather marginal sounds are placed in parentheses in the chart.

Tsoa has the five vowels /a e i o u/. It is not clear if Tsoa has long vowels, or simply sequences of identical vowels /aa ee ii oo uu/.

There are two tones, high and low, plus a few cases of mid tone.

In the northern dialect of Kua, like all other East Kalahari Khoe languages, the palatal click series has become palatal stops. Southern Kua has retained the palatal clicks, but the dental stops have palatalized, as they have in Gǀui and ǂ’Amkoe. Thus northern Kua has /ɟua/ 'ash' and /d̪u/ 'eland', whereas southern Kua has ᶢǂua 'ash' and /d̪ʲu/ (or perhaps /ɟu/) 'eland'.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Brenzinger, Matthias (2011) "The twelve modern Khoisan languages." In Witzlack-Makarevich & Ernszt (eds.), Khoisan languages and linguistics: proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium, Riezlern / Kleinwalsertal (Research in Khoisan Studies 29). Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Tshwa". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. ↑ Gerlach, Linda (2015) "Phonetic and phonological description of the Nǃaqriaxe variety of ǂ’Amkoe and the impact of language contact". PhD dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin

Bibliography

Vossen, Rainer (ed.). 2013a. The Khoesan Languages. London & New York: Routledge.


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