(Reprints, with minor corrections, a series of eight articles published in the ''Southwestern Journal of Anthropology'' from 1949 to 1954. See Khoe languages for speculations on the linguistic history of the region. Xhosa, along with Zulu and other indigenous languages of South Africa, has been a source of many words that were borrowed by South African English and that do not occur in other varieties of English in other parts of the world. Do you think English would be more interesting with similar click sounds? The Khoisan (Khoesan) language family is the smallest of the language families of Africa. The various parts of the sentence must agree in both class and number.[12]. The status of Xhosa, like all other African languages in the Republic of South Africa, is complex. They are marked with an apostrophe //. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Xhosa-language. The first is dental clicks with the tongue pressing against the back of the teeth. Views on views on views Traill demonstrated this linguistic diversity in the data presented in the below table. Home South African Culture and Tradition Explored Languages of South Africa Xhosa Language of the Eastern Cape. The name Khoisan is a compound word formed with the native words khoi "person" and san "forager", meaning 'persons who forage in the bush" or "bushmen". The language is also studied as a subject. #CapeTownEPrix A member of a Bantu people inhabiting the eastern part of Cape Province, South Africa. The word lives on, however, in the names of several African animal and plant species, such as the Hottentot Fig or Carpobrotus. There are books, It is also spoken in Botswana and Lesotho. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Here's 10 things you didn't know about this incredib, We're proud of you @KelvinvdLinde In, Winter, J.C. 1981. Look up Xhosa or xhosa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr are affiliate links. 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). Learn more about the Khoisan language family on Ethnologue. Their use in education has been governed by legislation, beginning with the Bantu Education Act, 1953.[12]. 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]. The term is a compound adapted from the words khoekhoe person and saan bush dweller in Nama, one of the Khoisan languages, and scholars have applied the wordseither separately or conjoinedto refer to economic, social, physical, and linguistic features of certain aboriginal groups of southern and eastern Africa. 2 is- and iz- replace isi- and izi- respectively before stems beginning with a vowel, e.g. Only phonemic, and thus reflected orthographically, for. "History of Click-Speaking Populations of Africa Inferred from mtDNA and Y Chromosome Genetic Variation", "The Kxa Family: A New Khoisan Genealogy", . Xhosa beliefs recognise the presence of ancestral spirits and a supreme authority. The pocket of air produced by the resulting enclosure is rarefied by the sucking action of the tongue. Omissions? Want my "9 Steps to Reach Fluency Faster" playbook? The original and unique use of clicks in the Khoisan languages has invited speculation that these unusual sounds might reflect an earlier stage in the evolution of language when sounds were natural vocal adaptations to the environment. http://glosbe.com/en/xh/ OshiWambo, Not all languages using clicks as phonemes are considered Khoisan. By distribution over land, Xhosa is the most widely spoken African language (while Zulu is most widely spoken in terms of population). Damin is an invented ritual language, and has nothing to do with Khoisan. Though these are still under debate, one frequently accepted dialect grouping is as follows: Xhosa (original), Bhaca, Gcaleka, Thembu, Mpondomise, Ngqika, Mpondo, Mfengu and Bomvana. isandla/izandla (hand/hands). There are five vowel phonemes, i.e., sounds that distinguish word meaning. Tones are rarely marked in the written language, but they can be indicated a [], [], [], []. Nguni languages of southern Africa, which include Zulu and Xhosa, are believed to have borrowed their clicks from Khoisan languages. As an example, the composition of the verb In the sentence Un-ntwana u-ya-wa-sel-a ama-nzi One child drinks water is shown below. Its great for beginners getting started in a language and invaluable for intermediates looking to fill in gaps in their vocabulary and pronunciation. 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. 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. 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. The Nguni languages are unique among Bantu languages in that they have imploded "clicking" phonemes. Amongs https://t.co/Un48auA2t0, South African Tourism's initiatives and projects within the "growing green economy" are highlighted through partner https://t.co/BlBqEBi0pj, Were proud and excited to be associated with @CapeTownEprix in hosting the first ABB FIA Formula E World champions https://t.co/0prwWK7DrC, It is great to hear you are feeling our vibe Mpho! In Xhosa culture, women are easily recognised by their heavy dress, matching turban and coloured dots . Bukusu, Northern Ndebele (South Africa), There are some exceptions, for instance, the Sandawe language in Tanzania whose speakers have maintained a relatively stable linguistic community. Xhosa (isiXhosa) is the southernmost member of the Bantoid group of the Niger-Congo language family in Africa. Nyakyusa, You can unsubscribe at any time. This is usually a misnomer for ejective consonants, which are found across much of the world, or is a reference to paralinguistic use of clicks such as English tsk! Tumbuka, The official name of the language is isiXhosa, with the key word Xhosa being derived from the Khoisan Language. https://t.co/qATXK8AEqg, A room filled with great minds, sharing a valuable outlook on living the legacy of the @NelsonMandela Foundation. This means I earn a commission if you click on any of them and buy something. This site is not affiliated with any government entity associated with a name similar to the site domain name. Xhosa, which is also known as Xosa or Koosa, is a clicking language. The linguistic use of clicks, whether original or borrowed, is restricted to these few African languages, with one exception: Damin. Like other Southern Bantu languages, Xhosa has borrowed words from the Khoisan languages, as well as from English and Afrikaans. [8] Despite their shared clicks, the Khoisan languages diverge significantly from each other. There are several places of articulation at which click consonants occur, as shown in the table below. "Comparison and Classification of Khoisan languages." Click here to claim your exclusive 30% discount. Most syllables end in a vowel, and there are no consonant clusters. Otherwise, they tend to be tenuis (plain) stops. 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. Besides pulmonic egressive sounds, which are found in all spoken languages, it has a series of ejective stops and one implosive stop. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. That is, da may be pronounced [da] (or, equivalently, [da]). Khoisan languages, a unique group of African languages spoken mainly in southern Africa, with two outlying languages found in eastern Africa. Sandawe is not related to Hadza, despite their proximity. Nyole, Bemba, Watch this video of Miriam Makebas singQongqothwane in Xhosa, also known as The Click Song. / A Niger-Congo language and a member of the Bantu family (Nguni group), spoken by more than 5 million people in the south-eastern part of South Africa, most notably in Cape Province and Transkei; also known as isiXhosa. https://www.twinkl.co.za/resources/south-africa-resources/isixhosa-foundation-phase-english-south-africa-suid-afrika/2, Online Xhosa dictionaries Traduzioni in contesto per "Xhosa" in inglese-ucraino da Reverso Context: Ubuntu is a concept and a term from several South African languages, including Zulu and Xhosa. Thus, a more correct spelling is Khoesaan. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive detailed travel guides, exclusive travel and language learning tips, priority access to giveaways and more! It forms part of the ornamentation that reflects the different stages of a womans life. Author of, Professor Emeritus, Department of Linguistics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. According to the 2011 census there Download your free PDF guide with 125 Italian travel phrases. As with other South African languages, Xhosa is characterized by respectful forms of address for elders and in-laws. Of all the Khoisan languages, only Nama enjoys official recognition. Those who speak this language typically form part of the ethnic group called the amaXhosa and refer to their language as isiXhosa. The first printed 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;}. Maore, 1971. The Xhosa language is a member of the Bantu family and is closely related to Zulu. Their language is often called the click language because of its three dominant clicks, which entered the isiXhosa language when the Nguni arrivals mixed with the Khoisan. Clicks are spreading to a few additional neighboring languages. The murmured clicks, plosives and affricates are only partially voiced, with the following vowel murmured for some speakers. Xhosa is an agglutinative language that expresses grammatical functions by adding prefixes and suffixes to roots. 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. , "A Lexicostatistical Approach towards Reconstructing Proto-Khoisan", "From modern Khoisan languages to Proto-Khoisan: The Value of Intermediate Reconstructions. Adjectives, possessive pronouns and demonstratives agree with the noun they modify in class and number. Making the Khoisan languages amongst the most ancient of all human tongues. Isewell [CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons. Xhosa is, to a large extent, mutually intelligible with Zulu and with other Nguni languages to a lesser extent. work in Xhosa was published in 1823. Copyright 1995-2023 Southafrica.com. A century ago the Haiom people spoke a Ju dialect, probably close to Kung, but they now speak a divergent dialect of Nama. Ganda/Luganda, Xhosa is used in primary schools up to the second grade and is studied as a subject in both primary and secondary schools up to the tenth grade. No idea what a clicking language is? They As in other Bantu languages, nouns in Xhosa are classified into morphological classes, or genders (15 in Xhosa), with different prefixes for both singular and plural. But those simple 5 clicks can add a lot to a sentence. Zulu: 22.7%, Xhosa: 16%, Afrikaans . Grazie! 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 to ward off evil from unnatural forces such as thetokoloshe a potentially malevolent goblin who attacks at night.