Shua language
| Shua | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Botswana |
|
Native speakers
|
4,100 Shua and Tshwa (2008)[1] |
|
Khoe
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | shg |
| Glottolog | shua1254 (Shua)[2]tsix1234 (Ts'ixa)[3] |
Shua /ˈʃuːə/, or Shwakhwe, is a Khoe language of Botswana. It is spoken in central Botswana (in Nata and its surroundings), and in parts of the Chobe District in the extreme north of Botswana. There are approximately 6,000 speakers (Cook 2004). The term Shwakhwe means people (khwe) from the salty area (shwa).
Phonology
The ongoing loss of alveolar and palatal clicks in the Eastern Kalahari Khoe languages has resulted in doublets in Ts'ixa dialect.
| Click | Non-click |
|---|---|
| ǂ | c |
| ᶢǂ | ɟ |
| ǂʼ | cʼ |
| ǂʰ | cʰ |
| ǂχ | cχ |
| ǂʔ | ˀj |
| ᵑǂ | ɲ |
| ŋᶢǂ | ŋɟ |
Syntax
Unlike most Khoisan languages, but like Nama, the most neutral word order is SOV, though word order is relatively free. As with most Khoisan languages, there are postpositions. There is a tense-aspect marker ke which often appears in second position in affirmative sentences in the present tense, giving X Aux S O V order (e.g. S Aux O V).
For example,
- Kʼarokwa ke ǀʼuizi ʼa gam
- boys Asp rock-pl obl throw
- "The boys are throwing rocks"
- ǀʼui-zi ʼa ke kʼarokwa gam
- rock-pl obl Asp boys throw
- "The boys are throwing rocks"
This marker appears first in certain subordinate clauses in a manner reminiscent of V2 languages such as German, where a clause-initial complementizer is in complementary distribution with a second position phenomenon (in German, it would be the finite verb which appears in second position).
Dialects
Shwa is a dialect cluster.
- Deti (extinct)
- Ts'ixa (200 speakers)
- Ganádi
- Shwa-khwe
- Nǀoo-khwe
- Kǀoree-khoe or ǀOree-khwe
- ǁʼAiye or ǀAaye
- ǀXaise or ǀTaise
- Tshidi-khwe or Tcaiti or Sili or Shete Tsere
- Danisi or Demisa or Madenasse or Madinnisane
- Cara
- ǁGoro or ǀXaio
The term Hietshware (Hietʃware, Hietʃo) is used for varieties of both Shua and its sister-language Tshwa.
References
- ↑ 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.
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- ↑ 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
External links
| Bantu | |
|---|---|
| Khoisan | |
| Indo-European |
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