ǂʼAmkoe language
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (April 2009) |
| ǂHoan | |
|---|---|
| Region | Botswana |
Native speakers | less than 60 |
Ju-ǂHoan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| ELP | ǂHoan |
ǂHõã or ǂHoan, more in current orthography ǂQhôã, is a Khoisan language of Botswana. It appears to be distantly related to the Juu languages in a family called Juu-ǂHoan.
Note that there is a dialect of the unrelated Tuu language ǃXóõ that is also called ǂHua, or sometimes Western ǂHuan. In this context, ǂHõã proper is often called Eastern ǂHuan.
ǂHõã is moribund. It has some 200 speakers, all adults, and this number is decreasing.
The language has both uvular and bilabial clicks. Few other languages have either.
Dialects
ǂHõã is spoken in southeastern Botswana, just south of the Khutse game reserve (around Tswaane, Dutlwe, Tsia, Salajwe, Mathibatsela, and Khudumelapye). There are clear phonological differences between the ǂHõã spoken near Khudumelapye and that spoken near Dutlwe. The more divergent dialect, Sasi, is spoken in Botswana around Lethajwe and Artesia (south of Shoshong). Sasi and the rest of ǂHõã are mutually intelligible.
Phonetics
ǂHõã has four level tones and one rising tone.
Clicks
Like the Tuu languages, with which it was previously classified, ǂHõã has five click onsets: bilabial, dental, alveolar, palatal, and lateral alveolar. There are thirteen accompaniments, or effluxes, for 65 potential click consonants. Only 55 of these possibilities are attested, though it is unknown whether this is due to actual gaps in the ǂHõã phonemic inventory, or are simply a reflection of linguists' poor knowledge of the ǂHõã language.
| Accompaniment (Efflux) |
Affricated clicks | 'Sharp' clicks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bilabial clicks |
dental clicks |
lateral clicks |
alveolar clicks |
palatal clicks | |
| Voiced velar nasal | ᵑʘ | ᵑǀ | ᵑǁ | ᵑǃ | ᵑǂ |
| Voiced velar plosive | ᶢʘ | ᶢǀ | ᶢǁ | ᶢǃ | ᶢǂ |
| Tenuis velar plosive | ʘ | ǀ | ǁ | ǃ | ǂ |
| Aspirated velar plosive | ǀʰ | ǁʰ | ǃʰ | ǂʰ | |
| Glottalized velar plosive (prenasalized between vowels) |
ʘˀ (ᵑˀʘ) |
ǀˀ (ᵑˀǀ) |
ǁˀ (ᵑˀǁ) |
ǃˀ (ᵑˀǃ) |
ǂˀ (ᵑˀǂ) |
| Delayed aspiration (prenasalized between vowels) |
ᵑ̊ǁʰ (ᵑǁʰ) |
ᵑ̊ǃʰ (ᵑǃʰ) |
ᵑ̊ǂʰ (ᵑǂʰ) | ||
| Complex clicks | |||||
| Preglottalized velar nasal | ˀᵑʘ | ˀᵑǀ | ˀᵑǁ | ˀᵑǃ | ˀᵑǂ |
| Prenasalized voiced uvular plosive | ᶰǀɢ | ᶰǁɢ | ᶰǂɢ | ||
| Tenuis uvular plosive | ǀq | ǁq | ǃq | ǂq | |
| Aspirated uvular plosive | ǀqʰ | ǁqʰ | ǂqʰ | ||
| Voiceless uvular affricate | ʘq͡χ | ǀq͡χ | ǁq͡χ | ǃq͡χ | ǂq͡χ |
| Uvular ejective | ǀqʼ | ǁqʼ | ǃqʼ | ǂqʼ | |
| Uvular ejective affricate | ʘq͡χʼ | ǀq͡χʼ | ǁq͡χʼ | ǂq͡χʼ | |
Grammar
ǂHõã is an SVO Subject Verb Object language (see examples in Collins 2001, 2002, 2003). The SVO word order of ǂHõã and the other non-central Khoisan languages distinguishes them from Nama (Khoekhoe) and other central Khoisan languages which have SOV word order. ǂHõã has nominal postpositions used for locative relations (see Collins 2001), and the possessor precedes the head noun.
ǂHõã grammar is characterized by a number of features common to the non-central Khoisan languages. First there is an intricate system of nominal and verbal purality (the latter often referred to as pluractionality). Second, there is a system of verbal compounds. Third, there is a general purpose preposition (referred to as the linker in Collins 2003) which appears between post-verbal constituents.
References
- Bell, Arthur and Chris Collins. 2001. "ǂHoan and the Typology of Click Accompaniments in Khoisan", in Cornell Working Papers in Linguistics, vol. 18, pp 126–153.
- Collins, Chris. 2003. The Internal Structure of vP in Ju|'hoan and ǂHoan. Studia Linguistica 57.1, pp 1–25.
- Collins, Chris. 2002. Multiple Verb Movement in ǂHoan. Linguistic Inquiry 33.1, pp 1–29.
- Collins, Chris. 2001. Aspects of Plurality in ǂHoan. Language 77.3, pp 456–476.
- Gruber, Jeffrey S. 1975. Plural Predicates in ǂHòã. In Bushman and Hottentot Linguistic Studies, A.S.I. Communication 2, ed. Anthony Traill, 1-50. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg: African Studies Institute.
- Gruber, Jeffrey S. 1975. Busman Languages of the Kalahari: ǂHòã - Vocabulary -Stems, ǂHòã - Vocabulary - Recorded Utterances. Technical Project Report to the National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C.
- Gruber, Jeffrey S. 1975. Collected Field Notes.
- Gruber, Jeffrey S. 1973. ǂHòã Kinship Terms. Linguistic Inquiry 4, pp 427–449.
- Traill, Anthony. 1979. Phonetic Diversity in the Khoisan Languages. In Bushman and Hottentot Linguistic Studies, ed. J.W. Snyman, 167-189. University of South Africa, Pretoria.
- Traill, Anthony. 1973. N4 or S7: Another Bushman Language. African Studies 32: 25-32.
- Traill, Anthony. 1973. Westphal on "N4 or S7?": A Reply. African Studies 33: 249-255.