Naro language
Encyclopedia
Naro is a Khoe language
spoken in the Ghanzi District
of Botswana
and in eastern Namibia
, where it is sometimes called Nharo. There are about 14,000 speakers: 10,000 in Botswana (2004 Cook) and 4,000 in Namibia (1998 Maho). This makes it probably the most-spoken of the Tshu–Khwe languages. Naro is a trade language among speakers of different Khoe languages in the Ghanzi District
.
There is currently a dictionary
.
Kg and kg’ only contrast for some speakers: kx’ám "mouth" vs. k’áù "male". The flap r is only found medially except in loan words. An l is only found in loans, and is generally substituted by /ɾ/ medially and /n/ initially. Medial [j] and [w] may be /i/ and /u/; they occur initially only in wèé "all, both" and in yèè (an interjection).
Naro has five vowel qualities, a e i o u,, which may occur long (aa ee ii oo uu), nasalized (ã ẽ ĩ õ ũ), pressed (a, e, i, o, u), or combinations of these (ã etc.). There are three tones, written á, a, à. Syllables are of the maximal form CVV, where VV is a long vowel, diphthong, or combination of vowel and m, and may take two tones: hḿm̀ "to see"; hm̀m̀ a xám̀ "to smell". The only consonant that can occur finally is m, except that long nasal vowels such as ãã may surface as [aŋ] ([ŋ] does not otherwise occur). Syllabic /n/ also occurs, as in nna.
that aims to describe, and develop an understanding of, the Naro language, increase literacy by teaching Naro speakers to read and write their language, and translate the Bible
into Naro. The project was started in the 1980s. The Naro language project has, as of 2007, translated 70% of the Bible into the Naro language.
Khoe languages
The Khoe languages are the largest of the non-Bantu language families indigenous to southern Africa. They are often considered to be a branch of a suspected Khoisan language family, and are known as Central Khoisan in that scenario. The nearest relative of the Khoe family is the extinct and poorly...
spoken in the Ghanzi District
Ghanzi District
Ghanzi is a district in western Botswana, bordering Namibia in the west and extending east into much of the interior of the country. The district's administrative centre is the town of Ghanzi. Most of the eastern half of Ghanzi makes up the Central Kalahari Game Reserve...
of Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and in eastern Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, where it is sometimes called Nharo. There are about 14,000 speakers: 10,000 in Botswana (2004 Cook) and 4,000 in Namibia (1998 Maho). This makes it probably the most-spoken of the Tshu–Khwe languages. Naro is a trade language among speakers of different Khoe languages in the Ghanzi District
Ghanzi District
Ghanzi is a district in western Botswana, bordering Namibia in the west and extending east into much of the interior of the country. The district's administrative centre is the town of Ghanzi. Most of the eastern half of Ghanzi makes up the Central Kalahari Game Reserve...
.
There is currently a dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
.
Phonology
Naro has the following consonant inventory, in the IPA and the orthography of Visser (2001):| Bilabial Bilabial consonant In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:... |
Dental click Click consonant Clicks are speech sounds found as consonants in many languages of southern Africa, and in three languages of East Africa. Examples of these sounds familiar to English speakers are the tsk! tsk! or tut-tut used to express disapproval or pity, the tchick! used to spur on a horse, and the... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Lateral Lateral consonant A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.... click |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... click |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| stop Stop consonant In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &... |
affricate | click | |||||||
| Aspirate Aspiration (phonetics) In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, one can put a hand or a lit candle in front of one's mouth, and say pin ... |
ph /pʰ/ | ch /ǀʰ/ | th /tʰ/ | tsh /tsʰ/ | qh /ǃʰ/ | xh /ǁʰ/ | tch /ǂʰ/ | kh /kʰ/ | |
| Tenuis Tenuis consonant In linguistics, a tenuis consonant is a stop or affricate which is unvoiced, unaspirated, and unglottalized. That is, it has a "plain" phonation like , with a voice onset time close to zero, as in Spanish p, t, ch, k, or as in English p, t, k after s .In transcription, tenuis consonants are not... |
p /p/ | c /ǀ/ | t /t/ | ts /ts/ | q /ǃ/ | x /ǁ/ | tc /ǂ/ | k /k/ | |
| Voiced Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
b /b/ | dc /ᶢǀ/ | d /d/ | z /dz/ | dq /ᶢǃ/ | dx /ᶢǁ/ | dtc /ᶢǂ/ | gh /ɡ/ | |
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m /m/ | nc /ᵑǀ/ | n /n/ | nq /ᵑǃ/ | nx /ᵑǁ/ | ntc /ᵑǂ/ | |||
| Glottalized Glottalization Glottalization is the complete or partial closure of the glottis during the articulation of another sound. Glottalization of vowels and other sonorants is most often realized as creaky voice... |
c’ /ǀˀ/ | q’ /ǃˀ/ | x’ /ǁˀ/ | tc’ /ǂˀ/ | |||||
| Affricated Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... |
cg /ǀkχ/ | tg /tχ/ | tsg /tsχ/ | qg /ǃkχ/ | xg /ǁkχ/ | tcg /ǂkχ/ | (kg /kχ/) | ||
| Glottalized affricated | cg’ /ǀkχ’/ | ts’ /ts’/ | qg’ /ǃkχ’/ | xg’ /ǁkχ’/ | tcg’ /ǂkχ’/ | kg’ /kχ’/ | |||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
f /f/ | s /s/ | g /x/ | h /h/ | |||||
| Flap Flap consonant In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator is thrown against another.-Contrast with stops and trills:... |
r /ɾ/ | ||||||||
Kg and kg’ only contrast for some speakers: kx’ám "mouth" vs. k’áù "male". The flap r is only found medially except in loan words. An l is only found in loans, and is generally substituted by /ɾ/ medially and /n/ initially. Medial [j] and [w] may be /i/ and /u/; they occur initially only in wèé "all, both" and in yèè (an interjection).
Naro has five vowel qualities, a e i o u,, which may occur long (aa ee ii oo uu), nasalized (ã ẽ ĩ õ ũ), pressed (a, e, i, o, u), or combinations of these (ã etc.). There are three tones, written á, a, à. Syllables are of the maximal form CVV, where VV is a long vowel, diphthong, or combination of vowel and m, and may take two tones: hḿm̀ "to see"; hm̀m̀ a xám̀ "to smell". The only consonant that can occur finally is m, except that long nasal vowels such as ãã may surface as [aŋ] ([ŋ] does not otherwise occur). Syllabic /n/ also occurs, as in nna.
Dialects
Naro is a dialect cluster.- ǀAmkwe
- ǀAnekwe
- Gǃinkwe
- ǃGingkwe
- Gǃokwe
- Qabekhoe or Qabekho or ǃKabbakwe
- Tsʼaokhoe or Tsaukwe or Tsaokhwe
- Tserekwe
- Tsorokwe
- Nǀhai-ntseʼe or Nǁhai or Tsʼao
Naro Language Project
The Naro Language Project is a project currently being undertaken by the Reformed Church in D'karDekar
D'Kar is a village in Ghanzi District of Botswana. It is located 40 km to the east of the district capital, Ghanzi. The population was 943 in 2001 census. It was first a farm of someone, but then evolved into a rural village, most of the village is owned by the church, but this village also houses...
that aims to describe, and develop an understanding of, the Naro language, increase literacy by teaching Naro speakers to read and write their language, and translate the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
into Naro. The project was started in the 1980s. The Naro language project has, as of 2007, translated 70% of the Bible into the Naro language.
External links
- Map of Naro language from the LL-Map Project
- Information about Naro language from the MultiTree Project
- The Ethnologue Report for Naro
- http://www.kuru.co.bw/naro.htm