Tuu languages
Encyclopedia
The Tuu or Taa–ǃKwi languages are a language family
consisting of two language clusters spoken in Botswana
and South Africa
. The relationship between the two clusters is not doubted, but is not close. The name Tuu comes from a word for person common to both branches of the family. The Tuu languages form in turn one branch of a proposed Khoisan language family, and are called Southern Khoisan in that scenario. However, no convincing evidence has ever been produced for this classification.
The ǃKwi branch of South Africa is moribund, with only one language remaining, Nǁng, and that with less than a dozen elderly speakers. ǃKwi languages were once widespread across South Africa; the most famous, ǀXam, was the source of the modern national motto of that nation, ǃke eː ǀxarra ǁke.
The Taa branch of Botswana is more robust, though it also has one surviving language, ǃXóõ, with 4200 speakers.
The family was once thought to include the (East) ǂHõã language, but this may instead be related to the Juu family
and is best considered unclassified for now. There are great similarities between the Tuu and Juu families, which many put down to areal
influence.
The Tuu languages, along with ǂHõã, are known for being the only languages in the world to have bilabial click
s as distinctive speech sounds, apart from the extinct ritual jargon Damin
of northern Australia
. They also have some of the most complex inventories of both consonant
s and vowel
s in the world, as well as tone
.
Because many of the Tuu languages became extinct with little record, there is considerable confusion as to which of their many names represented separate languages or even dialects. See List of Khoisan languages for some possibilities.
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
consisting of two language clusters spoken in 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 South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The relationship between the two clusters is not doubted, but is not close. The name Tuu comes from a word for person common to both branches of the family. The Tuu languages form in turn one branch of a proposed Khoisan language family, and are called Southern Khoisan in that scenario. However, no convincing evidence has ever been produced for this classification.
- Taa
- ǃXóõ (5000 speakers. A dialect cluster.)
- Lower NossobLower Nossob languageLower Nassob was a southern Khoisan language spoken along the Nossob River on the border of South Africa and Botswana, near Namibia. It was closely related to Taa.There are two attested dialects, ǀʼAuni and |Haasi ....
(Two dialects, ǀʼAuni and Kuǀhaasi. Extinct.)
- ǃKwi
- Nǁng (A dialect cluster. Moribund, with 8 speakers.)
- ǀXam (A dialect cluster, including Nǀuusaa. Extinct.)
- ǂUngkueǂUngkue languageǂUngkue is an extinct ǃKwi language of South Africa.Like ǀXam, ǂUngkue used 'inclusory' pronouns for compound subjects:'The lion and jackal and ostrich, they went'. -References:*. Tom Güldemann...
(Extinct.) - ǁXegwi (Extinct.)
The ǃKwi branch of South Africa is moribund, with only one language remaining, Nǁng, and that with less than a dozen elderly speakers. ǃKwi languages were once widespread across South Africa; the most famous, ǀXam, was the source of the modern national motto of that nation, ǃke eː ǀxarra ǁke.
The Taa branch of Botswana is more robust, though it also has one surviving language, ǃXóõ, with 4200 speakers.
The family was once thought to include the (East) ǂHõã language, but this may instead be related to the Juu family
Ju languages
!Kung or !Xun, also called Ju, is a dialect continuum spoken in Namibia, Botswana, and Angola by the !Kung people. Together with the ǂHoan language, it forms the Kx'a language family...
and is best considered unclassified for now. There are great similarities between the Tuu and Juu families, which many put down to areal
Sprachbund
A Sprachbund – also known as a linguistic area, convergence area, diffusion area or language crossroads – is a group of languages that have become similar in some way because of geographical proximity and language contact. They may be genetically unrelated, or only distantly related...
influence.
The Tuu languages, along with ǂHõã, are known for being the only languages in the world to have bilabial click
Bilabial click
The bilabial clicks are a family of click consonants that sound something like a smack of the lips. They are found as phonemes only in the small Tuu language family, in the language of Botswana, and in the extinct Damin ritual jargon of Australia....
s as distinctive speech sounds, apart from the extinct ritual jargon Damin
Damin
Damin was a ceremonial language register used by the advanced initiated men of the Lardil and the Yangkaal tribes in Aboriginal Australia. Both inhabit islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Lardil on Mornington Island, the largest island of the Wesley Group, and the Yangkaal and Forsyth Islands...
of northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. They also have some of the most complex inventories of both consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s and vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s in the world, as well as tone
Tone (linguistics)
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
.
Because many of the Tuu languages became extinct with little record, there is considerable confusion as to which of their many names represented separate languages or even dialects. See List of Khoisan languages for some possibilities.