ǁXegwi language

ǁXegwi
ǁXegwi
Region	South Africa
Ethnicity	Tlou-tle
Extinct	1988, with the death of Jopi Mabinda
Language family	Tuu ǃKwi ǁXegwi; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xeg
Glottolog	xegw1238
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ǁXegwi, also known as Batwa, is an extinct ǃKwi language spoken at Lake Chrissie in South Africa, near the Swazi border. The last known speaker, Jopi Mabinda, was murdered in 1988.^[2] However, a reporter for the South African newspaper Mail & Guardian reports that ǁXegwi may still be spoken in the Chrissiesmeer district.^[3]

The ǁXegwi name for their language has been spelled giǁkwi꞉gwi or kiǁkwi꞉gwi. Their name for themselves has been transcribed tlou tle or kxlou-kxle, presumably [k͡ʟ̝̊ouk͡ʟ̝̊e]. The Nguni (Zulu and Swazi) called them (a)batwa, amaNkqeshe, amaNgqwigqwi; the Sotho called them Baroa/Barwa.^[4]

Phonology[]

ǁXegwi lost the abrupt clicks (the various manners of ǂ and ǃ) found in its relatives. It reacquired ǃ from Nguni Bantu languages, but clicks remained relatively infrequent, compared to other Tuu languages. It also had a series of uvular plosives not found in other Tuu languages.^[5]

Pulmonic and ejective consonants
		Bilabial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Uvular	Glottal
		Bilabial	central	lateral	Palatal	central	lateral	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		ɲ	ŋ
Plosive	voiced	b	d		ɟ	ɡ		ɢ
	tenuis		t			k		q	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ		cʰ	kʰ	k͡ʟ̝̊ʰ	qʰ
	ejective		tʼ		cʼ	kʷʼ		qʼ
Affricate	voiceless		ts tx	tɬ	tʃ	kx	k͡ʟ̝̊
	voiced		dz		dʒ
	ejective		tsʼ		tʃʼ	kxʼ	k͡ʟ̝̊ʼ
Fricative	voiceless		s	ɬ	ʃ	x			h
Fricative	voiced	β	z	ɮ					ɦ
Sonorant			r	l	j	w

Lingual consonants
		Labial	Dental	Alveolar
		Labial	Dental	central	lateral
Nasal	modal	ᵑʘ	ᵑǀ	ᵑǃ	ᵑǁ
	glottalized		ᵑǀˀ		ᵑǁˀ
	murmured		ᵑǀʱ		ᵑǁʱ
Plosive	voiced		ᶢǀ	ᶢǃ	ᶢǁ
Plosive	tenuis	ᵏʘ	ᵏǀ	ᵏǃ	ᵏǁ
Affricate		ᵏʘx	ᵏǀx	ᵏǃx	ᵏǁx

References[]

^ ǁXegwi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Traill, A. "The Khoesan languages", in Mesthrie, Rajend Language in South Africa, Cambridge U.P., 2004
^ Davie, Kevin. "The secret pool of surviving Bushmen at Chrissiesmeer". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
^ Yvonne Treis, 1998, "Names of Khoisan Languages and their Variants"
^ Anthony Traill, 1999. Extinct South African Khoisan Languages.

External links[]

ǁXegwi basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database

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[e18-1] ǁXegwi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Traill, A. "The Khoesan languages", in Mesthrie, Rajend Language in South Africa, Cambridge U.P., 2004

[3] Davie, Kevin. "The secret pool of surviving Bushmen at Chrissiesmeer". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2018-03-04.

[4] Yvonne Treis, 1998, "Names of Khoisan Languages and their Variants"

[5] Anthony Traill, 1999. Extinct South African Khoisan Languages.

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