ǁXegwi | |
---|---|
giǁkwi꞉gwi kiǁkwi꞉gwi | |
Native to | South Africa |
Region | Lake Chrissie |
Ethnicity | Tlou-tle |
Extinct | 1988, with the death of Jopi Mabinda [1] |
Tuu
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
xeg |
xeg.html | |
Glottolog |
xegw1238 |
ǁXegwi (pronounced /ˈzɛɡwiː/ ZEH-gwee), 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]
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]
Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
central | lateral | central | lateral | ||||||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
Plosive | voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | ɢ | |||
tenuis | p | t | k | q | ʔ | ||||
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | cʰ | kʰ | qʰ | ||||
ejective | tʼ | cʼ | kʷʼ | qʼ | |||||
Affricate | voiceless |
ts tx |
tɬ | tʃ | kx | k𝼄 | |||
aspirated | tʃʰ | k𝼄ʰ | |||||||
voiced | dz | dʒ | |||||||
ejective | tsʼ | tʃʼ | kxʼ | k𝼄ʼ | |||||
Fricative | voiceless | s | ɬ | ʃ | x | h | |||
voiced | β | z | ɮ | ʒ | ɦ | ||||
Sonorant | r | l | j | w |
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
High | i ĩ | u ũ |
Mid | e | o |
Low | a ã |
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
High | ḭ ḭː | ṵ ṵː |
Mid | ḛ | o̰ |
Low | a̰ a̰ː |
ǁXegwi | |
---|---|
giǁkwi꞉gwi kiǁkwi꞉gwi | |
Native to | South Africa |
Region | Lake Chrissie |
Ethnicity | Tlou-tle |
Extinct | 1988, with the death of Jopi Mabinda [1] |
Tuu
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
xeg |
xeg.html | |
Glottolog |
xegw1238 |
ǁXegwi (pronounced /ˈzɛɡwiː/ ZEH-gwee), 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]
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]
Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
central | lateral | central | lateral | ||||||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
Plosive | voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | ɢ | |||
tenuis | p | t | k | q | ʔ | ||||
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | cʰ | kʰ | qʰ | ||||
ejective | tʼ | cʼ | kʷʼ | qʼ | |||||
Affricate | voiceless |
ts tx |
tɬ | tʃ | kx | k𝼄 | |||
aspirated | tʃʰ | k𝼄ʰ | |||||||
voiced | dz | dʒ | |||||||
ejective | tsʼ | tʃʼ | kxʼ | k𝼄ʼ | |||||
Fricative | voiceless | s | ɬ | ʃ | x | h | |||
voiced | β | z | ɮ | ʒ | ɦ | ||||
Sonorant | r | l | j | w |
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
High | i ĩ | u ũ |
Mid | e | o |
Low | a ã |
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
High | ḭ ḭː | ṵ ṵː |
Mid | ḛ | o̰ |
Low | a̰ a̰ː |