ǁXegwi | |
---|---|
giǁkwi꞉gwi kiǁkwi꞉gwi | |
Native to | South Africa |
Region | Lake Chrissie |
Ethnicity | Tlou-tle |
Extinct | 1988, with the death of Jopi Mabinda[1] |
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | xeg |
xeg.html | |
Glottolog | xegw1238 |
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. |
ǁXegwi (pronounced /ˈzɛɡwiː/ ZEH-gwee), also known as Batwa, is an extinct ǃKwi language spoken at Lake ChrissieinSouth 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꞉gwiorkiǁkwi꞉gwi. Their name for themselves has been transcribed tlou tleorkxlou-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 |
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