The Tuu languages, or Taa–ǃKwi (Taa–ǃUi, ǃUi–Taa, Kwi) languages, are a

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'' is a metaphor borrowed from biology, with the tree model used in historical linguistics ...

consisting of two

language cluster A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...

s spoken in

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The relationship between the two clusters is not doubted, but is distant. The name ''Tuu'' comes from a word common to both branches of the family for "person".

History

The ancestor of Tuu languages, Proto-Tuu, was presumably also spoken in or around the

Kalahari desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semiarid climate, semiarid sandy savanna in Southern Africa covering including much of Botswana as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African ...

, as a word for the

gemsbok The gemsbok (''Oryx gazella''), or South African oryx, is a large antelope in the genus '' Oryx''. It is endemic to the dry and barren regions of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and (parts of) Zimbabwe, mainly inhabiting the Kalahari and Nami ...

(''*!hai'') is reconstructable to Proto-Tuu. There is evidence of substantial borrowing of words between Tuu languages and other Khoisan languages, including basic vocabulary.

Khoekhoe Khoikhoi ( /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ ''KOY-koy'') (or Khoekhoe in Namibian orthography) are the traditionally nomadic pastoralist indigenous population of South Africa. They are often grouped with the hunter-gatherer San (literally "foragers") peop ...

in particular is thought to have a Tuu (ǃKwi-branch) substrate. Examples of borrowings from Khoe into Tuu include 'chest' (ǃXóõ ''gǁúu'' from Khoe ''*gǁuu'') and 'chin' (Nǁng ''gǃann'' from Khoe ''*ǃann''). A root for 'louse' shared by some Khoe and Tuu languages (''ǁxóni''~''kx'uni''~''kx'uri'') has been suggested as deriving from a 'pre-Tuu/pre-Khoe substrate'.George, S. (2021). Lexicostatistical studies in Khoisan II/1: How to make a Swadesh wordlist for Proto-Tuu (Proto-South Khoisan). ''Вопросы языкового родства'', (2 (19)), 39-75.

Classification

The Tuu languages are not demonstrably related to any other language family, though they do share many similarities to the languages of the Kxʼa family. This is generally thought to be due to thousands of years of contact and mutual influence (a

sprachbund A sprachbund (, from , 'language federation'), also known as a linguistic area, area of linguistic convergence, or diffusion area, is a group of languages that share areal features resulting from geographical proximity and language contact. Th ...

), but some scholars believe that the two families may eventually prove to be related. The Tuu languages were once accepted as a branch of the now-obsolete Khoisan language family, and in that conception were called Southern Khoisan.

Languages

The languages and their relationships are thought to be as follows. In several places there is not enough data to distinguish language from dialect:Tom Güldemann. 2019. Toward a subclassification of the ǃUi branch of Tuu. Paper presented at Afrikalinguistisches Forschungskolloquium at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 8 January 2019. 10pp. * Tuu ** Taa ***

ǃXóõ Taa ( ), also known as ǃXóõ ( ; ; also spelled ǃKhong and ǃXoon), formerly called by the dialect name ǂHoan, thus also known as Western ǂHoan, is a Tuu language notable for its large number of phonemes, perhaps the largest in the world. ...

dialect cluster A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...

) *** Lower Nossob † (two dialects, ǀʼAuni and ǀHaasi) ** ǃKwi (ǃUi) *** ǀXam † (a dialect cluster, including Nǀuusaa) *** Eastern languages/dialects **** ǁXegwi † **** Seroa † **** ǁŨǁʼe † ****

Boshof ǃUi Boshof ǃUi is an extinct ǃKwi language or dialect of South Africa. It was recorded at the town of Boshof, between Kimberley and the Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Afric ...

† **** ǃGãǃne † *** Ghaap-Khalahari **** Nǁng (a dialect cluster;

moribund Moribund refers to a literal or figurative state near death. Moribund may refer to: * ''Moribund'' (album), a 2006 album by the Norwegian black metal band Koldbrann * " Le Moribond", a song by Jacques Brel known in English as "Seasons in the Sun ...

) **** Danster ǃUi: ***** ǂUngkue † ***** ǁKā † The ǃKwi (ǃUi) branch of South Africa is moribund, with only one language extant, Nǁng, and that with only one elderly speaker. ǃKwi languages were once widespread across South Africa; the most famous, ǀXam, was the source of the modern

national motto This article lists state and national mottos for the world's nations. The mottos for some states lacking general international recognition, extinct states, non-sovereign nations, regions, and territories are listed, but their names are not bold ...

of that nation, '. The Taa branch of Botswana is more robust, though it also has only one surviving language,

, with 2,500 speakers. 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. The term "Vaal–Orange" was once used for ǂUngkue (formerly spoken at the confluence of the Vaal and

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

s) combined with several of the Eastern lects, which have since been separated. There were presumably additional Tuu languages. Westphal studied a Taa variety variously rendered ''ǀŋamani, ǀnamani, Ngǀamani, ǀŋamasa''. It is apparently now extinct. Bleek recorded another now-extinct variety, which she labeled 'S5', in the town of Khakhea; it is known in the literature as ''Kakia''. Another in the Nossop area (labeled 'S4a') is known as ''Xaitia, Khatia, Katia, Kattea.'' ''

Vaalpens Vaalpens, also known as Kattea, as of the beginning of the 20th century, are a little-known nomadic people of South Africa, who survive in small groups in the Zoutpansberg and Waterberg districts of the Transvaal, especially along the Magalakw ...

'', ''ǀKusi'', and ''ǀEikusi'' evidently refer to the same variety as Xatia. Westphal (1971) lists them both as Nǀamani dialects, though Köhler lists only Khatia and classifies it as ǃKwi. The Tuu languages, along with neighboring ǂʼAmkoe, are known for being the only languages in the world to have

bilabial click The bilabial clicks are a family of click consonants that sound like a smack of the lips. They are found as phonemes only in the small Tuu language family (currently two languages, one down to its last speaker), in the ǂ’Amkoe language ...

s as distinctive speech sounds (apart from the extinct ritual

jargon Jargon, or technical language, is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular Context (language use), communicative context and may not be well understood outside ...

Damin Damin ( in the practical orthography of Lardil) was a ceremonial language register used by the advanced initiated men of the aboriginal Lardil ( in the practical orthography) and Yangkaal peoples of northern Australia. Both inhabit island ...

of northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, which was not anyone's

mother tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

). Taa, ǂʼAmkoe and neighboring Gǀui (of the Khoe family) form a

with the most complex inventories of

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are and pronou ...

s in the world, and among the more complex inventories of

vowel A vowel is a speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract, forming the nucleus of a syllable. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness a ...

s. All languages in these three families also have

tone Tone may refer to: Visual arts and color-related * Tone (color theory), a mix of tint and shade, in painting and color theory * Tone (color), the lightness or brightness (as well as darkness) of a color * Toning (coin), color change in coins * ...

References

Sources

* * (MS collections of the Kiǀhazi dialect of Bushman, 1937)

External links

Taa at DoBeS, Documentation of endangered languages
{{Languages of South Africa Language families Languages of Botswana Languages of South Africa Endangered languages of Africa Khoisan languages