Central ǃKung (Central ǃXun), or Central Ju, is a language of the ǃKung dialect cluster, spoken in a small area of northern Namibia: Neitsas, in Grootfontein district, and Gaub, in Tsumeb district. It is frequently reported as Grootfontein ǃXuun, as most work has been done in Grootfontein. An identifying feature of Central ǃKung is a fifth series of clicks that are often

retroflex A retroflex ( /ˈɹɛtʃɹoːflɛks/), apico-domal ( /əpɪkoːˈdɔmɪnəl/), or cacuminal () consonant is a coronal consonant where the tongue has a flat, concave, or even curled shape, and is articulated between the alveolar ridge and the ha ...

. While Northern (Northwestern) and Southern (Southeastern) ǃKung are not mutually intelligible, it is not yet clear to what extent Central ǃKung is intermediate between them or intelligible with either.

Dialects

Two dialects are identified as being Central ǃKung based on grammatical features: :(C1) Gaub (Tsumeb district, N Namibia) :(C2) Neitsas (Grootfontein district, N Namibia) In addition, the ǃKung dialects of Tsintsabis, Leeunes and Mangetti (different from Mangetti Dune) have retroflex clicks and so may belong here, though no grammatical information is available to classify them. In Grootfontein ǃKung words which Doke (1926) and others have described as having

retroflex clicks The retroflex clicks are a family of click consonants known only from the Central !Kung dialects of Namibia. They are sub-apical retroflex and should not be confused with the more widespread postalveolar clicks, which are sometimes mistakenly ...

, Vedder (1910/1911) described a second series of lateral clicks in Gaub ǃKung.

Phonology

Grootfontein ǃKung is unusual in having true retroflex clicks, which are

subapical A subapical consonant is a consonant made by contact with the underside of the tip of the tongue. The only common subapical articulations are in the postalveolar to palatal region, which are called "retroflex". Most so-called retroflex consonants ...

for some speakers and have lateral release, as in the word for 'water', (provisionally written ''g‼ú''). There are thus five places of articulation in Grootfontein clicks, . These come in eight series, here represented with the retroflex articulation: :Lingual , glottalized ,

linguo-pulmonic Pulmonic-contour clicks, also called sequential linguo-pulmonic consonants, are consonants that transition from a click to an ordinary pulmonic sound, or more precisely, have an audible delay between the front and rear release of the click. Al ...

linguo-glottalic Ejective-contour clicks, also called sequential linguo-glottalic consonants, are consonants that transition from a click to an ejective sound, or more precisely, have an audible delay between the front and rear release of the click. All click t ...

Otherwise, the Grootfontein inventory is similar to that of Ekoka ǃKung, except that it lacks the (pre)voiced affricates ''dχ, dʒ, dʒʼ, dʃχʼ.'' The Grootfontein ǃKung language has a relatively large phonological inventory:

Consonants

Vowels

Five vowel sounds in the ǃKung languages are realized as . The sounds may be articulated with nasalisation , breathy voice , or pharyngealisation . Some nasal vowels with diacritics may have combinations such as breathy + nasal , and pharyngeal + nasal .

Sample

Following are sample sentences in Central ǃKung.''Perception and Cognition in Language and Culture''. Alexandra Aikhenvald, Anne Storch, 2013 :''mí má kȍhà hŋ́ gǀȕì ō ǁȁhìn-ā ō hȁ ō gǀè gù ǀxūúnnu'' :I must see the hyena to tell it to come catch the crocodile lying there :''mtícē kwá bà ǀōā kē gǀè-ā g‼ȍhò'' :why didn't you come to work? :''hȁ má kò kē ǁȁn̏ kú cŋ̏ djūí kā hȁ ǁàȅ-ā tí kē TB ǁ'à-ān tí'' :he was not supposed to drink beer anymore because he had tuberculosis

it. he was held by TB sickness It or IT may refer to: * It (pronoun), in English * Information technology Arts and media Film and television * ''It'' (1927 film), a film starring Clara Bow * ''It! The Terror from Beyond Space'', a 1958 science fiction film * ''It!'' (1967 ...

:''hȁ má kò ǁáúlè ǃxō'' :he is supposed to hunt elephants but he didn't :''mí má kā ǁàȅ nǃùm̀ kā ŋ̄ŋ̀ kā-è cālā n‼á'm̀ g‼à è-tcā :I hold this rock so that it cannot fall down and kill us.

References

External links

Grootfontein ǃKung basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
{{Khoisan Kx'a languages