Tjwao (formerly Tshwao) is an endangered
Khoe language
Khwe (also rendered ''Kxoe, Khoe'' ) is a dialect continuum of the Khoe languages, Khoe family of Namibia, Angola, Botswana, South Africa, and parts of Zambia, with some 8,000 speakers.
Classification
Khwe is a member of the Khoe languages, ...
spoken by fewer than 8 people in the
Tsholotsho District
Tsholotsho is a Districts of Zimbabwe, district in Matabeleland North province in Zimbabwe. Its administrative centre is at Tsholotsho business centre which is located about 98 km north-west of Bulawayo. Districts around Tsholotsho include ...
of
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
, all over 60 years of age.
A slightly larger group of 100 have passive or partial knowledge of the language.
It is the only
Khoisan language
Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...
in Zimbabwe, where "Koisan" is an officially recognised language in the constitution.
Tjwao belongs to the
Tshwa (Tsoa-Kua) cluster of
East Kalahari Khoe
The Khoi languages are the largest of the non-Bantu language families indigenous to Southern Africa. They were once considered to be a branch of a Khoisan language family, and were known as Central Khoisan in that scenario. Though Khoisan is ...
languages. It is very similar to the varieties of
Ganade noted by Westphal and Traill. Although mentioned by scholars for several decades, documentation of the language only began in 2012.
References
Languages of Zimbabwe
Khoisan languages
Endangered languages of Africa
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