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 ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in his ...

consisting of two

language cluster A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...

s spoken in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

. 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 semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coast ...

, as a word for the gemsbok (''*!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 in particular is thought to have a Tuu (!Ui 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 a 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), but some scholars believe that the two families may eventually prove not to be orphans. The Tuu languages were once thought to form a branch of the now-obsolete Khoisan language family, and were thus called Southern Khoisan.

Languages

*Taa **

ǃXóõ Taa , also known as ǃXóõ (also spelled ǃKhong and ǃXoon; ), is a Tuu language notable for its large number of phonemes, perhaps the largest in the world. It is also notable for having perhaps the heaviest functional load of click conso ...

dialect cluster A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...

) ** Lower Nossob (two dialects, ǀʼAuni and Kuǀhaasi) † *ǃKwi (ǃUi) ** Nǁng (a dialect cluster; moribund) ** ǀXam (a dialect cluster, including Nǀuusaa) † ** ǂUngkue † ** ǁXegwi † ** ǃGãǃne † The ǃKwi (ǃUi) branch of South Africa is moribund, with only one language extant, Nǁng, and that with fewer than 5 elderly speakers. ǃKwi languages were once widespread across South Africa; the most famous, ǀXam, was the source of the modern national motto 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 list of Khoisan languages has some possibilities. 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'', ''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 moribund), in the ǂ’Amkoe language of Botswana (also m ...

s as distinctive speech sounds (apart from the extinct ritual

jargon Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a partic ...

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 islan ...

of northern Australia, which was not a

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

). Taa, ǂʼAmkoe and neighboring Gǀui (of the Khoe family) form a sprachbund (language bond) with some of the most complex inventories of both

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced ...

s and

vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (l ...

s in the world. All languages in these three families also have tone.

References

Sources

*Güldemann, Tom. (2006). "The San languages of southern Namibia: Linguistic appraisal with special reference to J. G. Krönlein's Nǀuusaa data." ''Anthropological Linguistics,'' 48(4): 369–395. *Story, Robert. (1999). "Kʼuǀha꞉si Manuscript" (MS collections of the Kiǀhazi dialect of Bushman, 1937). ''Khoisan Forum Working Paper 13.'' ed. Anthony Traill. Köln: University of Köln. 18–34.

External links

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