Tjwao (formerly Tshwao) is an endangered
Khoe language
Khwe (also rendered ''Kxoe, Khoe'' ) is a dialect continuum of the Khoe branch of the Khoe-Kwadi family of Namibia, Angola, Botswana, South Africa, and parts of Zambia, with some 8,000 speakers.
Classification
Khwe is a member of the K ...
spoken by fewer than 8 people in the
Tsholotsho District of
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
, 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 in Zimbabwe, where "Koisan" is an officially recognised language in the constitution.
Tjwao belongs to the
Tshwa (Tsoa-Kua) cluster of
East Kalahari Khoe 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
{{Zimbabwe-stub