Fwe language

Last updated
Fwe
cìfwè
Region Zambezi region, Namibia and Western Province, Zambia
Native speakers
10,200 (2006) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 fwe
Glottolog fwee1238
K.402 [2]
Personmàfwè
Peoplecìfwè

Fwe, or Chifwe, is a Bantu language spoken by 10,000 people along the Okavango River in the Zambezi region of Namibia and in the Western Province in Zambia. It is closely related to Kuhane, and is one of several Bantu languages of the Okavango which have click consonants.

Contents

Although under the pressure of Lozi and Kuhane (Subiya), Fwe speakers tend to have a positive attitude towards Fwe, and speaking Fwe is often considered an important part of one's identity, [3] and thus underscores the vitality of the language. [4]

Regional variation

Main phonological differences between Zambian and Namibian Fwe, as noted by both the speakers and seen in the data: [5]

Zambian FweNamibian Fwe
loss of clicksmaintenance of clicks
overgeneralization of /l/[l] only as conditioned allophone of /r/
epenthetic [h] frequently usedepenthetic [h] rarely used

Morphological differences between Zambian and Namibian Fwe:

Zambian FweNamibian Fwe
pastna-a-
reflexivekí-rí-
remote pastna-ni-
remote futurena-(á)rá-
inceptivesha-shi-
connectivePP - oPP - a
persistiveshí-shí-/-sí-
negative imperativeásha-ásha-/-ása-
negative infinitiveshá-shá-/-sá-
negative subjunctiveshasha-/-sa-
near futurembo-/mba-mbo

Phonology

Fwe syllables consist, at most, of a consonant, a glide, and a vowel.

Consonants

Consonant inventory of Fwe [6]
Bilabial Dental/
Labiodental
Alveolar Postalveolar/
Palatal
Velar Glottal
Click plain ᵏǀ ᶢǀ
prenasalized ⁿ̥ǀ ⁿǀ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop voiceless p t k
voiced b d ɡ
prenasalized ᵐp ᵐb ⁿt ⁿd ᵑk ᵑɡ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced β v z ʒ
prenasalized ᶬf ᶬv ⁿs ⁿz ⁿʃ
Affricate plain
prenasalized ⁿtʃ ⁿdʒ
Tap ɾ
Glide j w

Vowels

Fwe has five contrastive vowel phonemes: /ɪ ʊ ɛ ɔ a/. Vowels contrast in length, as seen in the minimal pairs below: [9]

ku-kúr-a

INF-grow-FV

ku-kúr-a

INF-grow-FV

to grow

ku-kúːr-a

INF-shift-FV

ku-kúːr-a

INF-shift-FV

to shift, move house

Tone

Fwe has two underlying tones, high and low. At the surface level, these tones may be articulated as high, low, falling, or downstepped high tone. [10]

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References

  1. Fwe at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. Gunnink 2018 , p. 4
  4. Gunnink 2018 , p. 5
  5. Gunnink 2018 , p. 5, 6
  6. Gunnink 2018 , p. 11, 12
  7. Gunnink 2018 , p. 13
  8. Gunnink 2018 , p. 19
  9. Gunnink 2022 , p. 32
  10. Gunnink 2022 , p. 74