Tjwao dialect

Last updated

Tjwao
Tshwao
Native to Zimbabwe
Native speakers
<20 (2014) [1]
Khoe
  • Kalahari (Tshu–Khwe)
Official status
Official language in
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe (as "Koisan")
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog tjwa1234

Tjwao (formerly Tshwao) is an endangered Khoe language spoken by fewer than 8 people in the Tsholotsho District of Zimbabwe, all over 60 years of age. [1] [2] [3] 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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsʼixa language</span> Khoe language of Botswana

Tsʼixa is a critically endangered African language that belongs to the Kalahari Khoe branch of the Khoe-Kwadi language family. The Tsʼixa speech community consists of approximately 200 speakers who live in Botswana on the eastern edge of the Okavango Delta, in the small village of Mababe. They are a foraging society that consists of the ethnically diverse groups commonly subsumed under the names "San", "Bushmen" or "Basarwa". The most common term of self-reference within the community is Xuukhoe or 'people left behind', a rather broad ethnonym roughly equaling San, which is also used by Khwe-speakers in Botswana. Although the affiliation of Tsʼixa within the Khalari Khoe branch, as well as the genetic classification of the Khoisan languages in general, is still unclear, the Khoisan language scholar Tom Güldemann posits in a 2014 article the following genealogical relationships within Khoe-Kwadi, and argues for the status of Tsʼixa as a language in its own right. The language tree to the right presents a possible classification of Tsʼixa within Khoe-Kwadi:

References

  1. 1 2 "Tshawo, the Endangered Language of Zimbabwe" (PDF). 2015.
  2. Dialogue, Radio. "Khosian Tshwao language in near extinction" . Retrieved 16 June 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. "Daunting task in crafting San language syllabus". Southern Eye. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2017.