Kgalagadi language

Kgalagadi
Kalahari
'SheKgalagadi
Native toBotswana
EthnicityKgalagadi
Native speakers
65,400 (2015)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3xkv
Glottologkgal1244
S.311 (ex-S.31d)[2]
ELPKgalagadi
Linguasphereincl. varieties 99-AUT-eha to 99-AUT-ehc 99-AUT-eh incl. varieties 99-AUT-eha to 99-AUT-ehc

Kgalagadi is a Bantu language spoken in Botswana, along the South African border. It is spoken by about 40,000 people.[3] In the language, it is known as Shekgalagari.

Classification

Kgalagadi (also rendered Kgalagari, Kgalagarhi, Kgalagari, Khalagari, Khalakadi, Kxhalaxadi, Qhalaxarzi, Shekgalagadi, Shekgalagari, Kqalaqadi) is most closely related to Tswana, and until recently was classified as a dialect of Tswana.[2]

Dialects include Shengologa, Sheshaga, Shebolaongwe, Shelala, Shekhena, Sheritjhauba and Shekgwatheng.

Phonology

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e ~ ɪ o ~ ʊ
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a
  • Close-mid vowels /e, o/ are frequently heard as near-close sounds [ɪ, ʊ] among speakers in free variation.

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar 		Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
plain lab. plain lab. plain lab.
Stop voiceless p t̪ c cʷ k q
aspirated pʰ t̪ʰ cʰ cʰʷ kʰ qʰ
voiced b d̪ ɟ g
Affricate voiceless t͡s t͡sʷ t͡ʃ t͡ʃʷ
aspirated t͡sʰ t͡sʰʷ t͡ʃʰ t͡ʃʰʷ
voiced (d͡z) d͡ʒ
Fricative voiceless s ʃ ʃʷ χ h
voiced z ʒ ʒʷ (ɦ)
Nasal m (n̪) n ɲ ŋ
Trill r
Approximant l j w
  • Click sounds /ʘ, ǀ, ǀŋ, ǃŋ/ are also said to occur, but mostly in rare cases.[4]
  • A voiceless trill [r̥] may also occur phonemically among dialects, and may also be pronounced as breathy [r̤] in intervocalic positions.
  • /r/ may also be heard as a flap [ɾ].
  • /n/ may also be heard as [n̪] in free variation, or when preceding dental stops.
  • /qʰ/ may also be heard as [q͡χʰ] in free variation.
  • Lateral affricates [t͡ɬ, t͡ɬʰ] may occur from loanwords.[5]
  • Sounds /z, ʒ/ can be pronounced in free variation as affricates [d͡z, d͡ʒ] in the Bolaongwe dialect.
  • /h/ can be heard as voiced [ɦ] when in intervocalic positions.[6]

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Kgalagadi". Ethnologue. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ Kgalagadi language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  4. ^ Solé, Maria-Josep; Hyman, Larry M.; Monaka, Kemmonye C. (2009). More on Post-nasal Devoicing: The Case of Shekgalagari. UC Berkeley PhonLab Annual Report, 5. pp. 299–320.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Lukusa, Stephen T. M.; Kemmonye, C. Monaka (2008). Shekgalagari grammar: A descriptive analysis of the language and its vocabulary. Cape Town: Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society.
  6. ^ Dickens, Patrick J. (1986). Qhalaxarzi phonology. University of the Witwatersrand.
Kgalagadi language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator


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