Everything about Tuu Languages totally explained
The
Tuu or
Ta’a-ǃKwi (
Ta’a-ǃui,
Ui-Taa,
Kwi)
languages are a
language family consisting of two language clusters spoken in
Botswana and
South Africa. The relationship between the two isn't doubted, but isn't close. The name
Tuu comes from a word for
person common to both branches of the family. The Tuu languages form in turn one branch of a proposed
Khoisan language family, and are called
Southern Khoisan in that scenario. However, no convincing evidence has ever been produced for this classification.
The
ǃKwi branch of South Africa is
moribund, with only one language remaining,
Nǀuu, and that with only a dozen 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,
ǃke eː ǀxarra ǁke.
The
Ta’a branch of Botswana is more robust, though it also has one surviving language,
ǃXóõ, with 4200 speakers.
The family was once thought to include the (East)
ǂHõã language, but this may instead be related to the
Juu family and is best considered unclassified for now. There are great similarities between the Tuu and Juu families, which many put down to
areal influence.
The Tuu languages, along with ǂHõã, are known for being the only languages in the world to have
bilabial clicks as distinctive speech sounds, apart from the extinct ritual jargon
Damin of northern
Australia. They also have some of the most complex inventories of both
consonants and
vowels in the world, as well as
tone.
Because many of the Tuu languages became extinct with little record, there's considerable confusion as to which of their many names represented separate languages or even dialects. See
List of Khoisan languages for some possibilities.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tuu Languages'.
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