Tshwa language

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Distinguish {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other

Tsoa, Tshwa or Tshuwau, also known as Kua and Hiechware, is an East Kalahari Khoe dialect cluster spoken by several thousand people in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

One of the dialects is Tjwao (formerly spelled 'Tshwao'), the only Khoisan language in Zimbabwe, where "Koisan" is a language officially recognised in the constitution.

Dialects

Tsoa–Kua is a dialect cluster, which is still poorly studied but seems to include:

• Tsoa, also known as Hiechware and as various other combinations of Hio-, Hie-, Hai- + Chwa, Tshwa, Chuwau, Tshuwau + -re, -ri; also as Sarwa, Sesarwa (the Tswana name), Gǁabakʼe-Ntshori, Tati, and Kwe-Etshori Kwee. Zimbabwean Tjwao apparently belongs here.
• Kua, also spelled Cua and Tyhua. That is, both Tsoa and Kua may be pronounced something like {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and it's not clear that they are distinct dialects.
• Cire Cire {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, spoken in the area around Nata in Botswana.

Phonology

The following inventory is of the Kua dialect:

Consonant phonemes of the Kua dialect, Mathes (2015)

			Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar		Lateral	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Click	nasal			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiceless			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiced			Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	aspirated			Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	ejective			Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link
	glottalized			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Nasal			Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	aspirated		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	ejective				Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiced		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Fricative					Template:IPA link					Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Rhotic					Template:IPA link
Approximant			Template:IPA link				Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Clusters
Click	Template:Small			main}}			main}}
	Template:Small			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
	Template:Small	Template:Small		main}}	{{#invoke:IPA|main}}		main}}	main}}
		Template:Small		main}}			main}}
		Template:Small		Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Plosive	Template:Small				{{#invoke:IPA|main}}			main}}
Affricate	Template:Small				{{#invoke:IPA|main}}
Ejective	Template:Small				Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link

The Cire-cire (not cited) dialect has the following consonant inventory:

Consonant phonemes of the Cire-cire dialect (not cited)

		Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar	Lateral	Post- alveolar	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Click	nasal		Template:IPA link	(Template:IPA link)	Template:IPA link	(Template:IPA link)
	voiceless		Template:IPA link	(Template:IPA link)	Template:IPA link	(Template:IPA link)
	voiced		Template:IPA link	(Template:IPA link)	Template:IPA link	(Template:IPA link)
	aspirated		Template:IPA link	(Template:IPA link)	Template:IPA link	(Template:IPA link)
	glottalized		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
	affricate		main}})		main}})
Nasal		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
Plosive	voiceless	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiced	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link			Template:IPA link
Affricate	voiceless					Template:IPA link
	voiced			Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
Fricative	voiceless			Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
	voiced			Template:IPA link
Approximant					Template:IPA link

The clicks have a very uneven distribution: Only a dozen words begin with one of the palatal clicks (Template:IPA link), and these are replaced by dental clicks (Template:IPA link) among younger speakers. Only half a dozen words start with one of the alveolar clicks (Template:IPA link), and half a dozen more with one of the affricated clicks. These rather marginal sounds are placed in parentheses in the chart.

	front	back
high	Template:IPA link Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
mid	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
low	Template:IPA link Template:IPA link

Tsoa has the five vowels {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and three nasal vowels {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is not clear if Tsoa has long vowels, or simply sequences of identical vowels {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.

There are two tones, high and low, plus a few cases of mid tone.

In the northern dialect of Kua, like all other East Kalahari Khoe languages, the palatal click series has become palatal stops. Southern Kua has retained the palatal clicks, but the dental stops have palatalized, as they have in Gǀui and ǂʼAmkoe. Thus northern Kua has {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'ash' and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'eland', whereas southern Kua has {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'ash' and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (or perhaps {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) 'eland'.<ref>Gerlach, Linda (2015) "Phonetic and phonological description of the Nǃaqriaxe variety of ǂʼAmkoe and the impact of language contact". PhD dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin</ref>

Bibliography

• Vossen, Rainer (ed.). 2013a. The Khoesan Languages. London & New York: Routledge.

External links

• Kua/Tsua basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database

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