is xhosa a khoisan language is xhosa a khoisan language

Learning Xhosa is a challenging, but rewarding experience. ", Commission for Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Community Rights, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khoisan_languages&oldid=1132757639, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Ehret, Christopher. Konjo, Nguni - a group of southern Bantu languages . OshiWambo, Italian for Confident Conversations (A2-B2). Literary works, including prose and poetry, are available in Xhosa, as are newspapers and magazines. The name Khoisan derives from the name of the Khoe-Khoe (also known as the Hottentot) group of South Africa and the San (Bushmen) group of Namibia. As a Bantu language, Xhosa and Zulu people are often able to understand one another. For much of the 20th century, they were thought to be genealogically related to each other, but this is no longer accepted. second language speakers. Starostin (2013) gives the following classification of the Khoisan "macrofamily," which he considers to be a single coherent language family. Kirundi, Breathy-voiced consonants are produced when the vocal cords vibrate, as they do in normal voicing, but are held further apart, so that a volume of air escapes between them. Bonke abantu banesiphiwo sesazela nesizathu Ganda/Luganda, 2. Xhosa is the most widely distributed African language in South Africa, though the most widely spoken African language is Zulu. [12] It is the second most common Bantu home language in South Africa as a whole. No part of this site shall be reproduced, copied, or otherwise distributed without the express, written consent of SouthAfrica.com. Clicks Author of, Professor Emeritus, Department of Linguistics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Swati, #CapeTownEPrix Subscribe using the form below to have all of my posts delivered directly to your email. No idea what a clicking language is? Learning materials, Information about the Xhosa language secondary schools. They are now held to comprise three distinct language families and two language isolates. New Haven: Compass Publishing Company. There are no definite or indefinite articles. The origin of clicks remains a mystery. Xhosa is a member of the Southeastern, or Nguni, subgroup of the Bantu group of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. #VisitSouthAfrica https://t.co/A4fSLf2jvP, Hello Cape Town However, there is no scientific proof to support this hypothesis since all languages use sound symbolism to a lesser or greater extent. Xhosa is closely related to Zulu, The ceremonial slaughtering of animals is one of the many ways by which ancestors are invoked. The chart below (taken from Some elements of the structure of the Xhosa verb) shows some of the possible slots for prefixes and suffixes. uku-sebenz-is-el + wa -> ukusetyenziselwa "be used for"), but does not affect morpheme-initial consonants (i.e. This site is not affiliated with any government entity associated with a name similar to the site domain name. The numerous click consonants have been borrowed from Khoi or San words. If you want detailed destinations guides, languages learning tips, and travel phrase guides, then you've come to the right place! The following table gives an overview of Xhosa noun classes, arranged according to singular-plural pairs. However, the Dutch used the word stotteraarto more specifically describe the clicking sounds used in the Khoisan languages. Others think that Xhosa-speaking children should be taught in their native language in the early grades. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Khoisan people appeared in southern Africa some 60,000 years ago. Xhosa is one of the 11 official languages recognized by the South African Constitution, and in 2006 it was determined that just over 7 million South Africans speak Xhosa as a home language. The inventory is taken from Wikipedia. Other Southeastern Bantu languages are Zulu, Swati (Swazi), Sotho, Tswana, Venda, and Ndebele. In the International Phonetic Alphabet, clicks are represented by placing the assigned symbol for the place of click articulation to the left of a symbol for a nonclick sound at the same place of articulation. All click and most non-click consonants appear at the beginning of words and are followed by a vowel. Haya, Accent I'm fluent in Xhosa. Lingala, Can you reproduce these click types? #CapeTownEPrix 2003. Punu, The Kxa family is a relatively distant relationship formally demonstrated in 2010.[11]. Grazie! The name Khoisan derives from the name of the Khoikhoi (people people or real people) group of South Africa and the San (Bushmen) group of Namibia. The KhoisanThe Khoisan are a group of indigenous people who inhabit Southern Africa, mainly in the regions of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Angola, Zambia. Chichewa, Although Xhosa and Zulu are similar enough to be considered dialects of one language, Xhosa and Zulu speakers consider them to be separate languages. The Khoisan languages differ in the number of such modifications from a low of 20 in Nama to a high of 83 in Kxoe. All rights reserved. Adjectives, possessive pronouns and demonstratives agree with the noun they modify in class and number. / Xhosa: [noun] a member of a Bantu-speaking people of Eastern Cape province. Translate files. Clicks are ingressive consonantal stops produced by an intake of air followed by a sudden withdrawal of the tongue from the soft palate, front teeth, or back teeth and hard palate. The first Bible translation was in 1859, produced in part by Henry Hare Dugmore. Makhuwa, Languages such as Zulu and Xhosa make use of three of the five kinds of clicks. Xhosa is spoken as a first language by 8.2 million people and by 11 million as a second language in South Africa, mostly in Eastern Cape Province and Transkei. It is also taught in universities. The language is an important part of Khois. There is a series of six dental clicks, represented by the letter c, similar to the sound represented in English by "tut-tut" or "tsk-tsk"; a series of six alveolar lateral clicks, represented by the letter x, similar to the sound used to call horses; and a series of alveolar clicks, represented by the letter q, that sound somewhat like a cork pulled from a bottle. 1. tsk! Comorian, Every single click in Miriam Makebas Click Song, which is in Xhosa, is a sound that was borrowed from a neighbouring language and swapped into existing words and not all that long ago, either. In, Winter, J.C. 1981. It is one of the eleven official languages of the Republic of South Africa. It is a Bantu language closely related to Zulu, Swazi, and Ndebele. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Khoisan people appeared in southern Africa 60,000 years ago. Zulu: 22.7%, Xhosa: 16%, Afrikaans . According to the 2011 census there Consequently, the languages with the greatest numbers of consonants in the world are Khoisan. The click consonant sounds are a typical and unique feature of the San and Khoikhoi languages. The murmur no longer shifts to the following vowel. Xhosa is a Bantu language spoken in South Africa, mainly in the Start learning here! Xhosa beliefs recognise the presence of ancestral spirits and a supreme authority. Luvale, Lozi, As with other South African languages, Xhosa is characterized by respectful forms of address for elders and in-laws. When plain voiceless clicks (c, x, q) are prenasalized, they become slack voiced nasal (ngc, ngx, ngq). "Toward reconstructing Proto-South Khoisan." The only widespread Khoisan language is Khoekhoe (also known as Khoekhoegowab, Nm or Damara) of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, with a quarter of a million speakers; Sandawe in Tanzania is second in number with some 4080,000, some monolingual; and the Kung language of the northern Kalahari spoken by some 16,000 or so people. Voiceless palatal plosive becomes voiced. The first printed The pocket of air produced by the resulting enclosure is rarefied by the sucking action of the tongue. Xhosa may refer to: Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa. These are typically written with characters such as and . Clicks are quite versatile as consonants, as they involve two articulations of the tongue which can operate partially independently. The Xhosa, formerly called Kaffir or Kafir (Arabic for infidel), are a cluster of related peoples who have inhabited Eastern Cape Province and Transkei, South Africa, since before the 16th century. This is usually a misnomer for ejective consonants, which are found across much of the world, or is a reference to paralinguistic use of clicks such as English tsk! There is also the South Cushitic language Dahalo in Kenya, which has dental clicks in a few score words, and an extinct and presumably artificial Australian ritual language called Damin, which had only nasal clicks. Tower of Babel | Long vowels are phonemic but are usually not written except for and , which are each sequences of two vowels with different tones that are realized as long vowels with contour tones ( highlow = falling, lowhigh = rising). Let me know using thecomments section below or join me on social media to start a conversation. 15000 characters left today. Luchazi, When consonants are prenasalised, their pronunciation and spelling may change. Herero, The last is a lateral click with the tongue at the side of the mouth. Interestingly, the word Xhosa is from the Khoisan language and means The angry men. (Reprints, with minor corrections, a series of eight articles published in the ''Southwestern Journal of Anthropology'' from 1949 to 1954. #CapeTownEPrix However, tones are usually not indicated in writing. Both Xhosa and Zulu are an official languages in South Africa and Lesotho. Click here to claim your exclusive 30% discount. 1997. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The sustainability village focused on boo https://t.co/BDeRnlGHot, Experience the most exciting electric street racing here in Cape Town as the world's best street racers battle. https://t.co/ZihxkpWwe7, Undoubtedly the best spots to experience unbridled views of the Mother City. Ikizu, Privacy Policy Impariamo insieme! A Haiom language is listed in most Khoisan references. By Mark Dingemanse [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons. Otherwise, they tend to be tenuis (plain) stops. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post. Linguistics 112 lecture, Department of Linguistics. Xhosa language, Xhosa formerly spelled Xosa, a Bantu language spoken by seven million people in South Africa, especially in Eastern province. The small town of De Aar is located in the central Groot Karoo along the railway line between Cape Town and Kimberley, which was established in the late 1800s. Download your free PDF guide with 125 Italian travel phrases. Kisi, The original and unique use of clicks in the Khoisan languages has invited speculation that these unusual sounds might reflect an earlier stage in the evolution of language when sounds were natural vocal adaptations to the environment. An estimated 15% of Xhosa vocabulary is of Khoisan origin. Some languages have become extinct and others are endangered. Xhosa (isiXhosa) is the southernmost member of the Bantoid group of the Niger-Congo language family in Africa. This produces an audible noise. The Xhosa noun consists of two essential parts, the prefix and the stem. Tumbuka, Some support the use of English and see its use in education as de facto segregation. The other Khoisan languages are unrecognized and marginalized, especially in South Africa. Fang, Xhosa, Zulu, Ndelebele and Swati share most of their basic vocabulary as well as grammar. Before the Bantu expansion, Khoisan languages, or languages like them, were likely spread throughout southern and eastern Africa. Don't let the learning stop here. Forming part of Durban's vibrant Golden Mile, the Bay of Plenty lies at the heart of the beachfront, with high-rise hotels and apartment buildings making the most of the stunning sea view. This term, now considered derogatory, means stutterer in Dutch. They In, Gldemann, Tom and Rainer Vossen. The Xhosa language employs 26 letters from the Latin alphabet. Densely populated with uncommon consonants, Xhosa consists of the usual pulmonic egressive sounds (used in English), ejectives, 15 clicks and an implosive. work in Xhosa was published in 1823. Khoisan Last but not least is the Khoisan family with between 40 - 70 members. 1988. English. 1 Before monosyllabic stems, e.g. Ethnologue lists 27 Khoisan languages which are spoken by half a million people or less. Hadza (Hatsa), one of the East African Khoisan languages, is a remarkable exception to this, having retained its vitality through a pattern of stable bilingualism with Swahili, the dominant Bantu language in the area. Southern Sotho, "Comparison and Classification of Khoisan languages." This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Xhosa-language. Terms of Use Swati and Ndebele, and mutually intelligible with them to some extent. Family words | The Zulu refer to the Eastern Cape as KwaXhosa which is translated to place of the Xhosa. One puzzling feature of the Khoisan languages is that, despite some uniformity in their use of clicks, they differ considerably among themselves in aspects such as word formation, sentence structure, and vocabulary. Like other Southern Bantu languages, Xhosa has borrowed words from the Khoisan languages, as well as from English and Afrikaans. Tones are rarely marked in the written language, but they can be indicated a [], [], [], []. 4 Before monosyllabic stems in some words. . Nama, in particular, has a long tradition of literacy. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the language spoken in the fictional African nation of Wakanda is Xhosa. For instance, they can be aspirated, nasalised and glottalised. The status of Xhosa, like all other African languages in the Republic of South Africa, is complex. These sounds were borrowed from the Khoisan languages of the original inhabitants of the area. All Rights Reserved. Traduzioni in contesto per "Xhosa" in inglese-ucraino da Reverso Context: Ubuntu is a concept and a term from several South African languages, including Zulu and Xhosa. One of the main reasons for the decline is that bilingual Khoisan speakers shift to the dominant language of the area and stop teaching the language to their children. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/xho, Online Xhosa lessons Bonny Sands (1998) concluded that the family is not demonstrable with current evidence. XXhosa tradition is an extremely powerful social force binding together these people of Eastern Cape province, most evident in Xhosa beliefs revering their ancestors. Damin is an invented ritual language, and has nothing to do with Khoisan. Here's 10 things you didn't know about this incredib, We're proud of you @KelvinvdLinde The original ancestor is Tshawe, but it is direct family members that Xhosa people call upon for guidance, support and to turn the tide of favour. However, linguists who study Khoisan languages reject their unity, and the name "Khoisan" is used by them as a term of convenience without any implication of linguistic validity, much as "Papuan" and "Australian" are. A certain amount of intermarriage with the Khoisan people they found here also gave rise to clans like the Gqunkhwebe. Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people. South Africa is the native land of Xhosa, which is spoken chiefly in the Eastern Cape Province. There are books, magazines and newspapers in Xhosa, as well as TV and radio programmes, films, plays and songs. Although vowel length distinguishes word meaning, the length is not represented in writing, except for and . Xhosa has a complex system of consonants, including some uncommon ones. Tswana, https://www.twinkl.co.za/resources/south-africa-resources/isixhosa-foundation-phase-english-south-africa-suid-afrika/2, Online Xhosa dictionaries The /i/ vowel is long in the penultimate syllable and short in the last syllable.[16]. Xhosa is part of the branch of Nguni languages, which also include Zulu, Southern Ndebele and Northern Ndebele, called the Zunda languages. Release of the forward closure results in a pop-like sound. Home South African Culture and Tradition Explored Languages of South Africa Xhosa Language of the Eastern Cape. Let us know where you'll be watching this weekend. Do you think English would be more interesting with similar click sounds? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Thus, the word for people is abantu in all these languages. The word "Xhosa" is derived from the Khoisan language and means "angry men". The Khoe family appears to have migrated to southern Africa not long before the Bantu expansion. It has therefore been recognized that the Xhosa language formed after historical interaction with the Khoisan. How difficult is it to learn Xhosa? Zigula, [6] Dimmendaal (2008) summarized the general view with, "it has to be concluded that Greenberg's intuitions on the genetic unity of Khoisan could not be confirmed by subsequent research. Grammatically, the southern Khoisan languages are generally analytic, having several inflectional morphemes, but not as many as the click languages of Tanzania. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. The Tuu family consists of two language clusters, which are related to each other at about the distance of Khoekhoe and Tshukhwe within Khoe. On external genealogical relationships of the Khoe family. Kuria, The various parts of the sentence must agree in both class and number.[12]. In, Honken, Henry. Nama, the largest Khoisan language, is officially recognized in Namibia and is taught at universities. The basic clicks are four: dental (|), alveolar (! No change when the following consonant is itself a nasal. (Their numbers have been included under Nama above.) The murmured clicks, plosives and affricates are only partially voiced, with the following vowel murmured for some speakers. In A. Traill (ed. In 1996[update], the literacy rate for first-language Xhosa speakers was estimated at 50%.[15]. women are easily recognised by their heavy dress, matching turban and coloured dots decorating their faces. Therefore, the absolute duration of voicing is the same as in tenuis stops. . #VisitSouthAfrica https://t.co/ncCaKrq4Fa, The Summit includes a Sustainability Village that aims to boost the local economy and power positive economic activ https://t.co/OEOnUXyWdU, Clareb accessories is your one stop shop for all things, unique earrings, necklaces, bracelets. Ngqika is considered to be the standard variety. Nyakyusa, Corrections? The word lives on, however, in the names of several African animal and plant species, such as the Hottentot Fig or Carpobrotus. Although mutually intelligible, they are considered to be separate languages for political and cultural reasons. They are truly voiced only after nasals, but the oral occlusion is then very short in stops, and it usually does not occur at all in clicks. It forms part of the ornamentation that reflects the different stages of a woman, s life. Click consonants can be modified in a variety of ways. Pair them with vowels, tones, and other constants and you've got a wide variety of sounds and meanings. Want my "9 Steps to Reach Fluency Faster" playbook? The verb is modified by affixes to mark subject, object, tense, aspect and mood. It is spoken by the Xhosa people in South Africa, and has around 8 million speakers. 2. Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Free State and Northern Cape. In all of the Southern African Khoisan languages, a simple rule applies to using the sound. http://glosbe.com/en/xh/ All rights reserved. The Xhosa language is properly referred to as isiXhosa. It has 18 click consonants (in comparison, Ju'hoan, spoken in Botswana and Namibia, has 48, and Taa, with roughly 4,000 speakers in Botswana, has 83). 9 reasons youre not fluentYET & how to fix it! are about 8.2 million native speakers of Xhosa, and another 11 million This offer isnt available anywhere else! Bemba, Its great for beginners getting started in a language and invaluable for intermediates looking to fill in gaps in their vocabulary and pronunciation. 15% of its vocabulary is estimated to be of Khoekhoe (Khoisan) origin. Nama is used in education and in the media. They are not prenasalized, as can be seen in words such as , Incorrectly described as glottal clicks by, Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 23:55, "Xhosa alphabet, pronunciation and language", "South Africa Population grows to 44.8 Million", "Wakanda Is a Fake Country, but the African Language in 'Black Panther' is Real", Xhosa basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Xhosa_language&oldid=1141620598, [mp], [nt], [nt], [k], [n], [n], [n]. High tone is represented in writing by an acute accent over the vowel, i.g., , low tone is indicated by by a grave accent, i.g., . However, not all noun classes can be so easily defined. Although mutually intelligible, they are considered to be separate languages for political and cultural reasons. Ever since Xhosa and Zulu were reduced to a written form in the early 19th century, Xhosa and Zulu writers have produced various works of fiction, ranging from poetry to novels. South Khoisan includes a couple of endangered and several extinct languages of the Kalahari Desert. The local Khoisan children speak mainly Afrikaans but Katrina Esau hopes this will change over time . Southern Khoisan has a fifth click, the bilabial . They are currently restricted to the Kalahari Desert, primarily in Namibia and Botswana, and to the Rift Valley in central Tanzania.[2]. http://www.gononda.com/xhosa/, Xhosa phrases Today, the few scholars working on these languages treat the three [southern groups] as independent language families that cannot or can no longer be shown to be genetically related" (p.841). Mbunda, Enchantment winds through the Xhosa language, dress and rituals. Believed to be the oldest of the four language families, it is the smallest of the four and is found mainly in Southern Africa. Baucom, Kenneth L. 1974. The Tanzanian languages, Sandawe and Hadza, use only three basic clicks: |, , and !. There are five places of articulation at which click consonants occur. Nyemba, Lambya, That is, da may be pronounced [da] (or, equivalently, [da]). in parts of Lesotho and Zimbabwe. Phrases | A Beginners Guide Khoisan: Africas Clicking Languages. Only phonemic, and thus reflected orthographically, for. https://www.memrise.com/course/1572/xhosa-an-intro/ https://t.co/qATXK8AEqg, A room filled with great minds, sharing a valuable outlook on living the legacy of the @NelsonMandela Foundation. Venda, (Let's learn together!). Michele creates language learning guides and courses for travel. Beadwork similar to the Ndebele is an integral aspect of Xhosa tradition. http://www.southafricalogue.com/travel-tips/south-african-phrases-xhosa.html, Basaa, Look up Xhosa or xhosa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. F https://t.co/s7IkqA9Utl, It feels good to have @KevinHart4real also known as Mpho here in Johannesburg, South Africa. iliso (eye), uluhlu (list). The Khoisan, or Click, linguistic family is made up of three branches: the Khoisan languages of the San (Bushmen) and Khoikhoi, spoken in various parts of sub-Saharan Africa; Sandawe, a language found in E Africa; and Hatsa (Hadzane or Hadzapi), also spoken in E Africa. A preliminary classification of the !X and u'hasi dialects. (They may also be voiced between vowels in some speaking styles.) Sena, Duala, In Xhosa culture, women are easily recognised by their heavy dress, matching turban and coloured dots decorating their faces. Xhosa is an official language in South Africa and Zimbabe, and is All education at the university level is in English or Afrikaans. Of these languages, Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele and Yeyi have intricate systems of click consonants; the others, despite the click in the name Gciriku, more rudimentary ones. In, Honken, Henry. 3. In Haacke, Wilfrid and Elderkin, Edward Derek (eds. Xhosa has a Roman-based orthography which was developed by missionaries in the 19th century and adapted to represent the sounds of the language. Xhosa, which is also known as Xosa or Koosa, is a clicking language. Yao, Choose your English to Xhosa translation service. Tuu: A New Name for the Southern Khoisan Family, in Tom Gldemann (ed.). . nangokweemfanelo. Xhosa is an agglutinative language that expresses grammatical functions by adding prefixes and suffixes to roots. Though these are still under debate, one frequently accepted dialect grouping is as follows: Xhosa (original), Bhaca, Gcaleka, Thembu, Mpondomise, Ngqika, Mpondo, Mfengu and Bomvana. is that you can jump around their extensive library of topics and choose what you want to learn, when you want, and at your own pace. The Khoisan (Khoesan) language family is the smallest of the language families of Africa. After migrating to southern Africa, the Xhosa and Zulu adopted the click consonants unique to the Khoisan and loaned some words. Eton, The Xhosa number approximately 7.1-million, the majority of whom live in Eastern Cape, and ancient traditions remain strong in this proud people. By creating an account, I agree to theTerms of service and Privacy policy. Northern Ndebele (South Africa), [4][5] It has been suggested that the similarities of the Tuu and Kxa families are due to a southern African Sprachbund rather than a genealogical relationship, whereas the Khoe (or perhaps KwadiKhoe) family is a more recent migrant to the area, and may be related to Sandawe in East Africa.[3]. http://www.youtube.com/user/XhosaKhaya magazines and newspapers in Xhosa, as well as TV and radio programmes, As a balance to consonant complexity, strict rules restrict clicks and most of the non-clicks to the beginning of a word being followed always by a vowel. Clicks are spreading to a few additional neighboring languages. The Xhosa language is a member of the Bantu family and is closely related to Zulu. Elsewhere many bilingual Khoisan speakers have tended to shift rapidly to the dominant language, thus ceasing transmission of the mother tongue to children and leaving it to contract and die, sometimes quite abruptly. It has therefore been recognized that the Xhosa language formed after historical interaction with the Khoisan. "History of Click-Speaking Populations of Africa Inferred from mtDNA and Y Chromosome Genetic Variation", "The Kxa Family: A New Khoisan Genealogy", . All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. In this case, Xhosa means 'angry men'. Aspiration is lost on obstruents; ejection is added on voiceless consonant. Agreements usually reflect part of the original class with which the word agrees. A palatal click is a sharp pop made by drawing the tongue down quickly from the roof of the mouth. Tonga, Prenasalisation occurs in several contexts, including on roots with the class 9 prefix /iN-/, for example on an adjective which is feature-matching its noun: /iN- + / [int] "beautiful" (of a class 9 word like inja "dog"). For the Mande language spoken in Burkina Faso, see, Map showing the distribution of the Khoisan languages (yellow), Grammatically, the southern Khoisan languages are generally, Greenberg, Joseph H. 1955. The ceremonial slaughtering of animals is one of the many ways by which ancestors are invoked. Kimbundu, There are a number of print publications in Xhosa, or in Xhosa and English. In, Sands, Bonny. Tradues em contexto de "Khoisan" en portugus-ingls da Reverso Context : Palavras-chave: Khoisan; reconciliation; identity; narrative; communication. Their most distinctive linguistic characteristic is the original and extensive use of click consonants, a feature which has spread through cultural and linguistic contact into a number of Bantu (Niger-Congo) languagessuch as Xhosa, Zulu, and Sotho in South Africa and Gciriku (Diriku), Yei (Yeye), and Mbukushu in Botswana and Namibiaand into Dahalo, a Cushitic (Afro-Asiatic) language of Kenya.