‘Khoisan’ sibling terminologies in historical perspective
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Gertrud Boden
Abstract
This paper combines regional anthropological comparison, historical linguistics and phylogenetic comparative methodology (PCM) concerning the analysis of sibling terminology in order to address the historical relationships between the languages of the three South African Khoisan families, Kx’a, Tuu and Khoe-Kwadi. We look first at the ways how siblings are grouped into kin classes and secondly how sibling terms as lexical items are linguistically related in and between these families. Their demonstrable internal linguistic relationships imply original family-specific sibling terminologies with relevant lexemes as part of the proto-languages used within a social culture of the proto-societies (cf. Murdock 1949: 346f.; Elmendorf 1961: 365; Jordan 2011: 299). Our hypotheses for proto-terminologies, contact scenarios and trajectories of change are finally submitted to PCM probability tests. By trying to detect signals of genealogical or contact relationships we hope to contribute to the reconstruction of pre-historical processes in the Kalahari Basin, including testing hypotheses found in the previous literature, among them the claim about a deep structural unity of Khoisan kinship systems.
Abstract
This paper combines regional anthropological comparison, historical linguistics and phylogenetic comparative methodology (PCM) concerning the analysis of sibling terminology in order to address the historical relationships between the languages of the three South African Khoisan families, Kx’a, Tuu and Khoe-Kwadi. We look first at the ways how siblings are grouped into kin classes and secondly how sibling terms as lexical items are linguistically related in and between these families. Their demonstrable internal linguistic relationships imply original family-specific sibling terminologies with relevant lexemes as part of the proto-languages used within a social culture of the proto-societies (cf. Murdock 1949: 346f.; Elmendorf 1961: 365; Jordan 2011: 299). Our hypotheses for proto-terminologies, contact scenarios and trajectories of change are finally submitted to PCM probability tests. By trying to detect signals of genealogical or contact relationships we hope to contribute to the reconstruction of pre-historical processes in the Kalahari Basin, including testing hypotheses found in the previous literature, among them the claim about a deep structural unity of Khoisan kinship systems.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Foreword and acknowledgments ix
- Abbreviations xi
- ‘Khoisan’ linguistic classification today 1
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PART I. Cross-areal perspectives
- Molecular anthropological perspectives on the Kalahari Basin area 45
- ‘Khoisan’ sibling terminologies in historical perspective 69
- Clicks, prosodies and Khoisan 103
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PART II. The Khoe-Kwadi family
- Verb serialisation in northern dialects of Khoekhoegowab 125
- Areal and inherited aspects of compound verbs in Khoekhoe 153
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PART III. The Kx’a family
- Demonstrative and relative constructions in Ju 181
- N!aqriaxe (ǂ’Amkoe) spatial terms from a genealogical and areal perspective 209
- ǂ’Amkoe body part terminology in comparative perspective 233
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PART IV. The Tuu family
- The Lower Nossob varieties of Tuu 257
- Towards a genealogical classification of Taa dialects 283
- Master list of references 303
- Language (group) index 325
- Subject index 329
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Foreword and acknowledgments ix
- Abbreviations xi
- ‘Khoisan’ linguistic classification today 1
-
PART I. Cross-areal perspectives
- Molecular anthropological perspectives on the Kalahari Basin area 45
- ‘Khoisan’ sibling terminologies in historical perspective 69
- Clicks, prosodies and Khoisan 103
-
PART II. The Khoe-Kwadi family
- Verb serialisation in northern dialects of Khoekhoegowab 125
- Areal and inherited aspects of compound verbs in Khoekhoe 153
-
PART III. The Kx’a family
- Demonstrative and relative constructions in Ju 181
- N!aqriaxe (ǂ’Amkoe) spatial terms from a genealogical and areal perspective 209
- ǂ’Amkoe body part terminology in comparative perspective 233
-
PART IV. The Tuu family
- The Lower Nossob varieties of Tuu 257
- Towards a genealogical classification of Taa dialects 283
- Master list of references 303
- Language (group) index 325
- Subject index 329
