‘Khoisan’ linguistic classification today
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Tom Güldemann
Abstract
Proposed by Greenberg (1950, 1963) as a language family, the currently available evidence indicates that ‘Khoisan’ in a linguistic sense can be viewed, at best, as a negative entity. It comprises a diverse range of languages in southern and eastern Africa which share the typological feature of phonemic clicks, yet cannot all be related genealogically to each other or any established lineage. This makes them different from other languages with a similar areal and typological profile which belong to the Bantu (Niger-Congo) and Cushitic (Afro-Asiatic) language families. This chapter attempts to give the state of the art about the inventory of Khoisan languages and the different types of linguistic classifications applied to them, namely within typological, areal, and historical-comparative linguistics. In addition, this introduction serves to provide a general background for the other contributions to this volume. Since these all address outstanding issues of genealogical and areal relations between Khoisan languages and peoples of southern Africa in particular, they are also embedded by the introduction within the complex problem of evaluating the population history of the Kalahari Basin before the Bantu expansion from a linguistic, anthropological, and genetic perspective.
Abstract
Proposed by Greenberg (1950, 1963) as a language family, the currently available evidence indicates that ‘Khoisan’ in a linguistic sense can be viewed, at best, as a negative entity. It comprises a diverse range of languages in southern and eastern Africa which share the typological feature of phonemic clicks, yet cannot all be related genealogically to each other or any established lineage. This makes them different from other languages with a similar areal and typological profile which belong to the Bantu (Niger-Congo) and Cushitic (Afro-Asiatic) language families. This chapter attempts to give the state of the art about the inventory of Khoisan languages and the different types of linguistic classifications applied to them, namely within typological, areal, and historical-comparative linguistics. In addition, this introduction serves to provide a general background for the other contributions to this volume. Since these all address outstanding issues of genealogical and areal relations between Khoisan languages and peoples of southern Africa in particular, they are also embedded by the introduction within the complex problem of evaluating the population history of the Kalahari Basin before the Bantu expansion from a linguistic, anthropological, and genetic perspective.
Chapters in this book
- 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
Chapters in this book
- 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
