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‘Khoisan’ sibling terminologies in historical perspective

A combined anthropological, linguistic and phylogenetic comparative approach
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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.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Foreword and acknowledgments ix
  4. Abbreviations xi
  5. ‘Khoisan’ linguistic classification today 1
  6. PART I. Cross-areal perspectives
  7. Molecular anthropological perspectives on the Kalahari Basin area 45
  8. ‘Khoisan’ sibling terminologies in historical perspective 69
  9. Clicks, prosodies and Khoisan 103
  10. PART II. The Khoe-Kwadi family
  11. Verb serialisation in northern dialects of Khoekhoegowab 125
  12. Areal and inherited aspects of compound verbs in Khoekhoe 153
  13. PART III. The Kx’a family
  14. Demonstrative and relative constructions in Ju 181
  15. N!aqriaxe (ǂ’Amkoe) spatial terms from a genealogical and areal perspective 209
  16. ǂ’Amkoe body part terminology in comparative perspective 233
  17. PART IV. The Tuu family
  18. The Lower Nossob varieties of Tuu 257
  19. Towards a genealogical classification of Taa dialects 283
  20. Master list of references 303
  21. Language (group) index 325
  22. Subject index 329
Beyond ‘Khoisan’
This chapter is in the book Beyond ‘Khoisan’
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.330.03bod

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Foreword and acknowledgments ix
  4. Abbreviations xi
  5. ‘Khoisan’ linguistic classification today 1
  6. PART I. Cross-areal perspectives
  7. Molecular anthropological perspectives on the Kalahari Basin area 45
  8. ‘Khoisan’ sibling terminologies in historical perspective 69
  9. Clicks, prosodies and Khoisan 103
  10. PART II. The Khoe-Kwadi family
  11. Verb serialisation in northern dialects of Khoekhoegowab 125
  12. Areal and inherited aspects of compound verbs in Khoekhoe 153
  13. PART III. The Kx’a family
  14. Demonstrative and relative constructions in Ju 181
  15. N!aqriaxe (ǂ’Amkoe) spatial terms from a genealogical and areal perspective 209
  16. ǂ’Amkoe body part terminology in comparative perspective 233
  17. PART IV. The Tuu family
  18. The Lower Nossob varieties of Tuu 257
  19. Towards a genealogical classification of Taa dialects 283
  20. Master list of references 303
  21. Language (group) index 325
  22. Subject index 329
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