Juǀʼhoan language Totally Explained

Everything about Ju Hoan Language totally explained

|nativename=Zuǀʼhõasi |familycolor=Khoisan |states=Namibia, Botswana |region=near border with Angola |speakers=5,000–10,000
|fam1=Juu-ǂHoan |fam2=Juu |iso3=ktz }} Juǀʼhoan (also called Zhuǀʼhõasi, Dzuʼoasi, Zû-ǀhoa, JuǀʼHoansi) is a Khoisan language spoken in the Northwest District of Botswana by about 5,000 people (as of 2002) and by perhaps a comparable number across the border in Namibia. It is a cluster of eastern dialects of the Ju dialect continuum that includes ǃKung (ǃXũũ) and ǂKxʼauǁʼein. It is part of a Southern dialect cluster of the Ju languages according to Snyman (1997). Four varieties are distinguished: Epukiro, Tsumkwe, Rundu, and Omatako.

Phonetics

Juǀʼhoan has four tones.
There are 5 vowel qualities, /i e a o u/. However, these may be nasalized, glottalized, murmured, or combinations of these, and most of these possibilities occur both long and short. The qualities /a/ and /o/ may also be pharyngealized and strident. Thus, there are a good 30 vowel phonemes, perhaps more, depending on one's analysis. There are, in addition, many vowel sequences and diphthongs.
Juǀʼhoan has an unusually large number of consonants, as seen below, including clicks and clusters with mixed voicing. Phonemes in parentheses are only found in loan words. For brevity, only the alveolar clicks are listed with the other consonants; the complete set of clicks is found below.

		Labial	Alveolar	Postalveolar /Palatal	Velar	Corresponding Click	Glottal
Nasal	voiced	m	n ~ ŋ			ŋǃ
	voiceless	m̥				ŋ̊ǃʰ
	prenasalized					ŋŋ̊ǃʰ
	glottalized	mˀ			ŋˀ
Plosive	voiced	b	d		ɡ	ɡǃ
	tenuis	p	t		k	kǃ	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ		kʰ	kǃʰ
	glottalized					kǃˀ
	cluster	b͡pʰ	d͡tʰ			ɡǃʰ
Affricate	voiced		dz¹	dʒ¹		ɡǃˠ
	tenuis		ts	tʃ		kǃˣ
	ejective		tsʼ	tʃʼ	kxʼ	kǃˣʼ
	aspirated		tsʰ	tʃʰ	(kxʰ)
	aspirated cluster		dtsʰ	dtʃʰ
	ejective cluster		dʦʼ	dʧʼ	gkxʼ	gǃkxʼ
Fricative	voiced	(v)	z	ʒ
Fricative	voiceless	(f)	s	ʃ	x
Approximant			ɾ, (l)	j	w

The phonemic status of [ʣ] and [ʤ] is uncertain. There are also consonant clusters involving a velar fricative: [tx], [dtx], [tkxʼ], [ʦx], [dʦx], [ʧx], [dʧx].
Juǀʼhoan has 48 click sounds. Given the intricate clusters seen in the non-click consonants, it isn't surprising that many of the Juǀʼhoan clicks should be analyzed as clusters. However, while some are clearly simplex or complex, there's debate over some with intermediate complexity.
There are four click releases: dental, lateral, alveolar, and palatal. (Some Ju dialects have laminal vs apical lateral click releases, but Juǀʼhoan isn't among them.) There are twelve accompaniments, all of which are velar. These are perfectly normal consonants in Juǀʼhoan, and indeed are preferred over non-clicks in word-initial position.

affricated clicks		'sharp' clicks		accompaniment
dental clicks	lateral clicks	alveolar clicks	palatal clicks	accompaniment
kǀ	kǁ	kǃ	kǂ	Tenuis
ɡǀ	ɡǁ	ɡǃ	ɡǂ	Voiced
ŋǀ	ŋǁ	ŋǃ	ŋǂ	Nasal
kǀʰ	kǁʰ	kǃʰ	kǂʰ	Aspirated
ŋ̊ǀʰ	ŋ̊ǁʰ	ŋ̊ǃʰ	ŋ̊ǂʰ	Voiceless nasal with delayed aspiration
kǀˣ	kǁˣ	kǃˣ	kǂˣ	Voiceless affricated
ɡǀˠ	ɡǁˠ	ɡǃˠ	ɡǂˠ	Voiced affricated
kǀˣʼ	kǁˣʼ	kǃˣʼ	kǂˣʼ	Affricated ejective (perhaps /kǃ/+/kˣʼ/)
ɡǀkˣʼ	ɡǁkˣʼ	ɡǃkˣʼ	ɡǂkˣʼ	Voiced plosive followed by affricated ejective
kǀˀ	kǁˀ	kǃˀ	kǂˀ	Voiceless plosive followed by glottal stop
ŋŋ̊ǀʰ	ŋŋ̊ǁʰ	ŋŋ̊ǃʰ	ŋŋ̊ǂʰ	Voiced nasal followed by voiceless aspirated nasal
ɡǀh	ɡǁh	ɡǃh	ɡǂh	Voiced plosive followed by aspiration (perhaps /ɡǃ/+/h/ or /ɡ/+/kǃʰ/)

Some analyses treat the first seven accompaniments as simplex, and the last five as clusters. The [ɡǃˠ] appears to correspond to the complex [ɡǃkˣ] in other languages, but there's no evidence of a second stop in Juǀʼhoan; indeed, the element following the click release varies from a voiceless fricative [x] to a voiced fricative [ɣ] to an approximant [ɰ]. In ejective clicks like [kǃˣʼ], the front articulation of the click is released first, and the glottalic mechanism for the ejective is only made when the back articulation is released. They are considered complex for the simple reason that ejectives and clicks involve two distinct airstream mechanisms made in sequence, rather as [dʦʰ] and [dʧʼ] involve a change in phonation or airstream mechanism partway through.

Bibliography

Snyman, J.W. (1975) Zuǀʼhõasi Fonologie en Woordeboek. Cape Town: AA Balkema.
Snyman, J.W. (1983) 'Zuǀʼhõasi, a Khoisan Dialect of South West Africa/Namibia', in Dihoff, Ivan R. (ed.) Current Approaches to African Linguistics Vol 1, 115–125.
Snyman, J.W. (1997) 'A preliminary classification of the ǃXũũ and Zuǀʼhõasi Dialects', in Haacke, W.H.G. & Elderkin, E.D. (eds.) Namibian Languages: Reports and Papers. (Namibian African Studies, 4). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe, 21–106.

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