The Khoe/ˈkweɪ/[2]KWAY languages are the largest of the non-Bantu language families indigenous to Southern Africa. They were once considered to be a branch of a Khoisan language family, and were known as Central Khoisan in that scenario. Though Khoisan is now rejected as a family, the name is retained as a term of convenience.
The most numerous and only well-known Khoi language is Khoikhoi (Nama/Damara) of Namibia. The rest of the family is found predominantly in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. The languages are similar enough that a fair degree of communication is possible between Khoikhoi and the languages of Botswana.
The Khoi languages were the first Khoisan languages known to European colonists and are famous for their clicks, though these are not as extensive as in other Khoisan language families. There are two primary branches of the family, Khoikhoi of Namibia and South Africa, and Tshu–Khwe of Botswana and Zimbabwe. Except for Nama, they are under pressure from national or regional languages such as Tswana.
^Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Khoe–Kwadi". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
^Menan du Plessis (2019) The Khoisan Languages of Southern Africa
The Khoe /ˈkweɪ/ KWAY languages are the largest of the non-Bantu language families indigenous to Southern Africa. They were once considered to be a branch...
their proximity. The Khoe family is both the most numerous and diverse family of Khoisan languages, with seven living languages and over a quarter million...
Standardisation of Ju and KhoeLanguages, which recommends Khwe be classified as part of the Central Khoe-San family, a cluster language comprising Khwe, ǁAni...
Haiǁom and the Kalahari Khoelanguages They are distinct enough that they might be considered two or three distinct languages.[citation needed] Eini (extinct)...
Nharo, is a Khoelanguage spoken in Ghanzi District of Botswana and in eastern Namibia. It is one of the most-spoken of the Tshu–Khwe languages. Naro is...
Khoekhoe language is related to certain dialects spoken by foraging San peoples of the Kalahari, such as the Khwe and Tshwa, forming the Khoelanguage family...
the western Khoelanguages under the influence of Kxʼa languages in Botswana, and other elements that were lost in the eastern Khoelanguages. The Kwadi...
Shua /ˈʃuːə/ SHOO-ə, or Shwakhwe, is a Khoelanguage (Central Khoisan) of Botswana. It is spoken in central Botswana (in Nata and its surroundings), and...
than the modern Khoelanguages are. Click language Hadza language Khoisan languages Sandawe at Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016) "Sandawe language". Omniglot. Retrieved...
The Tuu languages, or Taa–ǃKwi (Taa–ǃUi, ǃUi–Taa, Kwi) languages, are a language family consisting of two language clusters spoken in Botswana and South...
Tshwa or Tshuwau, also known as Kua and Hiechware, is an East Kalahari Khoe dialect cluster spoken by several thousand people in Botswana and Zimbabwe...
or Khoe-Sān (pronounced [kxʰoesaːn]), is a catch-all term for the indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who traditionally speak non-Bantu languages, combining...
Korana, ǃOra, or Griqua, is a moribund Khoelanguage of South Africa. "Khoemana" (from khoe 'person' + mana 'language') is more commonly known as either Korana...
up khoe, khoẻ, or khỏe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Khoe may be: Khoelanguages the Khoelanguage the Khoekhoe people the Khoekhoe language Kho...
explanation for language isolates is that they developed in isolation from other languages. This explanation mostly applies to sign languages that have arisen...
share the distribution of clicks in these languages. Most languages of the Khoesan families (Tuu, Kxʼa and Khoe) have four click types: { ǀ ǁ ǃ ǂ } or variants...
East Africa and Sahel. Austronesian languages are spoken in Madagascar and parts of the Comoros. Khoe–Kwadi languages are spoken principally in Namibia...
speak Tshwa (a Khoelanguage) and 0.1% speak !Xóõ, a Tuu language (both non-Bantu). English is spoken by 2.8% as their first language, and a small number...
Tjwao (formerly Tshwao) is an endangered Khoelanguage spoken by fewer than 8 people in the Tsholotsho District of Zimbabwe, all over 60 years of age...
languages are spoken, or historically have been spoken, in Zimbabwe. Since the adoption of its 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages,...
1820, co-existing with Afrikaans and various African languages such as the Khoe and Bantu languages. Today, about nine percent of the South African population...
The Sandawe people speak a language that may be related to the Khoelanguages of Botswana and Namibia, while the language of the Hadzabe people, although...
commonly spoken language outside of the household, after Zulu. Other languages are spoken, or were widely used previously, including Fanagalo, Khoe, Lobedu,...
African Languages and Literatures at the University of Dar es Salaam. The Sandawe people speak a language that may be related to the Khoelanguages of Botswana...
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