Tsoa language
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tsoa_language"
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Tsoa is a Khoisan language of Botswana and Zimbabwe spoken by about 9300 speakers (Cook 2004).

Dialects

  • Tsoa or Hiechware or various other combinations of Hio-, Hie-, Hai- + Chwa, Tshwa, Chuwau, Tshuwau + -re, -ri; or Sarwa, Sesarwa or Gǁabake-Ntshori or Tati or Kwe-Etshori Kwee
  • Kua or Cua or Tyhua
  • Cire Cire [tʃire tʃire]

Phonology

The Cire-cire dialect has the following consonant inventory:

content
Consonant phonemes of Tsoa
Bilabial Dental Alveolar Lateral Post-
alveolar
Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal click    ŋǀ    (ŋǃ)    ŋǁ    (ŋǂ)
Oral click kǀ ɡǀ kǀʰ (kǃ) (ɡǃ) (kǃʰ) kǁ ɡǁ kǁʰ (kǂ) (ɡǂ) (kǂʰ)
Glottalized click    kǀʔ    kǁʔ
Affricate click    (qǀχ)    (qǁχ)
Nasal stop    m    n
Oral stop p   b t   d k   g q    ʔ   
Affricate    dz tʃ   dʒ
Fricative s   z ʃ    χ   
Approximant    l

The clicks have a very uneven distribution: Only a dozen words begin with one of the palatal clicks (ǂ), and these are replaced by dental clicks (ǀ) among younger speakers. Only half a dozen words start with one of the alveolar clicks (ǃ), and half a dozen more with one of the affricated clicks. These rather marginal sounds are placed in parentheses in the chart.

Tsoa has the five vowels /a e i o u/. It is not clear if Tsoa has long vowels, or simply sequences of identical vowels /aa ee ii oo uu/.

There are two tones, high and low, plus a few cases of mid tone.

External links

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