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Kgalagadi language

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Kgalagadi
Kalahari
'SheKgalagadi
Native toBotswana
EthnicityKgalagadi
Native speakers
65,400 (2015)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3xkv
Glottologkgal1244
S.311 (ex-S.31d)[2]
ELPKgalagadi
Linguasphereincl. varieties 99-AUT-eha to 99-AUT-ehc 99-AUT-eh incl. varieties 99-AUT-eha to 99-AUT-ehc

Kgalagadi is a Bantu language spoken in Botswana, along the South African border. It is spoken by about 40,000 people.[3] In the language, it is known as Shekgalagari.

Classification

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Kgalagadi (also rendered Kgalagari, Kgalagarhi, Kgalagari, Khalagari, Khalakadi, Kxhalaxadi, Qhalaxarzi, Shekgalagadi, Shekgalagari, Kqalaqadi) is most closely related to Tswana, and until recently was classified as a dialect of Tswana.[2]

Dialects include Shengologa, Sheshaga, Shebolaongwe, Shelala, Shekhena, Sheritjhauba and Shekgwatheng.

Phonology

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Vowels

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Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e ~ ɪ o ~ ʊ
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a
  • Close-mid vowels /e, o/ are frequently heard as near-close sounds [ɪ, ʊ] among speakers in free variation.

Consonants

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Labial Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
plain lab. plain lab. plain lab.
Stop voiceless p c k q
aspirated t̪ʰ cʰʷ
voiced b ɟ g
Affricate voiceless t͡s t͡sʷ t͡ʃ t͡ʃʷ
aspirated t͡sʰ t͡sʰʷ t͡ʃʰ t͡ʃʰʷ
voiced (d͡z) d͡ʒ
Fricative voiceless s ʃ ʃʷ χ h
voiced z ʒ ʒʷ (ɦ)
Nasal m () n ɲ ŋ
Trill r
Approximant l j w
  • Click sounds /ʘ, ǀ, ǀŋ, ǃŋ/ are also said to occur, but mostly in rare cases.[4]
  • A voiceless trill [r̥] may also occur phonemically among dialects, and may also be pronounced as breathy [r̤] in intervocalic positions.
  • /r/ may also be heard as a flap [ɾ].
  • /n/ may also be heard as [n̪] in free variation, or when preceding dental stops.
  • /qʰ/ may also be heard as [q͡χʰ] in free variation.
  • Lateral affricates [t͡ɬ, t͡ɬʰ] may occur from loanwords.[5]
  • Sounds /z, ʒ/ can be pronounced in free variation as affricates [d͡z, d͡ʒ] in the Bolaongwe dialect.
  • /h/ can be heard as voiced [ɦ] when in intervocalic positions.[6]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ "Kgalagadi". Ethnologue. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ Kgalagadi language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  4. ^ Solé, Maria-Josep; Hyman, Larry M.; Monaka, Kemmonye C. (2009). More on Post-nasal Devoicing: The Case of Shekgalagari. UC Berkeley PhonLab Annual Report, 5. pp. 299–320.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Lukusa, Stephen T. M.; Kemmonye, C. Monaka (2008). Shekgalagari grammar: A descriptive analysis of the language and its vocabulary. Cape Town: Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society.
  6. ^ Dickens, Patrick J. (1986). Qhalaxarzi phonology. University of the Witwatersrand.