Shua language

Not to be confused with Shuar language.

Shua
Native to	Botswana
Native speakers	2,000 (2013)
Language family	Khoe–Kwadi Khoe Kalahari (Tshu–Khwe) East Shua
Language codes
ISO 639-3	shg
Glottolog	shua1254
ELP	Shua

Shua /ˈʃuːə/ SHOO-ə, or Shwakhwe, is a Khoe language (Central Khoisan) of Botswana. It is spoken in central Botswana (in Nata and its surroundings), and in parts of the Chobe District in the extreme north of Botswana. There are approximately 6,000 speakers (Cook 2004) and approximately 2,000 out of those 6,000 speakers are native speakers. The linguistic variety spoken in the township of Nata in northeast Botswana is highly endangered and spoken fluently only by adults over about thirty years of age. The term Shwakhwe means people (khwe) from the salty area (shwa).

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar		Lateral	Post- alveolar	Velar		Glottal
Click	nasal		ᵑǀ	ᵑǃ		ᵑǁ
	voiceless		ᵏǀ	ᵏǃ		ᵏǁ	ᵏǂ
	voiced		ᶢǀ	ᶢǃ		ᶢǁ
	aspirated		ǀʰ	ǃʰ		ǁʰ
	ejective		ǀʼ	ǃʼ		ǁʼ	ǂʼ
	uvular		ǀq			ǁq	ǂq
	prenasal		ᵑǀᶢ			ᵑǁᶢ
Nasal		m		n			ɲ	ŋ
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	p		t	ts			k		ʔ
	voiced	b		d	dz			ɡ
	aspirated			tʰ	tsʰ			kʰ
	ejective			tʼ	tsʼ			kʼ	(kxʼ)
	prenasal							ᵑɡ
Fricative				s				x		h
Approximant							j
Cluster
+Velar fricative			ǀˣ	ǃˣ		ǁˣ
+Vd +Velar fricative						ᶢǁˣ
+Nasal +Velar fricative			ᵑǀᶢˣ			ᵑǁᶢˣ
+Velar ejective			ǀˣʼ			ǁˣʼ

• /kxʼ/ is only phonemic in the Ts'ixa and Danisi dialects only.

Vowels

Shua has the five vowels /a e i o u/, and three nasal vowels /ĩ ã ũ/.

Syntax

Unlike most Khoisan languages, but like Nama, the most neutral word order is SOV, though word order is relatively free. As with most Khoisan languages, there are postpositions. There is a tense-aspect marker ke which often appears in second position in affirmative sentences in the present tense, giving X Aux S O V order (e.g. S Aux O V).

ex:

Kʼarokwa

boys

ke

ASP

ǀʼuizi

rock-PL

ʼa

OBL

gam

throw

Kʼarokwa ke ǀʼuizi ʼa gam

boys ASP rock-PL OBL throw

"The boys are throwing rocks"

ex:

ǀʼui-zi

rock-PL

ʼa

OBL

ke

ASP

kʼarokwa

boys

gam

throw

ǀʼui-zi ʼa ke kʼarokwa gam

rock-PL OBL ASP boys throw

"The boys are throwing rocks"

This marker appears first in certain subordinate clauses in a manner reminiscent of V2 languages such as German, where a clause-initial complementizer is in complementary distribution with a second position phenomenon (in German, it would be the finite verb which appears in second position).

Numerals

Shua has indigenous terms for numeral terms, it is a restrictive and limited system of numerals.

• |uˉiˉ ‘one’
• |am ‘two’
• ngona: ~ ‖obeˉ:ˉ ‘three’
• hatsa: ‘four’
• |’oˉra: ‘a few’
• ‖hara: ‘many’

1)

ta:

1SG

ngona:-n

three-PL

ʔau

fish

xo:-ha

catch-PAST

ta: ngona:-n ʔau xo:-ha

1SG three-PL fish catch-PAST

‘I caught three fish.’

Using this example, the numeral comes before the head noun. More specifically, it appears in the second "opening" of a noun phrase "following a demonstrative or determiner (if there is one), and preceding a qualifying nominal or adjective."

Dialects

Shua is a dialect cluster.

• Deti (10 or fewer speakers)
• Ganádi
• Shwa-khwe
• Nǀoo-khwe
• Kǀoree-khoe or ǀOree-khwe
• ǁʼAiye or ǀAaye
• ǀXaise or ǀTaise
• Tshidi-khwe or Tcaiti or Sili or Shete Tsere
• Danisi or Demisa or Madenasse or Madinnisane
• Cara
• ǁGoro or ǀXaio

The term Hietshware (Hietʃware, Hietʃo) is used for varieties of both Shua and its sister-language Tshwa.

Tsʼixa (200 speakers) is evidently a distinct language.

External links

• Shua basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database