{"title":"Khoekhoe Loanwords in isiXhosa and isiZulu: Beyond Click Loan","authors":"Camilla Rose Christie","doi":"10.1163/19552629-bja10080","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>A precolonial language contact event between languages in the Nguni group of the <span style=\"font-variant: small-caps;\">Bantu</span> family and extinct undocumented languages in the Khoekhoe branch of the <span style=\"font-variant: small-caps;\">Khoe</span> family left an enduring impact on the linguistic landscape of South Africa. isiXhosa and isiZulu gained a massive lexis of Khoekhoe loanwords that remains understudied. Prior research has focused primarily on the behaviour of click consonants during loan, and more general descriptions of phonological and morphological adaptations are lacking. This paper describes some general adaptive processes, with the especial aim of facilitating the improved detection of loanwords. By comparing the extant Khoekhoe-branch languages Nama, Damara, and Kora with the loaned Khoekhoe-branch material preserved in isiXhosa and isiZulu, details of the phonology and morphology of the undocumented Khoekhoe donor languages are inferred. Finally, comparative material from the Kalahari-branch languages in the <span style=\"font-variant: small-caps;\">Kwadi</span>-<span style=\"font-variant: small-caps;\">Khoe</span> family is also introduced to compensate for lacunae in the historical linguistic record.</p>","PeriodicalId":43304,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Contact","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Language Contact","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1163/19552629-bja10080","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A precolonial language contact event between languages in the Nguni group of the Bantu family and extinct undocumented languages in the Khoekhoe branch of the Khoe family left an enduring impact on the linguistic landscape of South Africa. isiXhosa and isiZulu gained a massive lexis of Khoekhoe loanwords that remains understudied. Prior research has focused primarily on the behaviour of click consonants during loan, and more general descriptions of phonological and morphological adaptations are lacking. This paper describes some general adaptive processes, with the especial aim of facilitating the improved detection of loanwords. By comparing the extant Khoekhoe-branch languages Nama, Damara, and Kora with the loaned Khoekhoe-branch material preserved in isiXhosa and isiZulu, details of the phonology and morphology of the undocumented Khoekhoe donor languages are inferred. Finally, comparative material from the Kalahari-branch languages in the Kwadi-Khoe family is also introduced to compensate for lacunae in the historical linguistic record.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Language Contact (JLC) is a peer-reviewed open access journal. It focuses on the study of language contact, language use and language change in accordance with a view of language contact whereby both empirical data (the precise description of languages and how they are used) and the resulting theoretical elaborations (hence the statement and analysis of new problems) become the primary engines for advancing our understanding of the nature of language. This involves linguistic, anthropological, historical, and cognitive factors. Such an approach makes a major new contribution to understanding language change at a time when there is a notable increase of interest and activity in this field. The Journal of Language Contact accepts articles in English and French.