Naro language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Naro (also Nharo) is a Khoe language spoken in the Ghanzi District of Botswana and in eastern Namibia, where it is sometimes called Nharo. There are about 14,000 speakers: 10,000 in Botswana (2004 Cook) and 4000 in Namibia (1998 Maho). This makes it probably the most populous of the Tshu-Khwe languages. Naro is a trade language among speakers of different Khoisan languages in the Ghanzi District. There is currently a dictionary of the Naro language.
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[edit] Phonology
Naro has the following consonant inventory, in the IPA and the orthography of Visser (2001):
| Bilabial | Dental click |
Alveolar | Lateral click |
Palatal click |
Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| stop | affricate | click | |||||||
| Aspirate | ph /pʰ/ | ch /ǀʰ/ | th /tʰ/ | tsh /tsʰ/ | qh /ǃʰ/ | xh /ǁʰ/ | tch /ǂʰ/ | kh /kʰ/ | |
| Tenuis | p /p/ | c /ǀ/ | t /t/ | ts /ts/ | q /ǃ/ | x /ǁ/ | tc /ǂ/ | k /k/ | |
| Voiced | b /b/ | dc /ᶢǀ/ | d /d/ | z /dz/ | dq /ᶢǃ/ | dx /ᶢǁ/ | dtc /ᶢǂ/ | gh /ɡ/ | |
| Nasal | m /m/ | nc /ᵑǀ/ | n /n/ | nq /ᵑǃ/ | nx /ᵑǁ/ | ntc /ᵑǂ/ | |||
| Glottalized | c’ /ǀˀ/ | ts’ /ts’/ | q’ /ǃˀ/ | x’ /ǁˀ/ | tc’ /ǂˀ/ | ||||
| Affricated | cg /ǀχ/ | tg /tχ/ | tsg /tsχ/ | qg /ǃχ/ | xg /ǁχ/ | tcg /ǂχ/ | (kg /kχ/) | ||
| Glottalized affricated | cg’ /ǀχˀ/ | qg’ /ǃχˀ/ | xg’ /ǁχˀ/ | tcg’ /ǂχˀ/ | kg’ /kχ’/ | ||||
| Fricative | f /f/ | s /s/ | g /x/ | h /h/ | |||||
| Flap | r /ɾ/ | ||||||||
Kg and kg’ only contrast for some speakers: kx’ám "mouth" vs. k’áù "male". The flap r is only found medially except in loan words. An l is only found in loans, and is generally substituted by /ɾ/ medially and /n/ initially. Medial [j] and [w] may perhaps be /i/ and /u/; they occur initially only in wèé "all, both" and in yèè (an interjection).
Naro has five vowel qualities, a e i o u, which may occur long (aa ee ii oo uu), nasalized (ã ẽ ĩ õ ũ), pressed (a, e, i, o, u), or combinations of these (ã etc.). There are three tones, written á, a, à. Syllables are of the maximal form CVV, where VV is a long vowel, diphthong, or combination of vowel and m, and may take two tones: hḿm̀ "to see"; hm̀m̀ a xám̀ "to smell". The only consonant which can occur finally is m, except that long nasal vowels such as ãã may surface as [aŋ] ([ŋ] does not otherwise occur). Syllabic /n/ also occurs, as in nna.
[edit] Dialects
- ǀAmkwe
- ǀAnekwe
- Gǃinkwe
- ǃGingkwe
- Gǃokwe
- Qabekhoe or Qabekho or ǃKabbakwe
- Tsʼaokhoe or Tsaukwe or Tsaokhwe
- Tserekwe
- Tsorokwe
- Nǀhai-ntseʼe or Nǁhai or Tsʼao
[edit] Naro Language Project
The Naro Language Project is a project currently being undertaken by the Reformed Church in D'kar that aims to describe, and develop an understanding of, the Naro language, increase literacy by teaching Naro speakers to read and write their language, and translate the Bible into Naro. The project was started in the 1980s. The Naro language project has, as of 2007, translated 70% of the Bible into the Naro language.
[edit] Bibliography
- Visser, Hessel (2001) Naro dictionary: Naro-English, English-Naro. Gansi, Botswana: Naro Language Project. ISBN 99912-938-5-X
[edit] External links
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