Korana language
| Khoemana | |
|---|---|
| Korana | |
| Griqua | |
| Native to | South Africa, Namibia |
| Ethnicity | Griqua people |
|
Native speakers
|
< 30 (2008) |
|
Khoe
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either: kqz – Korana xii – Xiri |
| Glottolog | sout3214 |
Khoemana, also known as Korana or Griqua, is a moribund Khoe language of South Africa.
"Khoemana" (from khoe 'person' + mana 'language') is more commonly known as either Korana /kɒˈrɑːnə/ or Griqua (also Gri [xri], Xri, Xiri, Xirikwa),. These names reflect the endonym ǃOra [ǃoɾa] or !Gora [gǃoɾa]. Sometimes !Ora is also known as Cape Khoe or Cape Hottentot, though the latter is derogatory. The various names are often treated as different languages (called South Khoekhoe when taken together), but they do not correspond to any actual dialect distinctions, and speakers may use "Korana" and "Griqua" interchangeably. Both names are also used more broadly, for example for the mixed-race Griqua people. There exist (or existed) several dialects of Khoemana, but the details are unknown.
Khoemana is closely related to Khoekhoe, and the sound systems are broadly similar. The strongly aspirated Khoekhoe affricates are simply aspirated plosives [tʰ, kʰ] in Khoemana. However, Khoemana has an ejective velar affricate, /kxʼʔ/, which is not found in Khoekhoe, and a corresponding series of clicks, /ǀ͡χʼ ǁ͡χʼ ǃ͡χʼ ǂ͡χʼ/. Beach (1938) reported that the Khoekhoe of the time had a velar lateral ejective affricate, [k͡ʟ̝̊ʼ], a common realisation or allophone of /kxʼ/ in languages with clicks, and it might be expected that this is true for Khoemana as well. In addition, about half of all lexical words in Khoemana began with a click, compared to a quarter in Khoekhoe.
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