Nǁng language
| Nǁng | |
|---|---|
| Nǀuu | |
| Native to | South Africa |
| Region | 2 speakers in Olifantshoek, 3 at Upington |
| Ethnicity | Nǁnǂe (ǂKhomani) |
|
Native speakers
|
5 (2013) (3 Nǀuu and 2 ǁ’Au) |
|
Tuu
|
|
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | nuuu1241 |
Nǁng or Nǁŋǃke, commonly known by its primary dialect Nǀuu (Nǀhuki), is a moribund Tuu (Khoisan) language once spoken in South Africa. It is no longer spoken on a daily basis, as the speakers live in different villages. The dialect name ǂKhomani is used for the entire people by the South African government, but the descendents of ǂKhomani-dialect speakers now speak Khoekhoe. As of January 2013, only three speakers of Nǀuu and two of ǁ’Au remain.
Nǁng belongs to the Tuu (Taa–ǃKwi) language family, with extinct ǀXam being its closest relative and Taa its closest living relative.
The two recent dialects are Nǀuu (Nǀhuki) and ǁ’Au (ǁKh’au). Extinct dialects include ǂKhomani and Langeberg. ǂKhomani had been recorded by Doke and by Maingard, Nǀhuki by Weshphal, and Langeberg by Dorothea Bleek. As of 2010, most remaining speakers spoke Nǀuu dialect, and this was the name Nǁng appeared under when it was rediscovered. However, two spoke ǁ’Au and rejected the label Nǀuu.
Of the names Nǀuu, ǁ’Au, and Nǁng, the easiest for English speakers to pronounce is Nǀuu. The pipe (slash) symbol represents a click like the English interjection tsk! tsk! (tut! tut!) used to express pity or shame; "Nǀuu" is pronounced like noo, with a tsk! pronounced in the middle of the [n]. The double-pipe in "Nǁng" is pronounced like the tchick! used to spur on a horse; the name is pronounced like the ng of sung with this click in it.
The word nǀuu /ᵑǀùú/ is actually a verb, 'to speak Nǀuu'. The people call themselves Nǁ-ǂe /ᵑǁŋ̀ŋ̀ ǂé/ 'people', and Westphal believes this may be the term recorded by Bleek and variously rendered in the literature as ǁNg ǃ’e, ǁn-ǃke, ǁŋ.ǃke.
The name Nǀusan is an ambiguous Khoekhoe exonym, and is used for several Tuu languages. Traill says that the ǀ’Auni call their language Nǀhuki, but others have recorded their name for their language as ǀ’Auo, and both Westphal and Köhler state that Nǀhuki (Nǀhuci, nǀɦuki) is a variety of Nǁng. It's not clear if both are correct or if languages have gotten mixed up in the literature.
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Wikipedia