Xhosa is spoken as a first language by approximately 8 million people and as a second language in South Africa, particularly inEastern Cape,Western Cape,Northern Cape andGauteng, and also in parts of Zimbabwe andLesotho.[9] It has perhaps the heaviestfunctional load ofclick consonants in a Bantu language (approximately tied withYeyi), with one count finding that 10% of basic vocabulary items contained a click.[10]
Xhosa is part of the branch ofNguni languages, which also includeZulu,Southern Ndebele andNorthern Ndebele, called the Zunda languages.[11] Zunda languages effectively form a dialect continuum of variously mutually intelligible varieties.
Xhosa is, to a large extent, mutually intelligible withZulu and with other Nguni languages to a lesser extent. Nguni languages are, in turn, classified under the much larger abstraction ofBantu languages.[12]
Geographical distribution of the Xhosa in South Africa: density of Xhosa home-language speakers.
< 1 /km²
1–3 /km²
3–10 /km²
10–30 /km²
30–100 /km²
100–300 /km²
300–1000 /km²
1000–3000 /km²
> 3000 /km²
Trilingual government building sign inAfrikaans,English and XhosaSign outside the AmaZink township theatre restaurant inKayamandi welcoming visitors in Xhosa
Xhosa is the most widely distributed African language in South Africa, though the most commonly spoken South African language is Zulu.[12] Xhosa is the second most common Bantu home language in South Africa. As of 2003[update] approximately 5.3 million Xhosa-speakers, the majority, live in theEastern Cape, followed by theWestern Cape (approximately 1 million),Gauteng (671,045), theFree State (246,192),KwaZulu-Natal (219,826), North West (214,461),Mpumalanga (46,553), theNorthern Cape (51,228), andLimpopo (14,225).[13] There is a small but significantXhosa community of about 200,000 inZimbabwe.[14] Also, a small community of Xhosa speakers (18,000) live inQuthing District,Lesotho.[15]
The Xhosa language employs 26 letters from theLatin alphabet; some of the letters have different pronunciations from English. Phonemes not represented by one of the 26 letters are written as multiple letters. Tone, stress, and vowel length are parts of the language but are generally not indicated in writing.[16]
Xhosa is atonal language with two inherentphonemic tones: low and high. Tones are rarely marked in the written language, but they can be indicated⟨a⟩[à],⟨á⟩[á],⟨â⟩[áà],⟨ä⟩[àá]. Long vowels arephonemic but are usually not written except for⟨â⟩ and⟨ä⟩, which are each sequence of two vowels with different tones that are realized as long vowels with contour tones (⟨â⟩ high–low = falling,⟨ä⟩ low–high = rising).
^The unwritten glottal stop is present in words likeuku(ʔ)ayinela "to iron",uku(ʔ)a(ʔ)aza "to stutter",uku(ʔ)amza "to stall".
^The onset cluster/kl/ from phonologized loanwords such asikliniki "the clinic" can be realized as a single consonant[kʟ̥ʼ].
^These two consonants,[dz] and[dz̤], are found in loans. Both are spelled⟨dz⟩, the same as the consonant[d̥zʱ].
^In informal writing, this murmured consonant can sometimes be seen spelled as⟨vh⟩ as inukuvha, but this is non-standard.
^These two consonants,[ʒ] and[ʒ̈], are found in borrowings. Both are spelled⟨zh⟩.
^This consonant,[ŋ̈], is found in loans. It is spelled⟨ngh⟩.
^abThese two consonants,[r] and[r̤], are found in borrowings. Both are spelled⟨r⟩.
^Sequences of/jw/ as inukushiywa "abandonment" are phonologically realized[ɥ], but this sound is non-phonemic.
In addition to the ejective affricate[tʃʼ], the spelling⟨tsh⟩ may also be used for either of the aspirated affricates[tsʰ] and[tʃʰ].
The breathy voiced glottal fricative[ɦ] is sometimes spelled⟨h⟩.
The ejectives tend to be ejective only in careful pronunciation or in salient positions and, even then, only for some speakers. Otherwise, they tend to betenuis (plain) stops. Similarly, the tenuis (plain) clicks are often glottalised, with a longvoice onset time, but that is uncommon.[inconsistent]
The murmured clicks, plosives and affricates are only partially voiced, with the following vowel murmured for some speakers. That is,da may be pronounced[dʱa̤] (or, equivalently,[d̥a̤]). They are better described asslack voiced than as breathy voiced. They are truly voiced only after nasals, but the oral occlusion is then very short in stops, and it usually does not occur at all in clicks. Therefore, the absolute duration of voicing is the same as in tenuis stops. (They may also be voiced between vowels in some speaking styles.) The more notable characteristic is theirdepressor effect on the tone of the syllable.[19]
When consonants areprenasalised, their pronunciation and spelling may change. The murmur no longer shifts to the following vowel. Fricatives become affricated and, if voiceless, they become ejectives as well:mf is pronounced[ɱp̪fʼ],ndl is pronounced[ndɮ],n+hl becomesntl[ntɬʼ],n+z becomesndz[ndz],n+q becomes [n͡ŋǃʼ]etc. The orthographicb inmb is the voiced plosive[mb]. Prenasalisation occurs in several contexts, including on roots with the class 9 prefix /iN-/, for example on an adjective which is feature-matching its noun:
/iN- + ɬɛ/→ intle"beautiful" (of a class 9 word likeinja "dog")
When aspirated clicks (⟨ch, xh, qh⟩) are prenasalised, the silent letter⟨k⟩ is added (⟨nkc, nkx, nkq⟩) to prevent confusion with the nasal clicks⟨nc, nx, nq⟩, and are actually distinct sounds. The prenasalized versions have a very short voicing at the onset which then releases in an ejective, like the prenasalized affricates, while the phonemically nasal clicks have a very long voicing through the consonant. When plain voiceless clicks (⟨c, x, q⟩) are prenasalized, they become slack voiced nasal (⟨ngc, ngx, ngq⟩).
Palatalisation is a change that affects labial consonants whenever they are immediately followed by/j/. While palatalisation occurred historically, it is still productive, as is shown by palatalization before the passive suffix /-w/ and before diminutive suffix /-ana/. This process can skip rightwards to non-local syllables (i.e. uku-sebenz-is-el + wa -> ukusetyenziselwa "be used for"), but does not affect morpheme-initial consonants (i.e. uku-bhal+wa -> ukubhalwa "to be written", instead of illicit *ukujalwa). The palatalization process only applies once, as evidenced by ukuphuphumisa+wa -> ukuphuphunyiswa "to be made to overflow", instead of the illicit alternative, *ukuphutshunyiswa.
List of consonant changes with palatalisation
Original consonant
Palatalised consonant
Examples
p
tʃ
uku- +kopa +-wa→ ukukotshwa [ukukot͡ʃʷa] (to be copied)
pʰ
tʃʰ
uku- +phuph +-wa → ukuphutshwa [ukupʰut͡ʃʰʷa] (to be dreamt)
b̥ʱ
d̥ʒʱ
uku- + gab + wa → ukugajwa [ukugad̥ʒʱʷa] (to be thrown up)
In keeping with many otherBantu languages, Xhosa is anagglutinative language, with an array ofprefixes andsuffixes that are attached toroot words. As in other Bantu languages, nouns in Xhosa are classified intomorphological classes, orgenders (15 in Xhosa), with different prefixes for both singular and plural. Various parts of speech that qualify anoun must agree with the noun according to its gender. Agreements usually reflect part of the original class with which the word agrees. Theword order issubject–verb–object, like in English.
Theverb is modified by affixes to mark subject, object, tense, aspect and mood. The various parts of the sentence must agree in both class and number.[12]
The Xhosa noun consists of two essential parts, the prefix and the stem. Using the prefixes, nouns can be grouped into noun classes, which are numbered consecutively, to ease comparison with other Bantu languages. Which they call 'amahlelo'
The following table gives an overview of Xhosa noun classes, arranged according to singular-plural pairs.
Class
Singular
Plural
Example
1/2
um-
aba-, abe-
umntu , abantu
1a/2a
u-
oo-
utitshala , ootitshala
3/4
um-
imi-
umthi , imithi
5/6
i-, ili-1
ama-, ame-
ilitye , amatye
7/8
is(i)-2
iz(i)-2
isitya , izitya
9/10
iN-3
iiN-3, iziN-4
inja , izinja
11/10
u-, ulu-1, ulw-, ul-
iiN-3, iziN-4
uluthi
14
ubu-, ub-, uty-
ubuthi
15
uku-
ukutya
1 Before monosyllabic stems, e.g.iliso (eye),uluhlu (list).
2is- andiz- replaceisi- andizi- respectively before stems beginning with a vowel, e.g.isandla/izandla (hand/hands).
3 The placeholderN in the prefixesiN- andiiN- is a nasal consonant which assimilates in place to the following consonant (producing anim- before vowels), but is typically absent in loanwords.
This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(August 2019)
English missionaryHenry Hare Dugmore helped translate the Bible into Xhosa in 1859Nelson Mandela was a Xhosa and was a member of the royal family of the Thembu tribe
Xhosa-speaking people have inhabited coastal regions of southeastern Africa since before the 16th century. They refer to themselves as theamaXhosa and their language asisiXhosa. Ancestors of the Xhosa migrated to the east coast of Africa and came acrossKhoisan-speaking people; "as a result of this contact, the Xhosa people borrowed some Khoisan words along with their pronunciation, for instance, the click sounds of the Khoisan languages".[20] The Bantu ancestor of Xhosa did not have clicks, which attests to a strong historical contact with aKhoisan language that did. An estimated 15% of Xhosa vocabulary is of Khoisan origin.[15]
John Bennie was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary and early Xhosa linguist. Bennie, along with John Ross (another missionary), set up a printing press in theTyhume Valley and the first printed works in Xhosa came out in 1823 from theLovedale Press in the Alice region of the Eastern Cape. But, as with any language, Xhosa had a rich history of oral traditions from which the society taught, informed, and entertained one another. The first Bible translation was in 1859, produced in part byHenry Hare Dugmore.[15]
At present, Xhosa is used as the main language of instruction in many primary schools and some secondary schools, but is largely replaced by English after the early primary grades, even in schools mainly serving Xhosa-speaking communities. The language is also studied as a subject in such schools.
The language of instruction atuniversities in South Africa is English (or Afrikaans, to a diminishing extent[21]), and Xhosa is taught as a subject, both for native and for non-native speakers.
Literary works, including prose and poetry, are available in Xhosa, as are newspapers and magazines. TheSouth African Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts in Xhosa on both radio (on Umhlobo Wenene FM) and television, and films, plays and music are also produced in the language. The best-known performer of Xhosa songs outside South Africa wasMiriam Makeba, whoseClick Song #1 (XhosaQongqothwane) and "Click Song #2" (Baxabene Ooxam) are known for their large number of click sounds.
In 1996[update], the literacy rate for first-language Xhosa speakers was estimated at 50%.[15]
God bless Africa Raise high her glory Hear our prayers God bless us, we her children[22]
Additional stanzas were written later by Sontonga and other writers, and the original verse was translated into Sotho[22] and Afrikaans, as well as English.
^abThese are variably tenuis pulmonic to ejective; the ejection tends to be weak even when present. With clicks, only the rear articulation is ejective.
^These are analogous to the slack-voice nasals⟨mh, nh⟩ etc. They are not prenasalized, as can be seen in words such as⟨umngqokolo⟩ (overtone singing) and⟨umngqusho⟩ in which they are preceded by a nasal.
^Incorrectly described as glottal clicks byNurse, Derek.The Bantu Languages. p. 616. The isiXhosa clicks are not glottalized nasal clicks like those of Nama; they are prenasalized and tenuis/ejective, as maintained by Xhosa linguists like Saul.
^Webb, Vic (2002).Language in South Africa: the role of language in national transformation, reconstruction and development. Impact: Studies in language and society. p. 78.ISBN978-9-02721-849-0.
^Aarons, Debra & Reynolds, Louise (2003). "South African Sign Language: Changing Policies and Practice". In Leila, Monaghan (ed.).Many Ways to be Deaf: International Variation in Deaf Communities. Washington, D.C.:Gallaudet University Press. pp. 194–210.ISBN978-1-56368-234-6.
^"Constitution of Zimbabwe (final draft)"(PDF).Kubatana.net. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2 October 2013.The following languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Venda, Tonga are the officially recognised languages of Zimbabwe.
^SeeSands, Bonny & Gunnink, Hilde (2019). "Clicks on the fringes of the Kalahari Basin Area". In Clem, Emily; Jenks, Peter & Sande, Hannah (eds.).Theory and Description in African Linguistics: Selected Papers from the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Berlin: Language Science Press. pp. 703–724.doi:10.5281/zenodo.3365789.ISBN978-3-96110-205-1.
^abcd"Xhosa".Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved22 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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