Juǀʼhoan language
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check |unknown=Template:Main other |preview=Page using Template:Infobox language with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| acceptance | agency | aiatsis | aiatsis2 | aiatsis3 | aiatsis4 | aiatsis5 | aiatsis6 | aiatsisname | aiatsisname2 | aiatsisname3 | aiatsisname4 | aiatsisname5 | aiatsisname6 | altname | ancestor | ancestor2 | ancestor3 | ancestor4 | ancestor5 | ancestor6 | ancestor7 | ancestor8 | ancestor9 | ancestor10 | ancestor11 | ancestor12 | ancestor13 | ancestor14 | ancestor15 | boxsize | coordinates | coords | created | creator | date | dateprefix | development_body | dia1 | dia2 | dia3 | dia4 | dia5 | dia6 | dia7 | dia8 | dia9 | dia10 | dia11 | dia12 | dia13 | dia14 | dia15 | dia16 | dia17 | dia18 | dia19 | dia20 | dia21 | dia22 | dia23 | dia24 | dia25 | dia26 | dia27 | dia28 | dia29 | dia30 | dia31 | dia32 | dia33 | dia34 | dia35 | dia36 | dia37 | dia38 | dia39 | dia40 | dialect_label | dialects | ELP | ELP2 | ELP3 | ELP4 | ELP5 | ELP6 | ELPname | ELPname2 | ELPname3 | ELPname4 | ELPname5 | ELPname6 | era | ethnicity | extinct | fam1 | fam2 | fam3 | fam4 | fam5 | fam6 | fam7 | fam8 | fam9 | fam10 | fam11 | fam12 | fam13 | fam14 | fam15 | family | familycolor | fontcolor | glotto | glotto2 | glotto3 | glotto4 | glotto5 | glottoname | glottoname2 | glottoname3 | glottoname4 | glottoname5 | glottopedia | glottorefname | glottorefname2 | glottorefname3 | glottorefname4 | glottorefname5 | guthrie | ietf | image | imagealt | imagecaption | imagescale | iso1 | iso1comment | iso2 | iso2b | iso2comment | iso2t | iso3 | iso3comment | iso6 | isoexception | lc1 | lc2 | lc3 | lc4 | lc5 | lc6 | lc7 | lc8 | lc9 | lc10 | lc11 | lc12 | lc13 | lc14 | lc15 | lc16 | lc17 | lc18 | lc19 | lc20 | lc21 | lc22 | lc23 | lc24 | lc25 | lc26 | lc27 | lc28 | lc29 | lc30 | lc31 | lc32 | lc33 | lc34 | lc35 | lc36 | lc37 | lc38 | lc39 | lc40 | ld1 | ld2 | ld3 | ld4 | ld5 | ld6 | ld7 | ld8 | ld9 | ld10 | ld11 | ld12 | ld13 | ld14 | ld15 | ld16 | ld17 | ld18 | ld19 | ld20 | ld21 | ld22 | ld23 | ld24 | ld25 | ld26 | ld27 | ld28 | ld29 | ld30 | ld31 | ld32 | ld33 | ld34 | ld35 | ld36 | ld37 | ld38 | ld39 | ld40 | linglist | linglist2 | linglist3 | linglist4 | linglist5 | linglist6 | lingname | lingname2 | lingname3 | lingname4 | lingname5 | lingname6 | lingua | lingua2 | lingua3 | lingua4 | lingua5 | lingua6 | lingua7 | lingua8 | lingua9 | lingua10 | linguaname | linguaname2 | linguaname3 | linguaname4 | linguaname5 | linguaname6 | linguaname7 | linguaname8 | linguaname9 | linguaname10 | listclass | liststyle | map | map2 | mapalt | mapalt2 | mapcaption | mapcaption2 | mapscale | minority | module | name | nation | nativename | notice | notice2 | official | posteriori | pronunciation | protoname | pushpin_image | pushpin_label | pushpin_label_position | pushpin_map | pushpin_map_alt | pushpin_map_caption | pushpin_mapsize | qid | ref | refname | region | revived | revived-cat | revived-category | script | setting | sign | signers | speakers | speakers_label | speakers2 | stand1 | stand2 | stand3 | stand4 | stand5 | stand6 | standards | state | states }}<templatestyles src="Template:Infobox/styles-images.css" /> Ju|ʼhoan (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:IPA), also known as Southern or Southeastern ǃKung or ǃXun, is the southern variety of the ǃKung dialect continuum, spoken in northeastern Namibia and the Northwest District of Botswana by San Bushmen who largely identify themselves as Juǀʼhoansi. Several regional dialects are distinguished: Epukiro, Tsumǃkwe, Rundu, Omatako and ǂKxʼauǁʼein, with Tsumǃkwe being the best described and often taken as representative.
Name
The name Juǀʼhoan (in the plural: Juǀʼhoansi) is also rendered Žuǀʼhõa – or occasionally Zhuǀʼhõa or Dzuǀʼhõa, depending on orthography. Depending on the classification, it is considered the Southern or Southeastern variety of the ǃKung (also rendered ǃXun) language cluster. It may thus be referred to as Southern ǃKung, Southeastern ǃXun, etc. Juǀʼhoan is based on the word Template:Lang 'people', which is also applied to the language cluster. (see ǃKung languages for variants of those names).
Phonology
Vowels
- When a front vowel /e/ or /i/ follows a consonant with a back vowel constraint (e.g. clicks with uvular articulation), an [ə] is inserted before the front vowel, written 'a' in the orthography. For example, mi |'ae (myself) reads /mi |'əe/.
- The diphthong /oa/ may be realized as [wa].
Juǀʼhoan has five vowel qualities, which may be nasalized, glottalized, murmured, or combinations of these, and most of these possibilities occur both long and short. The qualities Template:IPA and Template:IPA may also be pharyngealized and strident (epiglottalized). Besides, it is a tonal language with four tones: very high, high, low and very low tones.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Thus, there are a good 30 vowel phonemes, perhaps more, depending on one's analysis. There are, in addition, many vowel sequences and diphthongs.
Consonants
Juǀʼhoan has an unusually large number of consonants, as typical for ǃKung. The following occur at the beginnings of roots. For brevity, only the alveolar clicks are listed with the other consonants; the complete set of clicks is found below.
Tenuis and modally voiced consonants (blue) may occur with any vowel quality. However, other consonants (grey, transcribed with a superscript diacritic to their right) do not occur in the same root as murmured, glottalized, or epiglottalized vowels.
The prevoiced aspirated and ejective consonants, both pulmonic and clicks, contain a voiceless interval, which Miller (2003) attributes to a larger glottal opening than is found in Hindustani breathy-voiced consonants. Phonetically, however, they are voice contours, starting out voiced but becoming voiceless for the aspiration or ejection.<ref>Template:SOWL</ref>
The phonemic status of Template:IPA and Template:IPA is uncertain. Template:IPA may be epenthetic before vowel-initial words; alternatively, it may be that no word may begin with a vowel. Template:IPA occurs only in a single morpheme, the plural diminutive enclitic Template:IPA. Template:IPA and Template:IPA (not shown) only occur in loan words, and some accounts posit a Template:IPA and Template:IPA. Labials (Template:IPA) are very rare initially, though Template:IPA is common between vowels. Velar stops (oral and nasal) are rare initially and very rare medially.
The uvulo-ejective consonants are analyzed as epiglottalized in Miller-Ockhuizen (2003). They have uvular frication and glottalization, and are similar to consonants in Nǀu described as uvular ejective by Miller et al. (2009).Template:Full citation needed Their epiglottal character may be a phonetic consequence of the raised larynx involved in making them ejective.
Only a small set of consonants occur between vowels within roots. These are:
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | ||
| Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | ||
| Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | |||
| Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link |
Medial Template:IPA (green) are very common; Template:IPA are rare, and the other medial consonants occur in only a very few roots, many of them loans. Template:IPA are generally analyzed as allophones of Template:IPA. However, Template:IPA especially may correspond to multiple root-initial consonants.
Juǀʼhoan has 48 click consonants. There are four click "types": dental, lateral, alveolar, and palatal, each of which found in twelve series or "accompaniments" (combinations of manner, phonation, and contour). These are perfectly normal consonants in Juǀʼhoan, and indeed are preferred over non-clicks in word-initial position.
As above, tenuis and modally voiced consonants (blue) may occur with any vowel quality. However, other consonants (grey, transcribed with a superscript diacritic to their right) do not occur in the same root as murmured, glottalized, or epiglottalized vowels.
Glottalized clicks occur almost exclusively before nasal vowels. This suggests they are nasalized, as in most if not all other languages with glottalized clicks. The nasalization would not be audible during the click itself due to the glottalization, which would prevent any nasal airflow, but the velum would be lowered, potentially nasalizing adjacent vowels.
The 'uvularized' clicks are actually linguo-pulmonic contours, Template:IPA, etc. The 'uvulo-ejective' clicks are heterorganic affricates, and equivalent to linguo-glottalic consonants transcribed Template:IPA link, etc., in other languages (Miller 2011).Template:Full citation needed
See Ekoka ǃXung for a related variety with a somewhat larger click inventory.
Orthographic history
Ju|ʼhoan is the only variety of ǃKung to be written. Three orthographies have been used over the past half century, two based on pipe letters for clicks and one using only the basic Latin alphabet.
In the 1960s, the South African Department of Education set about establishing official orthographies for the languages of Southwest Africa (Namibia). Jan Snyman was selected to develop an orthography for the then-unwritten Juǀʼhoasi, which was accepted in 1969. In this orthography, the name of the language is spelled Žuǀʼhõasi. A slightly modified form (Snyman 1975) is shown below.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In the 1980s, the Bible Society of South Africa requested a new orthography, one that used only letters of the Latin alphabet, avoided diacritics as much as possible, and conformed as much as possible to the conventions of Afrikaans. This second orthography was accepted in 1987, in which the language is spelled Zjuc'hôa.
A third orthography was developed by the Juǀwa Bushman Development Foundation in 1994. This is the orthography that is currently in use in Namibia; there does not seem to be any publication in Botswana.
The three orthographies, along with the IPA, are compared below. Tone is evidently unmarked.
| Labial plosives | Alveolar plosives | Velar plosives | Alveolar affricates | Postalveolar affricates | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | [b] | [p] | [b͡pʰ] | [pʰ] | [d] | [t] | [d͡tʰ] | [tʰ] | [ɡ] | [k] | [ɡ͡kʰ] | [kʰ] | [ts] | [d͡tsʰ] | [tsʰ] | [d͡tsʼ] | [tsʼ] | [tʃ] | [d͡tʃʰ] | [tʃʰ] | [d͡tʃʼ] | [tʃʼ] | [kxʼ] |
| 1994–present | b | p | bh | ph | d | t | dh | th | g | k | gh | kh | ts | dsh | tsh | ds | tz | tc | dch | tch | dc | tj | kx |
| 1975–1987 | dsʼ | tsʼ | tš | dšh | tšh | dšʼ | tšʼ | kxʼ | |||||||||||||||
| 1987–1994 | gh | ʼgh | tj | djh | tjh | djʼ | tjʼ | kg | |||||||||||||||
| Hetero-organic affricates | Fricates | Nasals | Syllabic Nasals |
Approximants | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | [d͡tᵡ] | [tᵡ] | [tᵡʼ] | [d͡tsᵡ] | [tsᵡ] | [d͡tʃᵡ] | [tʃᵡ] | [z] | [s] | [ʒ] | [ʃ] | [χ] | [h] | [ɽ] | [m] | [n] | [m̩] | [ŋ̍] | [m̰] | [m̤] | [j] | [w] |
| 1994–present | dx | tx | tk | dzx | tsx | djx | tcx | z | s | j | c | x | h | r | m | n | m | ang | mq | mh | y | w |
| 1975–1987 | txʼ | dx | tx | ž | š | m̭ | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1994 | dg | tg | tgʼ | - | tsg | djg | tjg | zj | sj | g | m̹ | |||||||||||
| Dental clicks | Alveolar clicks | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | [ᶢǀ] | [ᵏǀ] | [ᶢᵏǀʰ] | [ᵏǀʰ] | [ᵑǀˀ] | [ᵑ̊ǀʰ] | [ᵑǀ] | [ᵑǀʱ] | [ᶢᵏǀᵡ] | [ᵏǀᵡ] | [ᶢᵏǀᵡʼ] | [ᵏǀᵡʼ] | [ᶢǃ] | [ᵏǃ] | [ᶢᵏǃʰ] | [ᵏǃʰ] | [ᵑǃˀ] | [ᵑ̊ǃʰ] | [ᵑǃ] | [ᵑǃʱ] | [ᶢᵏǃᵡ] | [ᵏǃᵡ] | [ᶢᵏǃᵡʼ] | [ᵏǃᵡʼ] |
| 1994–present | gǀ | ǀ | gǀh | ǀh | ǀʼ | ǀʼh | nǀ | nǀh | gǀx | ǀx | gǀk | ǀk | gǃ | ǃ | gǃh | ǃh | ǃʼ | ǃʼh | nǃ | nǃh | gǃx | ǃx | gǃk | ǃk |
| 1975–1987 | nǀʼh | gǀxʼ | ǀxʼ | nǃʼh | gǃxʼ | ǃxʼ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1994 | gc | c | dch | ch | cʼ | cʼh | nc | nch | dcg | cg | dcgʼ | cgʼ | gq | q | dqh | qh | qʼ | qʼh | nq | nqh | dqg | qg | dqgʼ | qgʼ |
| Palatal clicks | Lateral clicks | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | [ᶢǂ] | [ᵏǂ] | [ᶢᵏǂʰ] | [ᵏǂʰ] | [ᵑǂˀ] | [ᵑ̊ǂʰ] | [ᵑǂ] | [ᵑǂʱ] | [ᶢᵏǂᵡ] | [ᵏǂᵡ] | [ᶢᵏǂᵡʼ] | [ᵏǂᵡʼ] | [ᶢǁ] | [ᵏǁ] | [ᶢᵏǁʰ] | [ᵏǁʰ] | [ᵑǁˀ] | [ᵑ̊ǁʰ] | [ᵑǁ] | [ᵑǁʱ] | [ᶢᵏǁᵡ] | [ᵏǁᵡ] | [ᶢᵏǁᵡʼ] | [ᵏǁᵡʼ] |
| 1994–present | gǂ | ǂ | gǂh | ǂh | ǂʼ | ǂʼh | nǂ | nǂh | gǂx | ǂx | gǂk | ǂk | gǁ | ǁ | gǁh | ǁh | ǁʼ | ǁʼh | nǁ | nǁh | gǁx | ǁx | gǁk | ǁk |
| 1975–1987 | nǂʼh | gǂxʼ | ǂxʼ | nǁʼh | gǁxʼ | ǁxʼ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1994 | gç | ç | dçh | çh | çʼ | çʼh | nç | nçh | dçg | çg | dçgʼ | çgʼ | gx | x | dxh | xh | xʼ | xʼh | nx | nxh | dxg | xg | dxgʼ | xgʼ |
| Plain vowels | Pressed vowels |
Nasal vowels | Pressed Nasal vowels | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | [i] | [e] | [a, ə] | [o] | [u] | [aˤ] | [oˤ] | [ĩ] | [ã] | [õ] | [ũ] | [ãˤ] | [õˤ] |
| 1994–present | i | e | a | o | u | aq | oq | in | an | on | un | aqn | oqn |
| 1975–1987 | a̭ | o̭ | ĩ | ã | õ | ũ | ã̭ | õ̭ | |||||
| 1987–1994 | a, e | a̦ | o̦ | î | â | ô | û | â̦ | ô̦ | ||||
The modern (1994) orthography also has ih, eh, ah, oh, uh for breathy (murmured) vowels, and ihn, ahn, ohn, uhn for breathy nasal vowels. However, Snyman maintains that these are positional variants of low-tone vowels, and not needed in an orthography (at least, not if tone were marked). Glottalized vowels are written with an apostrophe in all three orthographies.
Grammar
Juǀ'hoan is an isolating,<ref>Pratchett 2025, p.33.</ref> head-initial language that follows a fairly strict SVO word order.<ref>Pratchett 2021, p.279.</ref> There are some exceptions; for instance, interrogatives are formed using the particle ré, which is placed immediately after the subject, but it is also possible to place this emphasis on the object by moving it to the beginning of the sentence and following it with ré instead, as in:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.21.</ref>
- Tjù ré mí ho.
- Do I find the house?
Nouns and pronouns
Nouns are grouped into five noun classes based on animacy and species.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.31.</ref> Noun class in Juǀ’hoan is entirely covert on the noun and revealed only by agreement behavior between the noun and pronominal elements.<ref>Pratchett 2025, p.34.</ref> In other words, nouns do not inflect for class; the only difference between nouns of different classes is the different sets of third person pronouns associated with each class.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.31.</ref>
Noun class distinctions are wholly uninfluenced by literal, physical characteristics, and this covert pronominal class marking structure may have resulted from language contact.<ref>Pratchett 2021, pp.298-9.</ref> Juǀ’hoan has no articles nor any other distinction of definiteness or indefiniteness.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.21.</ref>
Number
Nouns inflect for plural number, which is formed by the suffixing of Template:Lang or Template:Lang or by no change, Template:Lang. Many nouns have irregular plurals, such as Template:Lang (person, plural Template:Lang), and the plural form of a noun is not predictable.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.27.</ref>
Each noun class has its own associated pronoun set, constituting the only morphological difference between noun classes.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.31.</ref> For example, the noun Template:Lang, "dog", belongs to Class 2, and may be referred to with the third person pronoun Template:Lang, whereas Template:Lang, "forest", belongs to Class 5, which has Template:Lang as its corresponding pronoun.<ref>Dickens 2005, pp.31-3.</ref>
The noun classes and their pronoun sets are as follows:
| Class | General | Possessed | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (dual); Template:Lang, Template:Lang (pl) | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (pl) | humans and kinship | Template:Lang "person" |
| 2 | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (pl) | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (pl) | animals and races | Template:Lang "dog" |
| 3 | Template:Lang (sg & pl) | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (pl) | plants and food | Template:Lang "meteor" |
| 4 | Template:Lang (sg & pl) | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (pl) | long objects | Template:Lang, "meteor" |
| 5 | Template:Lang (sg & pl) | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (pl) | body parts | Template:Lang "forest" |
Demonstrative pronouns are as follows:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.49.</ref>
| Class | Demonstrative |
|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (dual); Template:Lang, Template:Lang (pl) |
| 2 | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (pl) |
| 3 | Template:Lang (sg & pl) |
| 4 | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (pl) |
| 5 | Template:Lang (sg); Template:Lang (pl) |
Pronouns
Pronouns are inflected for number but not case or gender, and unlike nouns, they have three numbers, singular, dual and plural, as well as inclusive and exclusive forms.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.23.</ref>
The Juǀ’hoan personal pronouns are:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.24.</ref>
| Singular | Dual | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | exclusive | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang, Template:Lang |
| inclusive | Template:Lang | Template:Lang, Template:Lang | ||
| 2nd person | Template:Lang; Template:Lang (hort.) | Template:Lang | Template:Lang, Template:Lang | |
| 3rd person | Template:Lang (n1-3), Template:Lang (n4), Template:Lang (n5) | Template:Lang (n1) | Template:Lang (n1-2), Template:Lang (n1) | |
An indefinite pronoun, equivalent to English “one” can be expressed using jù (“person”) as in:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.23.</ref>
- Jù óá dcàá.
- One does not steal.
Noun derivation
Juǀ'hoan nouns are derived by the addition of various suffixes to a verb.<ref>Dickens 2005, pp.73-4.</ref>
| Suffix | Description | Verb | Noun Form | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -kxàò | Agentive | n!arih (drive) | n!arihkxàò | driver |
| -sí | Place/Manner | n!ún (stand) | n!únsí | position |
| -Ø | Same Form | gǀaoh (be strong) | gǀaoh | strength |
| -a | Non-Specific | jaqm (be thin) | jaqma | thinness |
Verbs
Juǀ'hoan verbs are attributive<ref>Dickens 2005, p.29.</ref> and unconjugated for tense; aspectual distinctions of time are indicated adverbially.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.28.</ref>
Verb phrases are negated by the particle ǀóá, which precedes the verb.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.22.</ref> Verbs can also be negated by the simple particle compound ǀóá kú.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.26.</ref>
- Mí ré ǀóá !hún n!haì.
- I do not kill the lion.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.22.</ref>
Reversing the components of this negation compound to ǀóá kú implies that the negated action has never or will never happen, as in:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.26.</ref>
- E ǀóá kú ’m !há.
- We never eat meat.
Most distinctions of tense are adverbial constructions using specific adverbs of time,<ref>Dickens 2005, p.25.</ref> such as:
- |ámà hè (today)
- goàqǂ’àn (yesterday)
- n!homà (tomorrow)
Less commonly, a simple past tense can be indicated by the particle koh, and the imperfective aspect by kú, both of which precede the verb:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.25-6.</ref>
- Ha koh ǃóá mí.
- She told me.
- Ha ká kú úá Tjùm!kúí.
- He is going to Tsumkwe now.
In combination, koh and kú equate to a habitual action, as in:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.26.</ref>
- Sìǃá koh kú ’m ǃhá nǀè’ésí.
- They used to eat meat only.
Imperative
With very few exceptions, the imperative form is identical to a standard present tense verb. Orthographically, this kind of imperative is indicated by a double exclamation mark.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.43.</ref>
- G!à’ámá!!
- Enter!
A more emphatic imperative is expressed by the addition of the second person pronoun, and negative imperatives are expressed by the verb nǀǀah (“leave”) or its imperfective form nǀǀah kú, which is often abbreviated to nǀǀaú.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.43.</ref>
- Nǀǀaú tzà!!
- Don’t sleep.
Using a first or third person pronoun before an imperative implies a sense of obligation.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.44.</ref>
- M!á ú!!
- We should go.
It is also possible to soften a command by using a special form of the second person pronoun, há, alongside the verbal particle m.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.44.</ref>
- Há m hoe!!
- Please come.
Irregular verbs
Some verbs have irregular forms when taking a plural subject or object. Transitive verbs take the irregular plural form when the object is plural, whereas intransitive verbs take the irregular plural when the subject is plural.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.87.</ref> Some irregulars are shown below:
| Sing. Subj. | Pl. Subj. | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| n!áng | g!hòó | sit |
| n!ún' | gǁá | stand |
| nǂhao | tàqm | fall |
| !ò’á | xáí | break |
Thus:
- Mí n|ángá dà’á tzí.
- I sat at the fire.
- M!á g!hòóá dà’á tzí.
- We sat at the fire.
Reflexive and reciprocal
The particles |’àè (“self”) and |’àèsì (“selves”) express reflexive action.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.89.</ref>
- Ekú séa é |’àèsì kò spírí.
- We are looking at ourselves in the mirror.
Reciprocity is expressed via the pronoun khòè (“each other”). The preceding verb must always take the transitive suffix -a.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.91.</ref>
- Sá áréá khòè.
- They love each other.
Oftentimes, reflexive or reciprocal constructions are used to indicate the equivalent of the English passive voice, which does not formally exist in Juǀ'hoan.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.91.</ref>
Transitivity
Intransitive verbs can be made transitive by the addition of the suffix -a, which takes a tone identical to the last tone of the verb itself.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.37.</ref> If this suffix is added to a verb which is already inherently transitive, the verb becomes a “double transitive,” allowing a second noun phrase to come after the first.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.38.</ref> The second phrase must follow the transitive particle kò and will have an aspectual significance, as in:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.3.</ref>
- Ha kú ǁohma !aìhn kò g|úí.
- He was chopping the tree in the forest.
Creissels (2018) labels these verbs as ditransitive because multiple verb phrases can be strung together by kò (a word he describes as an “interposition”) against the nominalizing suffix -a, regardless of function.<ref>Creissels 2018, p.2.</ref> Baker and Collins (2006) argue that this linking function of kò governs syntactic relationships between differing aspectual distinctions, a feature that Juǀ'hoan shares with other Khoisan languages.<ref>Baker and Collins 2006, p.309.</ref>
Locatives
Juǀ'hoan lacks prepositions; in place of them, the relative positions of objects are expressed using nouns that function as Locative indicators.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.69.</ref>
| Noun | Literal meaning | Locative meaning |
|---|---|---|
| n!áng | innards, inside | in |
| tzí | veld, outside | out, around |
| din | buttock, backside | under |
| ǀhó | face, flat surface | on |
| ǁ’ámí | center, middle | between |
| !ká | heart | in the midst of |
| !óm | side | beside |
These nouns are metaphorically “possessed” by the object that they modify, necessitating a possessive construction.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.69.</ref> Furthermore, if the possessor object is qualified by an adjective, the possessive particle ǁ’àn must be used, as in:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.69.</ref>
- Tjù n!a’àn ǁ’àn ká n!áng.
- [house big Template:Abbr innards]
- in the big house
In many other cases, this prepositional information is encoded directly into the verb, as in:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.70.</ref>
- nǃáú (go over)
- ǁ’àbà (step over)
- ǁxàrì (go through)
Verbs of this sort can be used to qualify the action of another verb in sequence, as in:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.71.</ref>
- Tzàmà n!òm n!áú tjù.
- [bird fly go-over house]
- The bird flew over the house.
These are known as serial verbs, wherein the second verb in the sequence qualifies the direction or location of the first verb.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.81.</ref> If the second verb in this two-verb sequence is transitive, then the noun phrase following it would be its object, but if the second verb is intransitive, then the following noun phrase would be its subject. Thus:<ref>Dickens 2005, p.81.</ref>
- Utò nǂàq’ú !àò jù.
- [car knock fall-over person]
- The car knocked the person over.
Adjectives
Since Juǀ'hoan verbs are attributive, there are relatively few true adjectives in the language. Adjectives follow the noun<ref>Dickens 2005, p.30.</ref> and most have singular and plural forms (ending in either -sì or -sín), although a few have only one or the other, and there are some adjectives with suppletive plural forms.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.29.</ref> The following is a comprehensive list of all adjectives in Juǀ'hoan, together with their plural forms.<ref>Dickens 2005, p.30.</ref>
| Adjective | Plural | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| dí | -sín | female |
| dóré | -sín | strange, different |
| gèsín | -sín | remaining, other |
| jàn | -sín | good, correct |
| zé | -sín | new |
| ǀ’hoàn | -sì | real, true |
| !’àn | -sì | old, worn |
Adjective Plural Definition g’oq nǁaqè male n!a’àn !àè adult nǀè’é one nǀúí certain waqnkè each n!ànì three tsàqn two tsánkútsán four waqnsì all, whole !xàrè some
Common words and phrases
- Template:Lang – Good day
- Template:Lang – Good morning
- Template:Lang – Good evening
- Template:Lang - Good afternoon
- Template:Lang – How are you?
- Template:Lang – Goodbye
- Template:Lang – person
- Template:Lang – people
- Template:Lang, Template:Lang – water
- Template:Lang – Bon voyage
Sample texts
Following are some sample texts in the Juǀʼhoan language.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Films
- 1980 – The Gods Must Be Crazy
- 1980 – Nǃai, the Story of a ǃKung Woman
- 2003 – The Journey of Man
Bibliography
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- Baker, M. C. and Collins, C. (2006) “Linkers and internal structure of vP.” Natural Language & Linguistic Theory. 24: 307-354.
- Creissels, D. (2018). Interpositions, a rare type of grammatical word. Syntax of the World’s Languages 8, Paris.
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- Pratchett, L. (2021). “An areal and typological appraisal of gender in Ju.” STUF – Language Typology and Universals. 74: 279-302.
- Pratchett, L. (2025). “Multilingualism and Juǀ’hoan language variation enGENDERed in a Namibian boarding school.” In: Ines Fiedler and Lee J. Pratchett (eds.), Areas, families, and pools aplenty: a Festschrift for Tom Güldemann, 31-46. Berlin: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. DOI: 10.18452/32635.
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- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book