View source for Nǁng language

{{Short description|Endangered Tuu language of South Africa}}
{{redirect|Nu language|the language of the [[Nu people]] of southwest China and northern Myanmar|Nusu language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Nǁng
| altname          = ǂKhomani
| state            = [[South Africa]]
| region           = historically north of the [[Orange River]], between the Namibian border and the [[Vaal River|Vaal]], as well as near the [[Molopo River]] by the southernmost point of Botswana
| ethnicity        = 500 Nǁnǂe ([[ǂKhomani people|ǂKhomani]])<ref>[[Menan du Plessis]] (2019) ''The Khoisan Languages of Southern Africa''</ref>
| speakers         = 1
| date             = 2023
| ref              = <ref name=NU>{{cite news |url=https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-06-07-one-of-only-two-people-who-spoke-sas-ancient-nuu-language-has-died/ |title=One of only two people who spoke SA's ancient Nluu language has died |author=TimesLIVE |publisher=[[SowetanLIVE]], Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa |date=7 June 2021 |access-date=8 June 2021 }}</ref><ref name=Yahoo>{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/meet-last-speaker-near-extinct-153727332.html |title= Meet the last speaker of a near-extinct language |publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=11 May 2023 |access-date=1 June 2023}} </ref>
| familycolor      = Khoisan
| fam1             = [[Tuu languages|Tuu]]
| fam2             = ǃKwi
| fam3             = Ghaap-Khalahari
| dia1             = Western (Nǀuu)
| dia2             = Eastern (Langebergen, ǁʼAu)
| script           = [[Latin script]]
| iso3             = ngh
| glotto           = nuuu1241
| glottorefname    = <nowiki>N||ng-Danster !Ui</nowiki><!-- Actual name of referenced Glottolog page -->
| notice           = IPA
}}

'''Nǁng''' ({{IPA|ngh|ᵑǁŋ|}}) or '''Nǁŋǃke''' is a [[moribund language|almost extinct]] [[Tuu languages|Tuu]] language spoken in South Africa. It is commonly known by the ambiguous name of its {{citation needed span|date=July 2025|reason=There may be only one speaker of the Nǀuu dialect remaining, but this claim that there are no speakers of other dialects is unsourced.|only spoken dialect}} '''Nǀuu''' ({{lang|ngh|Nǀhuki}}); the [[ǀʼAuni language|ǀʼAuni]] name for the Nǀuu, '''ǂKhomani''', is used by the South African government. Nǁng had been thought extinct and was no longer spoken on a daily basis when rediscovered, as the two dozen elderly speakers lived in different villages and the younger generations had shifted to the [[Khoekhoe language]]. As of October 2025, only one speaker of the Nǀuu dialect remains, the rest of the population having shifted to [[Khoekhoe language|Khoekhoe]] and [[Afrikaans]].<ref name=NU/><ref name="iol_2025_10">{{Cite web |last=AFP |date=July 3, 1972 |title=Last fluent speaker on a quest to keep ancient San language alive |url=https://iol.co.za/lifestyle/2025-10-10-last-fluent-speaker-on-a-quest-to-keep-ancient-san-language-alive/ |access-date=2025-10-10 |website=IOL |language=en}}</ref>

==Classification and name==
Nǁng belongs to the [[Tuu languages|Tuu]] (Taa–ǃKwi) language family, with extinct [[ǂUngkue language|ǂUngkue]] being its closest relative and [[Taa language|Taa]] its closest living relative.

The two recent dialects are a western/northwestern one, to which the name Nǀuu (Nǀhuki) is sometimes restricted, and an eastern dialect from the area of [[Langeberg]], ǁʼAu. As of 2010, most remaining speakers spoke Nǀuu dialect, and this was the name Nǁng appeared under when it was rediscovered. However, two spoke the ǁʼAu dialect and rejected the label 'Nǀuu'.

The easiest of the various names for English speakers to pronounce is ''Nǀuu''. The letter that looks like a vertical bar (sometimes substituted with a slash) represents a [[dental click]] like the English interjection ''tsk! tsk! (tut! tut!)'' used to express pity or shame, but nasalized; "Nǀuu" is pronounced like ''noo'', with a ''tsk!'' in the middle of the {{IPA|[n]}}. The double-vertical-bar in "Nǁng" is a (single) [[lateral click]], 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'' {{IPA|/ᵑǀùú/}} is actually a verb, 'to speak a Bushman language', possibly from [[Khoekhoe language|Khoekhoe]]. ''Nǀhuki'' is a [[deverbal]], 'a Bushman language'.<ref name="Güldemann2017"/> The people call themselves ''Nǁŋ-ǂe'' {{IPA|/ᵑǁŋ̀ŋ̀ ǂé/}} 'Nǁng people', and Westphal believes this may be the term recorded by Bleek and variously rendered in the literature as ''ǁNg ǃʼe, ǁn-ǃke, ǁŋ.ǃke''.{{notetag|Distinguish ''Nǀhuǁéi'', which is a variety of [[Taa language|Taa]], and ''[[ǁŨǁʼe language|ǁŨǁʼe]],'' which is related to [[Seroa language|Seroa]].}}

The name ''Nǀusan'' is an ambiguous Khoekhoe exonym, and is used for several Tuu languages. Traill says that the [[ǀʼAuni language|ǀʼAuni]] call their language ''Nǀhuki,'' but others have recorded their name for their language as ''ǀʼAuo,'' and both Westphal and Köhler state that ''Nǀhuki (Nǀhuci, nǀɦuki)'' is a variety of Nǁng. It is possible the languages have gotten mixed up in the literature.<ref>Yvonne Treis, 1998, "Names of Khoisan Languages and their Variants"</ref>

==Doculects==

Güldemann (2017) lists the following pre-democracy [[:wikt:doculect|doculects]] as being Nǁng.<ref name="Güldemann2017">Tom Güldemann. 2017. Casting a Wider Net over Nǁng: The Older Archival Resources</ref> 

{|class=wikitable
|-
!Label!!Researcher!!Date!!Notes
|-
| ǁŋ  || D. Bleek || (notes) || = Langeberg. Bleek label SII.
|-
| ǂkhomani  || Doke || 1937 || = Nǀuu. Bleek label SIIa.
|-
| Nǀhuki || Westphal || (notes) || = Nǀuu.
|}

== History ==
{{Further|Una Rooi}}

Nǁng prospered through the 19th century, but encroaching non-ǃKwi languages and [[acculturation]] threatened it, like most other Khoisan languages. The language was mainly displaced by [[Afrikaans]] and [[Nama language|Nama]], especially after speakers started migrating to towns in the 1930s and found themselves surrounded by non-Nǁng-speaking people. In 1973 their language was declared extinct, and the remaining Nǁnǂe ("ǂKhomani") were evicted from the [[Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park|Kalahari Gemsbok National Park]].

In the 1990s, linguists located 101-year-old [[Elsie Vaalbooi]], who could still speak Nǁng. [[Anthony Traill (linguist)|Anthony Traill]] interviewed her in 1997. The [[South African San Institute]] soon became involved in the pursuit of information on the Nǁng language, and with the help of Vaalbooi they tracked down 25 other people scattered by the eviction who were able to speak or at least understand the language. [[Thabo Mbeki]] handed over 400&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of land to the Nǁnǂe in 1999, and 250&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of land within the park in 2002. Vaalbooi came up with the Nǁng motto of ''Sa ǁʼa ǃainsi uinsi'' "We move towards a better life" for her rehabilitated people. This was also adopted as the official motto for the [[Northern Cape Province]]. At the time there were twenty elderly speakers, eight of whom lived in the [[Western Cape]] province signed over to them. As of 2007, fewer than ten were still alive in South Africa, and a few more in Botswana; none live with another speaker, and their daily languages are [[Khoekhoe language|Khoekhoe]] and [[Tswana language|Tswana]], respectively. 
In 2013 there were three speakers in the [[Upington]] area and two in [[Olifantshoek]] (ǁʼAu), speaking the western and eastern dialects, respectively. The younger generations of ǂKhomani are proud Nama speakers and have little affinity to Nǁng.

Recent research on Nǁng led by [[Amanda Miller (linguist)|Amanda Miller]] of [[Cornell University]] has helped describe the physics of its [[click consonant|clicks]], leading to a [[Click consonants#The airstream|better understanding of click sounds]] in general.<ref name="nsf">{{cite web
 |title       = Classifying "Clicks": New language technology clears up 100-year-old mystery
 |url         = https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115186&org=NSF&from=news
 |publisher   = NSF
 |date        = 14 July 2009
 |access-date  = 2009-07-29
}}</ref>

Efforts to perpetuate the Nǁng language continued in 2017<ref>{{cite news |title=Trying to save South Africa's first language |date=30 August 2017 |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39935150}}</ref> and in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/05/22/the-struggle-to-save-a-south-african-language-with-45-click-sounds|title=The struggle to save a South African language with 45 click sounds|date=22 May 2021|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref> The first Nǁng children's book, !Qhoi n|a Tjhoi (Tortoise and Ostrich), was written by Katrina Esau, one of the two surviving speakers at the time, in May 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Qhoi Nla Tjhoi/Skilpad en Volstruis/Tortoise and Ostrich - Katrina Esau - Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5th5zgEACAAJ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=Google Books}}</ref> In June 2021, her brother Simon Sauls died, leaving 88-year-old Katrina Esau as the last speaker of the language.<ref name=NU/> Esau had opened a school with her granddaughter to teach the language to children, but it was vandalized during the COVID pandemic and abandoned.<ref name=Yahoo/> As of October 2025, aged 92, Esau still teaches the language.<Ref>{{cite news |url=https://nos.nl/video/2447214-oma-katrina-wil-als-laatste-spreker-de-oude-taal-niuu-redden |title=Oma Katrina wil als laatste spreker de oude taal NIuu redden |language=nl |publisher=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting]] |date=5 October 2022 |accessdate=5 October 2022 |first=Elles |last=van Gelder}}</ref><ref name="iol_2025_10" />

==Phonology==
Nǁng has one of the more complex sound inventories of the world's languages. Most [[lexical word]]s consist of a [[phonological foot]] with two [[Mora (linguistics)|moras]] ([[tone (linguistics)|tone]]-bearing units). The first mora must start with a consonant (CV). The second mora may be a single vowel (V), a nasal consonant ''m'' or ''n'' (N), or one of a drastically reduced number of consonants plus a vowel (cV). That is, lexical roots, not counting sometimes lexicalized CV prefixes and suffixes, are typically CVcV, CVV, CVN, though there are also a few which are CV, as well as longer words of two phonological feet: CVCV, where the second C is not one of the reduced set of consonants but cannot be a click,{{notetag|The most common consonants in this position are glottal stop, /c/, and /k/.}} CVCVN, CVVCV, CVNCV, CVVCVN, CVNCVN, CVcVCV, CVVCVcV. [[Grammatical word]]s tend to be CV or V.<ref>Mats Exter, 2008 [2012], ''Properties of the Anterior and Posterior Click Closures in Nǀuu'', dissertation, University of Cologne</ref>

There are occasional exceptions to these patterns in ideophonic words such as {{IPA|/ɟùɾùkúɟúí-sí/}} 'Namaqua sandgrouse' (CVcVCVCVV + suffix) and historically reduplicated words with clicks such as {{IPA|/ǁáḿǁàm̀/}} 'to talk'.

===Vowels===
Like most languages in southern Africa, Nǁng has five vowel qualities. These may occur [[strident vowel|strident]] and [[nasal vowel|nasalized]]. A word may have two adjacent vowels, which resemble a long vowel or diphthong.

The strident vowels are thought to have the phonation called [[harsh voice]]. They are strongly pharyngealized, and for some speakers involve low-frequency trilling that presumably involves the [[aryepiglottic fold]]. The four strident vowel qualities (there is no strident ''i'') are rather different from the non-strident vowels, as is common when a vowel is [[pharyngealized]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! ||High front||Mid front||Low central||Mid back||High back/central
|-
! Modal
| {{IPA|i [i̞]}} || {{IPA|e [e̞]}} || {{IPA|a [ä]}} || {{IPA|o [o̞]}} || {{IPA|u [u̽]}}
|-
! Nasal
| {{IPA|ĩ [ĩ̞]}} || {{IPA|ẽ [ẽ̞]}} || {{IPA|ã [ä̃]}} || {{IPA|õ [õ̞]}} || {{IPA|ũ [u̽̃]}}
|-
! Strident{{notetag|These are often written with a superscript {{angbr IPA|ʢ}}.}}
| || {{IPA|e𐞴 [ɛ̰̰]}} || {{IPA|a𐞴 [ɑ̟̰̰]}} || {{IPA|o𐞴 [ɔ̟̰̰]}} || {{IPA|u𐞴 [ɵ̰̰]}}
|-
! Nasal strident
| || (?) || {{IPA|ã𐞴 [ɑ̟̰̰̃]}} || {{IPA|õ𐞴 [ɔ̟̰̰̃]}} || {{IPA|ũ𐞴 [ɵ̰̰̃]}}
|}

Nǁng is the only Khoisan language known to have a strident front vowel, {{IPA|/e𐞴/}}, though this is rare, occurring in only two known words, zeqe {{IPA|/zḛ̰́é/}} 'to fly' and ǂʻheqbe {{IPA|/ᵑ̊ǂḛ̰̀βé/}} 'man's loincloth'. The lack of a nasalized equivalent is thought to be an [[accidental gap]] or simply unattested due to the small number of known words.

The tone-bearing segment may be a syllabic nasal, {{IPA|/ŋ̍/}}, rather than a vowel, as in the name Nǁng.

Only certain sequences of vowels may occur in a bimoraic foot, regardless of whether there is an intervening consonant. (That is, the permitted vowels are the same whether a word is CVcV or CVV.) If the first vowel is any variety (nasal, strident, etc.) of {{IPA|/i, e, ŋ̍/}}, then the second vowel must be identical. If the first vowel is {{IPA|/a/}}, then the second may be anything but {{IPA|/ŋ̍/}}. If the first vowel is {{IPA|/o/}} or {{IPA|/u/}}, then the second may be either {{IPA|/a/}} or a vowel of the same [[vowel height|height]]: that is, ''oa, oo, oe; ua, uu, ui''. The vowels must be both oral or both nasal; nasal vowels cannot follow a [[nasal stop]] (though they may follow [[nasal click]]s). Only the first vowel may be strident.

Front vowels can only follow the click types {{IPA|ǀ}} and {{IPA|ǂ}} (the [[back-vowel constraint]]), with a single known exception, {{IPA|[ᵑǁˀé]}} 'to go'. Front vowels and strident vowels may also not follow {{IPAblink|χ}}, whether an affricate release or a fricative, with the exception of three female kin terms where the second syllable is {{IPA|/χè/}}. As with the lack of strident front vowels, there are thus a small number of exceptions for these constraints with {{IPA|/e/}}, but none with {{IPA|/i/}}.

===Tones===
Nǁng moras may carry a high or low [[tone (linguistics)|tone]], /H/ or /L/. A typical lexical word consists of two moras, and so may have a high (HH), low (LL), rising (LH), or falling (HL) tone.

Monomoraic lexical roots, such as {{IPA|/cú/}} 'mouth', are high- rather than low-tone by a 5–1 margin. CVV and CVN roots are HH, HL, and LH with about equal frequency, with LL slightly less common. However, half of all CVcV roots are LH, making it markedly frequent, while only 5% are HL. In an additional CV foot the distribution of H and L is approximately equal; an additional CVN or CVcV foot may pattern like an initial foot, but they are too infrequent to be sure.

===Consonants===
The majority of Nǁng consonants are [[click consonant|clicks]]. It was once thought that Khoisan languages distinguish [[velar consonant|velar]] and [[uvular consonant|uvular]] clicks, but recent research into Nǁng, and reevaluation of the data on [[ǃXóõ language|ǃXóõ]], indicates that, for these languages at least, the distinction is one of pure clicks versus click–plosive [[contour (linguistics)|contour]]s.

{|class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
|+Initial [[Egressive sound|pulmonic]] consonants (C1)
!colspan=2|
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Laminal consonant|Laminal]]<br>[[Alveolar consonant|alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Pre-<br>palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!colspan=2| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| ({{IPAlink|n}})
| {{IPAlink|ɲ̟}}
|
|
|
|-
!rowspan=3| [[Stop consonant|Plosive]]
! <small>[[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|pʰ}}
|
| {{IPA|c̟ʰ}}
| {{IPAlink|kʰ}}
|
|
|-
! <small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|p}}
|
| {{IPAlink|c̟}}
| {{IPAlink|k}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
! <small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|b}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ɟ̟}}
| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|
|
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! <small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|pf}}
| {{IPAlink|ts}}
| {{IPA|c̟χ}}
|
|
|
|-
!rowspan=2| [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! <small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
|
|{{IPAlink|s}}
|
|
|{{IPAlink|χ}}
|{{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! <small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|
|{{IPAlink|z}}
|
|
|
|
|}
"(?)" marks possible accidental gaps;<ref name="hunters">Appel, Ariel (compiler). (2013). "We are Nǀuu hunters" "C-a ǀx'oa Nǀuu-ki".</ref> these consonants might be expected based on their occurrence in neighboring languages with similar phonologies, but are expected to be rare, and may occur in Nǁng words that have not been recorded.

What were historically initial alveolar occlusives have become pre-palatal in lexical words. Among grammatical words in the western dialect there is a single exception, ''ná'' 'I'; in the eastern dialect even that has merged, for ''ɲá'' 'I'.

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+Reduced medial consonants (C2)
! 
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}} || {{IPAlink|n}} 
|-
! [[Central consonant|Oral (central)]]
| {{IPAlink|β}} || {{IPAlink|ɾ}} 
|-
! [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
| || {{IPAlink|l}}
|}
Only [[sonorant]]s may occur as the medial consonant of a phonological foot. {{IPA|/l/}} is only known from three words. The oral sonorants do not occur in initial position.

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+ [[Ejective|Glottalic consonants]] (C1)
!
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Laminal consonant|Laminal]]<br>[[Alveolar consonant|alveolar]]
! [[Pre-palatal|Pre-<br>palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! [[Plosive]]
| {{IPAlink|pʼ}} ||  || {{IPAlink|cʼ}} || {{IPAlink|kʼ}}
|-
! [[Affricate]]
| || {{IPAlink|t͡sʼ}} || || {{IPA|k͡χʼ}}
|}

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+[[Lingual ingressive|Lingual consonants]] (C1)
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 |  !! rowspan=2 | [[Labialized|Labio-]]<br>[[Uvular consonant|uvular]]!! rowspan="2" | [[Dental consonant|Denti-]]<br>[[pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeal]] !! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveo-]] [[Uvular consonant|uvular]]!! rowspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palato-]]<br>[[Pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeal]]
|- class=small
! [[central consonant|central]] || [[lateral consonant|lateral]]
|-
! rowspan=3 | [[Nasal click|Nasal]] !! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|ᵑʘ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵑǀ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵑǃ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵑǁ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵑǂ}} 
|-
! <small>[[glottalized click|glottalized]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|ᵑʘˀ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵑǀˀ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵑǃˀ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵑǁˀ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵑǂˀ}} 
|-
! <small>[[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]</small>
| (?) || {{IPA|ᵑ̊ǀʰ}} || {{IPA|ᵑ̊ǃʰ}} || {{IPA|ᵑ̊ǁʰ}} || {{IPA|ᵑ̊ǂʰ}}
|-
! rowspan=3 | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]] !! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|ᶢʘ}} || {{IPAlink|ᶢǀ}} || {{IPAlink|ᶢǃ}} || {{IPAlink|ᶢǁ}} || {{IPAlink|ᶢǂ}}
|-
! <small>[[tenuis consonant|tenuis]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|ᵏʘ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵏǀ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵏǃ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵏǁ}} || {{IPAlink|ᵏǂ}}
|-
! <small>[[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]</small>
| (?) || {{IPA|ᵏǀʰ}} || {{IPA|ᵏǃʰ}} || {{IPA|ᵏǁʰ}} || {{IPA|ᵏǂʰ}}
|}

These are simple clicks. The traditional term "velaric" is something of a misnomer, for the rear articulation is further back than the velum, and indeed further back than Nǁng {{IPA|/q/}}. Miller et al. prefer the term "lingual" for this [[airstream mechanism]]; they also reject the existence of click "accompaniments", using the IPA symbols to represent both points of articulation rather than solely the anterior articulation. Besides being motivated phonetically, this has the benefit of better illustrating the parallels between clicks and pulmonic consonants.

In the above rubric, the first element of the name is the forward articulation, and the second is the rear articulation.

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+ [[Linguo-pulmonic]] consonants
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 |  !! rowspan=2 | Labio-<br>uvular !! rowspan=2 | Denti-<br>pharyngeal !! colspan=2 | Alveo-uvular !! rowspan=2 | Palato-<br>pharyngeal
|- class=small
! central || lateral
|-
! rowspan=3 | Plosive !! <small>tenuis</small>
| {{IPA|ʘ͡q}} || {{IPA|ǀ͡q}} || {{IPA|ǃ͡q}} || {{IPA|ǁ͡q}} || {{IPA|ǂ͡q}}
|-
! <small>aspirated</small>
| (?) || {{IPA|ǀ͡qʰ}} || {{IPA|ǃ͡qʰ}} || {{IPA|ǁ͡qʰ}} || {{IPA|ǂ͡qʰ}}
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| (?) || {{IPA|ǀ͡ɢ}} || (?) || (?) || (?)
|-
! colspan=2 | Affricate
| {{IPA|ʘ͡qχ}} || {{IPA|ǀ͡qχ}} || {{IPA|ǃ͡qχ}} || {{IPA|ǁ͡qχ}} || {{IPA|ǂ͡qχ}}
|}

These are [[contour (linguistics)|airstream contour consonants]], which start off with a lingual (velaric) airstream mechanism and finish with a pulmonic airstream (whereas affricates are manner contour consonants, starting as plosives and finishing as fricatives). Traditionally, these were considered to be uvular clicks, because the uvular or pharyngeal closure is audible, but in fact the rear closure of all Nǁng clicks is uvular or pharyngeal. (The distinction between uvular and pharyngeal is not represented here.) Effectively, in these clicks the release of the rear articulation is delayed, so that there is a double release burst, the forward (lingual) release followed by the rear (pulmonic) release.

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+ [[Linguo-glottalic]] consonants
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 |  !! rowspan=2 | Labio-<br>uvular !! rowspan=2 | Denti-<br>pharyngeal !! colspan=2 | Alveo-uvular !! rowspan=2 | Palato-<br>pharyngeal
|- class=small
! central || lateral
|-
! colspan=2 | Plosive
| {{IPA|ʘ͡qʼ}} || {{IPA|ǀ͡qʼ}} || {{IPA|ǃ͡qʼ}} || {{IPA|ǁ͡qʼ}} || {{IPA|ǂ͡qʼ}}
|-
! colspan=2 | Affricate
| (?) || {{IPA|ǀ͡χʼ}} || {{IPA|ǃ͡χʼ}} || {{IPA|ǁ͡χʼ}} || {{IPA|ǂ͡χʼ}}
|}

These differ from the previous consonants in that the second, rear release is an ejective.

==Notes==
{{notefoot}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite journal
|last1= Miller| first1= Amanda L.
|last2= Brugman | first2= Johanna
|last3= Sands | first3= Bony
|last4= Namaseb | first4= Levi
|last5= Exter | first5= Mats
|last6= Collins | first6= Chris
|title= The Sounds of Nǀuu: Place and Airstream Contrasts
|url= http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/amiller/Miller_WPCPL16.pdf
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165853/http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/amiller/Miller_WPCPL16.pdf
|archive-date=2016-03-03
|journal= Working Papers of the Cornell Phonetics Laboratory
|volume= 16
|year= 2007
|pages=101–160
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{incubator|ngh}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051024022546/http://san.org.za/sasi/home.htm South African San Institute]
*[http://www.forvo.com/languages/ngh/ Nǀuu Pronunciation Dictionary] at Forvo
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5RkfixyXqc Excerpt of ''The Linguists'']
*[https://nos.nl/video/2447214-oma-katrina-wil-als-laatste-spreker-de-oude-taal-niuu-redden Oma Katrina wil als laatste spreker de oude taal Nǀuu redden] at NOS
*[http://valpal.info/languages/nllng Nǁng Valency Patterns] (with examples)
*[[Elar archive|ELAR Archive]] deposit of [https://elar.soas.ac.uk/deposit/0423 Nǀuu language description] by Bonny Sands
*[https://doreco.huma-num.fr/languages/nngg1234 Nǁng DoReCo corpus] compiled by Tom Güldemann, Martina Ernszt, Sven Siegmund and Alena Witzlack-Makarevich. Audio recordings of narrative texts with transcriptions time-aligned at the phone level, translations, and time-aligned morphological annotations.
{{Khoisan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nu Language}}
[[Category:Tuu languages]]
[[Category:Languages of South Africa]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of Africa]]