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Shua /ˈʃuːə/, or Shwakhwe, is a Khoe language (Central Khoisan) of Botswana. It is spoken in central Botswana (in Nata and its surroundings), and in parts of the Chobe District in the extreme north of Botswana. There are approximately 6,000 speakers (Cook 2004) and approximately 2,000 out of those 6,000 speakers are native speakers.[2] The linguistic variety spoken in the township of Nata in northeast Botswana is highly endangered and spoken fluently only by adults over about thirty years of age.[3] The term Shwakhwe means people (khwe) from the salty area (shwa).

Shua
Native to	Botswana
Native speakers	2,000 (2013)[1]
Language family	Khoisan (Umbrella term) Khoe Kalahari (Tshu–Khwe) East Shua
Language codes
ISO 639-3	shg
Glottolog	shua1254
ELP	Shua

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Lateral	Post- alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Click	nasal		ᵑǀ	ᵑǃ	ᵑǁ
	voiceless		ᵏǀ	ᵏǃ	ᵏǁ	ᵏǂ
	voiced		ᶢǀ	ᶢǃ	ᶢǁ
	prenasal		ᵑǀᶢ		ᵑǁᶢ
	aspirated		ǀʰ	ǃʰ	ǁʰ
	uvular		ǀq		ǁq	ǂq
	ejective		ǀʼ	ǃʼ	ǁʼ	ǂʼ
Nasal		m		n		ɲ	ŋ
Plosive	voiceless	p		t			k	ʔ
	aspirated			tʰ			kʰ
	ejective			tʼ			kʼ
	voiced	b		d			ɡ
	prenasal						ᵑɡ
Affricate	voiceless			ts			(kxʼ)
	aspirated			tsʰ
	ejective			tsʼ
	voiced			dz
Fricative				s			x	h
Approximant						j
Cluster
+Velar fricative			ǀˣ	ǃˣ	ǁˣ
+Vd +Velar fricative					ᶢǁˣ
+Nasal +Velar fricative			ᵑǀᶢˣ		ᵑǁᶢˣ
+Velar ejective			ǀˣʼ		ǁˣʼ

• /kxʼ/ is only phonemic in the Ts'ixa and Danisi dialects only.

Vowels

Shua has the five vowels /a e i o u/, and three nasal vowels /ĩ ã ũ/.[4]

Syntax

Unlike most Khoisan languages, but like Nama, the most neutral word order is SOV, though word order is relatively free. As with most Khoisan languages, there are postpositions. There is a tense-aspect marker ke which often appears in second position in affirmative sentences in the present tense, giving X Aux S O V order (e.g. S Aux O V).

This marker appears first in certain subordinate clauses in a manner reminiscent of V2 languages such as German, where a clause-initial complementizer is in complementary distribution with a second position phenomenon (in German, it would be the finite verb which appears in second position).

The System of Shua Numerals

Shua has indigenous terms for numeral terms, it is a restrictive and limited system of numerals.

|uˉiˉ ‘one’

|am ‘two’

ngona: ~ ‖obeˉ:ˉ ‘three’

hatsa: ‘four’

|’oˉra: ‘a few’

‖hara: ‘many [5]

1) ta: ngona:-n   ʔau  xo:-ha

1st singular three- plural fish catch- past

‘I caught three fish.’[5]

Using this example, the numeral comes before the head noun. More specifically, it appears in the second "opening" of a noun phrase "following a demonstrative or determiner (if there is one), and preceding a qualifying nominal or adjective." [5]

Dialects

Shua is a dialect cluster.

• Deti (10 or fewer speakers)[6]
• Ganádi
• Shwa-khwe
• Nǀoo-khwe
• Kǀoree-khoe or ǀOree-khwe
• ǁʼAiye or ǀAaye
• ǀXaise or ǀTaise
• Tshidi-khwe or Tcaiti or Sili or Shete Tsere
• Danisi or Demisa or Madenasse or Madinnisane
• Cara
• ǁGoro or ǀXaio

The term Hietshware (Hietʃware, Hietʃo) is used for varieties of both Shua and its sister-language Tshwa.

Tsʼixa (200 speakers) is evidently a distinct language.

References

External links

• Shua basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database

На других языках

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- [en] Shua language

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[it] Lingua shua

La lingua shua o shwa è una lingua parlata nell'Africa sudoccidentale, appartenente alla famiglia delle lingue khoisan; è considerata parte del sottogruppo khoe-kwadi.[1] La lingua è conosciuta con diversi altri nomi (mashuakwe, shua-khwe, tshumakwe).[1]

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