Prehistoric Bantu-Khoisan langauage contact
Item
Title
Prehistoric Bantu-Khoisan langauage contact
author
Pakendorf, Brigitte
Gunnink, Hilde
Sands, Bonny
Bostoen, Koen
Is Part Of
Language Dynamics and Change 7: 1–46
citation
Pakendorf, B., Gunnink, H., Sands, B. and Bostoen, K., 2017. Prehistoric Bantu-Khoisan language contact.
Ethical Disclaimer
Sourced from academia.edu
Identifier
LIT248
Description
Click consonants are one of the hallmarks of “Khoisan” languages of southern Africa. They are also found in some Bantu languages, where they are usually assumed to have been copied from Khoisan languages. We review the southern African Bantu languages with clicks and discuss in what way they may have obtained these unusual consonants. We draw on both linguistic data and genetic results to gain insights into the sociocultural processes that may have played a role in the prehistoric contact. Our results show that the copying of clicks accompanied large-scale inmarriage of Khoisan women into Bantu-speaking communities and took place in situations where the Khoisan communities may have had relatively high prestige. In the Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier region, these events must have occurred at an early stage of the Bantu immigration, possibly because small groups of food producers entering a new territory were dependent on the autochthonous communities for local knowledge.
Date Issued
2017
Subject
Clicks (Phonology)
Khoisan languages-Clicks
Type
Article
Language
English
topic
Language
