View source for Tshwa language

{{Short description|Kalahari language spoken in Botswana and Zimbabwe}}
{{Redirect|Kua|other uses|KUA (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Tshwa language (Bantu)}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Tsoa
|altname=Kua, "Koisan"
|nativename=''Hiechware''
|states=[[Botswana]], [[Zimbabwe]]
|speakers={{sigfig|5,540|1}}
|date=2000–2013
|ref=e25
|familycolor=Khoisan
||fam1=[[Khoe–Kwadi languages|Khoe–Kwadi]]
|fam2=[[Khoe languages|Khoe]]
|fam3=Kalahari (Tshu–Khwe)
|fam4=East
|dia1=Hiechware
|dia2=Kua
|dia3=Cire Cire
|nation={{flag|Zimbabwe}} (as 'Koisan')
| lc1 = hio
|ld1=Tsoa
| lc2 = tyu
|ld2=Kua
|notice=IPA
|glotto=tshw1239
|glottorefname=Tshwa Khoe
}}

'''Tsoa''', '''Tshwa''' or '''Tshuwau''', also known as '''Kua''' and '''Hiechware''', is an [[East Kalahari Khoe]] dialect cluster spoken by several thousand people in [[Botswana]] and [[Zimbabwe]].  

One of the dialects is [[Tjwao dialect|Tjwao]] (formerly spelled 'Tshwao'), the only Khoisan language in Zimbabwe, where "Koisan" is a language officially recognised in the constitution.

==Dialects==
Tsoa–Kua is a [[dialect cluster]], which is still poorly studied but seems to include: 
*'''Tsoa''', also known as '''Hiechware''' and as various other combinations of Hio-, Hie-, Hai- + Chwa, Tshwa, Chuwau, Tshuwau + -re, -ri; also as Sarwa, Sesarwa (the Tswana name), Gǁabakʼe-Ntshori, Tati, and Kwe-Etshori Kwee.  Zimbabwean [[Tjwao dialect|Tjwao]] apparently belongs here.
*'''Kua''', also spelled Cua and Tyhua.  That is, both Tsoa and Kua may be pronounced something like {{IPA|[tʃwa]}}, and it's not clear that they are distinct dialects.
*'''Cire Cire''' {{IPA|[tʃire tʃire]}}, spoken in the area around [[Nata, Botswana|Nata]] in Botswana.

==Phonology==
The following inventory is of the Kua dialect:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Consonant phonemes of the Kua dialect, Mathes (2015)
! colspan="3" |
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]
!colspan=2|[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="6" |[[Click consonant|Click]]
! colspan="2" |<small>[[Nasal click|nasal]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|ᵑǀ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|ᵑǃ}}
|{{IPA link|ᵑǁ}}
|{{IPA link|ᵑǂ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |<small>voiceless</small>
|
|{{IPA link|ᵏǀ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|ᵏǃ}}
|{{IPA link|ᵏǁ}}
|{{IPA link|ᵏǂ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |<small>voiced</small>
|
|{{IPA link|ᶢǀ}}
|colspan=2|
|{{IPA link|ᶢǁ}}
|{{IPA link|ᶢǂ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |<small>aspirated</small>
|
|{{IPA link|ǀʰ}}
|colspan=2|
|{{IPA link|ǁʰ}}
|{{IPA link|ǂʰ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |<small>[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|ǀʼ}}
|colspan=2|
|{{IPA link|ǁʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |<small>[[Glottalized click|glottalized]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|ǀˀ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|ǃˀ}}
|{{IPA link|ǁˀ}}
|{{IPA link|ǂˀ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|n}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɲ}}
|{{IPA link|ŋ}}
|
|
|-
! rowspan="4" |[[Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
! colspan="2" |<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPA link|p}}
|
|{{IPA link|t}}
|{{IPA link|ts}}
|
|{{IPA link|c}}
|{{IPA link|k}}
|{{IPA link|q}}
|{{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
! colspan="2" |<small>aspirated</small>
|{{IPA link|pʰ}}
|
|{{IPA link|tʰ}}
|{{IPA link|tsʰ}}
|
|{{IPA link|cʰ}}
|{{IPA link|kʰ}}
|{{IPA link|qʰ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" |<small>ejective</small>
|
|
|{{IPA link|tʼ}}
|{{IPA link|tsʼ}}
|
|{{IPA link|cʼ}}
|{{IPA link|kʼ}}
|{{IPA link|qχʼ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" |<small>voiced</small>
|{{IPA link|b}}
|
|{{IPA link|d}}
|{{IPA link|dz}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɟ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|{{IPA link|ɢ}}
|
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Fricative]]
|
|
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|s}}
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|χ}}
|{{IPA link|h}}
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
|
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Approximant]]
|{{IPA link|w}}
|
|colspan=2|
|{{IPA link|l}}
|{{IPA link|j}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="100%" |Clusters
|-
! rowspan="5" |[[Click consonant|Click]]
! colspan="2" | {{small|+fricative}}
|
|{{IPA|ǀχ}}
|colspan=2|
|{{IPA|ǁχ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | {{small|+affricate}}
|
|{{IPA link|ǀqχʼ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|ǃqχʼ}}
|{{IPA link|ǁqχʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="3" | {{small|+uvular}}
! {{small|vl}}
|
|{{IPA|qǀ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA|qǃ}}
|{{IPA|qǁ}}
|{{IPA|qǂ}}
|
|
|
|-
! {{small|vd}}
|
|{{IPA|ɢǀ}}
|colspan=2|
|{{IPA|ɢǁ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! {{small|+asp}}
|
|{{IPA link|qǀʰ}}
|colspan=2|
|{{IPA link|qǁʰ}}
|{{IPA link|qǂʰ}}
|
|
|
|-
![[Plosive]]
! colspan="2" | {{small|+fricative}}
|
|
|colspan=2|{{IPA|tχ}}
|
|{{IPA|cχ}}
|
|
|
|-
![[Affricate]]
! colspan="2" | {{small|+fricative}}
|
|
|colspan=2|{{IPA|tsχ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
![[Ejective consonant|Ejective]]
! colspan="2" | {{small|+affricate}}
|
|
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|tsqχʼ}}
|
|{{IPA link|cqχʼ}}
|
|
|
|}
The Cire-cire (not cited) dialect has the following [[consonant]] inventory:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Consonant phonemes of the Cire-cire dialect (not cited)
|-
! colspan="2" |
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
! [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="6" | [[Click consonant|Click]]
! <small>[[Nasal click|nasal]]</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|ᵑǀ}}
| ({{IPA link|ᵑǃ}})
| {{IPA link|ᵑǁ}}
| ({{IPA link|ᵑǂ}})
| 
| 
| 
|-
! <small>voiceless</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|ᵏǀ}}
| ({{IPA link|ᵏǃ}})
| {{IPA link|ᵏǁ}}
| ({{IPA link|ᵏǂ}})
| 
| 
| 
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|ᶢǀ}}
| ({{IPA link|ᶢǃ}})
| {{IPA link|ᶢǁ}}
| ({{IPA link|ᶢǂ}})
| 
| 
| 
|-
! <small>aspirated</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|ǀʰ}}
| ({{IPA link|ǃʰ}})
| {{IPA link|ǁʰ}}
| ({{IPA link|ǂʰ}})
| 
| 
| 
|-
! <small>[[Glottalized click|glottalized]]</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|ᵑǀˀ}}
| 
| {{IPA link|ᵑǁˀ}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
! <small>[[Affricate click|affricate]]</small>
| 
| ({{IPA|ǀqχ}})
| 
| ({{IPA|ǁqχ}})
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| 
| {{IPA link|n}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]
! <small>voiceless</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| 
| {{IPA link|t}}
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|q}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| {{IPA link|b}}
| 
| {{IPA link|d}}
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| 
| 
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate]]
! <small>voiceless</small>
| 
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|tʃ}}
| 
| 
| 
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|dz}}
| 
| {{IPA link|dʒ}}
| 
| 
| 
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
! <small>voiceless</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|s}}
| 
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
| 
| {{IPA link|χ}}
| 
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|z}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|l}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

The clicks have a very uneven distribution: Only a dozen words begin with one of the palatal clicks ({{IPA link|ǂ}}), and these are replaced by dental clicks ({{IPA link|ǀ}}) among younger speakers. Only half a dozen words start with one of the alveolar clicks ({{IPA link|ǃ}}), and half a dozen more with one of the affricated clicks. These rather marginal sounds are placed in parentheses in the chart.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!
! [[Front vowel|front]]
! [[Back vowel|back]]
|-
! [[High vowel|high]]
| {{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|ĩ}}
| {{IPA link|u}} {{IPA link|ũ}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
| {{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Low vowel|low]]
| colspan="2"| {{IPA link|a}} {{IPA link|ã}}
|}

Tsoa has the five vowels {{IPA|/a e i o u/}}, and three nasal vowels {{IPA|/ĩ ã ũ/}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mathes |first=Timothy K. |title=Consonant-tone interaction in the Khoisan language Tsua |publisher=New York University |year=2015}}</ref> It is not clear if Tsoa has long vowels, or simply sequences of identical vowels {{IPA|/aa ee ii oo uu/}}.

There are two tones, high and low, plus a few cases of mid tone.

In the northern dialect of Kua, like all other East Kalahari Khoe languages, the palatal click series has become palatal stops.  Southern Kua has retained the palatal clicks, but the dental stops have palatalized, as they have in [[Gǀui language|Gǀui]] and [[ǂʼAmkoe language|ǂʼAmkoe]].  Thus northern Kua has {{IPA|/ɟua/}} 'ash' and {{IPA|/d̪u/}} 'eland', whereas southern Kua has {{IPA|ᶢǂua}} 'ash' and {{IPA|/d̪ʲu/}} (or perhaps {{IPA|/ɟu/}}) 'eland'.<ref>Gerlach, Linda (2015) "Phonetic and phonological description of the Nǃaqriaxe variety of ǂʼAmkoe and the impact of language contact". PhD dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Vossen, Rainer (ed.). 2013a. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8WcREsSfNMC The Khoesan Languages]. London & New York: Routledge.

==External links==
*[http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\ckh\kho&limit=-1 Kua/Tsua basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database]

{{Khoisan}}

{{Languages of Botswana}}
{{Languages of Zimbabwe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsoa Language}}
[[Category:Khoe languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Botswana]]
[[Category:Languages of Zimbabwe]]


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