Kwʼadza language

Kwʼadza
Ngomvia
Native toTanzania
RegionMbulu
Extinct1980s
Language codes
ISO 639-3wka
wka.html
Glottologkwad1248
ELPKw'adza

Kwʼadza (Qwadza), or Ngomvia, is an extinct Afroasiatic language formerly spoken in Tanzania in the Mbulu District. The last speaker died sometime between 1976 and 1999.

Classification

Kwʼadza is poorly attested, and apart from perhaps being close to Aasax, its classification is not certain. Although it has a large number of identifiably Cushitic roots, the non-Cushitic numerals itame 'one' and beʼa ~ mbɛa 'two' suggest a connection with Hadza, while haka 'four' suggests a connection with Sandawe. It is possible that Kwʼadza borrowed e.g. 'four' from Sandawe, but also that it was a non-Cushitic language whose speakers were undergoing language shift to Cushitic when it was recorded.[citation needed]

Phonology

The phonology is not certain, but the following has been suggested (Ehret 1980):

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar 		Palatal Velar Glottal
plain labial
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t k kʷ ʔ
voiced b d ɡ ɡʷ
Affricate dz
Ejective tsʼ tɬʼ tʃʼ kʼ kʼʷ
Fricative f s ɬ x xʷ h
Approximant β̞ l j

/ɡ/ and /l/ have the allophones [dʒ] and [ɽ] before front vowels. /tʃʼ/ is 'mildly' ejective. Ehret reports that /kʼ/ and /kʼʷ/ are voiced [ɡ, ɡʷ] if a preceding consonant is voiced.

Vowels

Front Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open a

Notes

  1. ^ a b Kwʼadza at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

References

  • Christopher Ehret, 1980. "Kwʼadza vocabulary". ms.

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