!Ora
Korana
Khoe-Kwadi (Khoekhoe)
Korana (!Ora) is a critically endangered Khoekhoe language of the Northern Cape, once spoken by cattle-herding clans along the Orange and Vaal rivers. Like its sister Nama, it uses four click types and has gender-marked person-gender-number (PGN) clitics, but preserves archaic Khoekhoe vocabulary lost in modern Nama. Only a handful of elderly rememberers survive.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Korana
Water
ǁammi
/ǁamːi/
Fire
ǀaeb
/ǀʔaeb/
Sun
sores
/sores/
Moon
ǁkhab
/ǁkʰab/
Mother
taras
/taras/
Father
ǁnaob
/ǁnaob/
Eat
ǂʼũ
/ǂʼũ/
Drink
xʼā
/xʼaː/
Love
ǀnam
/ǀnam/
Heart
ǂaob
/ǂaob/
Tree
hais
/haìs/
House
oms
/oms/
Dog
arib
/arib/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
ǃumma
/ǃumːa/
Eye
mũb
/mũb/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
One
ǀui
/ǀui/
Good
ǃãĩ
/ǃãĩ/
Sources
- Maingard, Louis F. (1962) Korana Folktales: Grammar and Texts. Witwatersrand University Press.
- Du Plessis, Menán (2018) Korana: An Outline of the Phonology and Grammar of an All-but-forgotten Khoekhoe Language. UCT Press, Cape Town.
- Du Plessis, Menán (2019) New Data Concerning the Khoekhoe Language Once Spoken by the Korana. South African Journal of African Languages 39(2).
- Glottolog: Korana
Words compared
Compared with related Khoe-Kwadi (Khoekhoe) languages
| Meaning | Korana | Nama (Khoekhoe) | Taa (!Xóõ) | Avestan | Babuza (Favorlang) | Old Persian | Hajong |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ǁammi /ǁamːi/ | ǁgam-i /ǁɡami/ | ǃqhàa /ǃqʰaː/ | 𐬁𐬞 /aːp/ | zalum /zalum/ | 𐎠𐎱 /aːpi/ | pani /pa.ni/ |
| Fire | ǀaeb /ǀʔaeb/ | ǀae-s /ǀaes/ | ǀʼàã /ǀʼãː/ | 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /aːtar/ | apoi /apoi/ | 𐎠𐎫𐎼 /aːtar/ | ag /aɡ/ |
| Sun | sores /sores/ | sores /soɾes/ | ǁʼân /ǁʼã/ | 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 /huwarə/ | — /—/ | 𐏃𐎢𐎺𐎼 /huwar/ | bela /be.la/ |
| Moon | ǁkhab /ǁkʰab/ | ǁkhâb /ǁkʰãːb/ | ǃqhàn /ǃqʰã/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬵 /maːh/ | zilias /siliəs/ | 𐎶𐎠𐏃 /maːha/ | jon /dʒon/ |
| Mother | taras /taras/ | ǁgûs /ǁɡũːs/ | qáe /qae/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /maːtar/ | tina /tina/ | 𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎼 /maːtar/ | ma /ma/ |
| Father | ǁnaob /ǁnaob/ | ǁgûb /ǁɡũːb/ | a̰a /a̰a/ | 𐬞𐬌𐬙𐬀𐬭 /pitar/ | tama /tama/ | 𐎱𐎡𐎫𐎠 /pitaː/ | baba /baba/ |
| Eat | ǂʼũ /ǂʼũ/ | ǂû /ǂũː/ | ʼâã /ʔãː/ | 𐬑𐬬𐬀𐬭 /xwar/ | maan /maːn/ | 𐎧𐎼 /xar/ | kha /kʰa/ |
| Drink | xʼā /xʼaː/ | ā /aː/ | kxʼāhã /kxʼaːhã/ | 𐬞𐬁 /paː/ | minum /minum/ | 𐎱𐎠 /paː/ | pi /pi/ |
| Love | ǀnam /ǀnam/ | ǀnam /ǀnam/ | — /—/ | 𐬟𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 /frija/ | — /—/ | 𐎳𐎼𐎡𐎹 /frija/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | ǂaob /ǂaob/ | ǂgaob /ǂɡaob/ | ǀqʼàn /ǀqʼã/ | 𐬰𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬛 /zərəd/ | — /—/ | 𐏀𐎼𐎭 /zard/ | mon /mon/ |
| Tree | hais /haìs/ | hai-s /hais/ | ʼʘnàje /ʔʘnaje/ | 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬯𐬀 /waesa/ | kayu /kaju/ | — /—/ | gas /ɡas/ |
| House | oms /oms/ | oms /oms/ | — /—/ | 𐬥𐬨𐬁𐬥𐬀 /nmaːna/ | ruma /ruma/ | 𐎶𐎠𐎴𐎡𐎹 /maːnija/ | ghor /ɡʱoɾ/ |
| Dog | arib /arib/ | arib /arib/ | ǂqhài /ǂqʰai/ | 𐬯𐬞𐬁 /spaː/ | asu /asu/ | 𐎿𐎱𐎣 /spaka/ | kuthura /kutʰuɾa/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | ǀores /ǀoɾes/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | ǃumma /ǃumːa/ | ǃom-mi /ǃomːi/ | ǀkxʼàa /ǀkxʼaː/ | 𐬰𐬀𐬯𐬙𐬀 /zasta/ | rima /rima/ | 𐎭𐎿𐎫 /dasta/ | hat /hat/ |
| Eye | mũb /mũb/ | mûs /mũːs/ | ǃʼûĩ /ǃʼũĩ/ | 𐬗𐬀𐬱𐬨𐬀𐬥 /tʃaʃman/ | macha /matʃa/ | 𐏂𐏁𐎶𐎴 /tʃaʃman/ | চকু /sɔku/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | matisâ /matisãː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | aios /aios/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | ǀui /ǀui/ | ǀgui /ǀɡui/ | ǂʼûã /ǂʼũã/ | 𐬀𐬉𐬬𐬀 /aewa/ | nata /nata/ | 𐎠𐎡𐎺 /aiwa/ | ek /ek/ |
| Good | ǃãĩ /ǃãĩ/ | ǃgâib /ǃɡãĩb/ | — /—/ | 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 /vohu/ | — /—/ | 𐎴𐎡𐎲 /naiba/ | bhalo /bʱalo/ |
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