!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
31 core words in Korana
Water
ǁammi
/ǁamːi/
Fire
ǀaeb
/ǀʔaeb/
Sun
sores
/sores/
Moon
ǁkhab
/ǁkʰab/
Star
ǀgami
/ǀʔami/
Mother
ʔẽs
/ʔẽs/
Father
ǁnaob
/ǁnaob/
I
tita
/titá/
You
sats
/sats/
Name
ǀons
/ǀons/
Eye
mũb
/mũb/
Hand
ǃumma
/ǃumːa/
Heart
ǂaob
/ǂaob/
Love
ǀnam
/ǀnam/
Tree
hais
/haìs/
House
oms
/oms/
Dog
arib
/arib/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
ǂʼũ
/ǂʼũ/
Drink
xʼā
/xʼaː/
One
ǀui
/ǀui/
Two
ǀgam
/ǀʔam/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
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) | Luwian | Proto-Tungusic | Tuamotuan | Avestan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ǁammi /ǁamːi/ | ǁgam-i /ǁɡami/ | ǃqhàa /ǃqʰaː/ | wār /waːr/ | *mū /mū/ | vai /wai/ | 𐬁𐬞 /aːp/ |
| Fire | ǀaeb /ǀʔaeb/ | ǀae-s /ǀaes/ | ǀʼàã /ǀʼãː/ | — /—/ | *tawa /tawa/ | afi /afi/ | 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /aːtar/ |
| Sun | sores /sores/ | sores /soɾes/ | ǁʼân /ǁʼã/ | 𔖖𔓚 /ˈtiwad/ | *sigūn /sigūn/ | ra /ra/ | 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 /huwarə/ |
| Moon | ǁkhab /ǁkʰab/ | ǁkhâb /ǁkʰãːb/ | ǃqhàn /ǃqʰã/ | 𔓜𔒄𔗦 /ˈarmas/ | *bēga /bēga/ | marama /marama/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬵 /maːh/ |
| Star | ǀgami /ǀʔami/ | ǀgamiros /ǀɡamiros/ | ǃqʰái /ǃqʰái/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | fetū /feˈtuː/ | 𐬯𐬙𐬀𐬭 /star/ |
| Mother | ʔẽs /ʔẽs/ | ǁgûs /ǁɡũːs/ | qáe /qae/ | anni- /ˈanni/ | *eńi /eńi/ | metua vahine /metua vahine/ | 𐬨𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 /maːtar/ |
| Father | ǁnaob /ǁnaob/ | ǁgûb /ǁɡũːb/ | a̰a /a̰a/ | 𔐞𔑣𔓯𔗔 /ˈtadis/ | *ama /ama/ | metua tane /metua tane/ | 𐬞𐬌𐬙𐬀𐬭 /pitar/ |
| I | tita /titá/ | tita /titá/ | ń /ŋ̩/ | 𔐀 /ˈamu/ | *bi /bi/ | au /au/ | 𐬀𐬰𐬆𐬨 /azəm/ |
| You | sats /sats/ | sats /sats/ | a /aː/ | tu /tu/ | *si /si/ | koe /koe/ | 𐬙𐬏𐬨 /tuːm/ |
| Name | ǀons /ǀons/ | ǀons /ǀòns/ | ǀqʼûle /ǀʛûle/ | 𔐓𔓇𔒄𔖪 /ˈalamantsa/ | *gerbū /gerbū/ | ingoa /iˈŋoa/ | 𐬥𐬁𐬨𐬀𐬥 /naːman/ |
| Eye | mũb /mũb/ | mûs /mũːs/ | ǃʼûĩ /ǃʼũĩ/ | tawi- /ˈtawi/ | *ńāsa /ńāsa/ | mata /mata/ | 𐬗𐬀𐬱𐬨𐬀𐬥 /tʃaʃman/ |
| Hand | ǃumma /ǃumːa/ | ǃom-mi /ǃomːi/ | ǀkxʼàa /ǀkxʼaː/ | 𔑁𔓯𔑶𔖸 /ˈistri/ | *ŋāla /ŋāla/ | rima /rima/ | 𐬰𐬀𐬯𐬙𐬀 /zasta/ |
| Heart | ǂaob /ǂaob/ | ǂgaob /ǂɡaob/ | ǀqʼàn /ǀqʼã/ | — /—/ | *mēwan /mēwan/ | — /—/ | 𐬰𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬛 /zərəd/ |
| Love | ǀnam /ǀnam/ | ǀnam /ǀnam/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | aroha /ʔaroha/ | 𐬟𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 /frija/ |
| Tree | hais /haìs/ | hai-s /hais/ | ʼʘnàje /ʔʘnaje/ | — /—/ | *mō /mō/ | rait /rait/ | 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬯𐬀 /waesa/ |
| House | oms /oms/ | oms /oms/ | — /—/ | 𔔙𔐤𔖪 /ˈparnantsa/ | — /—/ | fare /fare/ | 𐬥𐬨𐬁𐬥𐬀 /nmaːna/ |
| Dog | arib /arib/ | arib /arib/ | ǂqhài /ǂqʰai/ | zuwana- /tsuˈwana/ | *ŋinda /ŋinda/ | kuri /kuri/ | 𐬯𐬞𐬁 /spaː/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | ǀores /ǀoɾes/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | ǂʼũ /ǂʼũ/ | ǂû /ǂũː/ | ʼâã /ʔãː/ | ad- /ad/ | *ǰep- /ǰep-/ | kai /kai/ | 𐬑𐬬𐬀𐬭 /xwar/ |
| Drink | xʼā /xʼaː/ | ā /aː/ | kxʼāhã /kxʼaːhã/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | inu /inu/ | 𐬞𐬁 /paː/ |
| One | ǀui /ǀui/ | ǀgui /ǀɡui/ | ǂʼûã /ǂʼũã/ | — /—/ | *emun /emun/ | tahi /tahi/ | 𐬀𐬉𐬬𐬀 /aewa/ |
| Two | ǀgam /ǀʔam/ | ǀam /ǀàm/ | ǂnûm /ǂûm/ | — /—/ | *ǰör /ǰör/ | rua /rua/ | 𐬛𐬬𐬀 /dva/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | matisâ /matisãː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | aios /aios/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | ǃãĩ /ǃãĩ/ | ǃgâib /ǃɡãĩb/ | — /—/ | wasu- /ˈwaːsu/ | — /—/ | maiata /maiata/ | 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 /vohu/ |
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