Taa
Taa (!Xóõ)
Tuu (formerly Southern Khoisan)
Taa (also written !Xóõ) holds the world record for the largest documented phoneme inventory of any living language — Anthony Traill's monumental 1985 phonology and 1994 dictionary describe roughly 159 phonemes, including pulmonic and ejective consonants and five fully developed click types: dental (ǀ), alveolar (ǃ), lateral (ǁ), palatal (ǂ) and the cross-linguistically rare bilabial click (ʘ). Each click can combine with multiple "accompaniments" (voicing, aspiration, nasalisation, glottalisation, uvularisation, ejection), multiplying the inventory into the hundreds depending on how contour clicks are analysed. Spoken by perhaps 2,500 people in scattered villages along the Botswana–Namibia border in the southwestern Kalahari, Taa is a member of the small Tuu family (formerly classified as Southern Khoisan, a grouping now widely abandoned).
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Taa (!Xóõ)
Water
ǃqhàa
/ǃqʰaː/
Fire
ǀʼàã
/ǀʼãː/
Sun
ǁʼân
/ǁʼã/
Moon
ǃqhàn
/ǃqʰã/
Star
ǃqʰái
/ǃqʰái/
Mother
qáe
/qae/
Father
a̰a
/a̰a/
I
ń
/ŋ̩/
You
a
/aː/
Name
ǀqʼûle
/ǀʛûle/
Eye
ǃʼûĩ
/ǃʼũĩ/
Hand
ǀkxʼàa
/ǀkxʼaː/
Heart
ǀqʼàn
/ǀqʼã/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
ʼʘnàje
/ʔʘnaje/
House
—
/—/
Dog
ǂqhài
/ǂqʰai/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
ʼâã
/ʔãː/
Drink
kxʼāhã
/kxʼaːhã/
One
ǂʼûã
/ǂʼũã/
Two
ǂnûm
/ǂûm/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- Traill (1985) Phonetic and Phonological Studies of !XÓÕ Bushman. Helmut Buske Verlag.
- Traill (1994) A !Xóõ Dictionary. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
- Glottolog: Taa (taaa1242)
- Ethnologue: nmn
Words compared
Compared with related Tuu (formerly Southern Khoisan) languages
| Meaning | Taa (!Xóõ) | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | Lardil | Proto-Austroasiatic | Nuxalk | Phrygian | Yangkaal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ǃqhàa /ǃqʰaː/ | — /—/ | kantha /kanθa/ | *ɗaːk /ɗaːk/ | qla /qla/ | — /—/ | ngogo /ŋoɡo/ |
| Fire | ǀʼàã /ǀʼãː/ | *mey /mey/ | jalul /dʒalul/ | *ʔuːs /ʔuːs/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ngida /ŋida/ |
| Sun | ǁʼân /ǁʼã/ | *nəy /nəy/ | thurara /θuɾaɾa/ | *tŋiːʔ /tŋiːʔ/ | snx /snx/ | — /—/ | wargu /waɾɡu/ |
| Moon | ǃqhàn /ǃqʰã/ | *s-la /s-la/ | kirdikir /kiɖikir/ | — /—/ | tlʼuk /tɬʼuk/ | masê /maˈseː/ | waldar /waldaɾ/ |
| Star | ǃqʰái /ǃqʰái/ | *s-kar /s-kar/ | kambin /kambin/ | — /—/ | snx /snəx/ | — /—/ | thurara /t̪uɾaɾa/ |
| Mother | qáe /qae/ | *ma /ma/ | ngama /ŋama/ | *maʔ /maʔ/ | — /—/ | mater /ˈmater/ | ngama /ŋama/ |
| Father | a̰a /a̰a/ | *pa /pa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | atas /aˈtas/ | kanda /kanda/ |
| I | ń /ŋ̩/ | *ŋa /ŋa/ | ngada /ŋada/ | *ʔaɲ /ʔaɲ/ | ʔinu /ʔinu/ | az /az/ | ngada /ŋada/ |
| You | a /aː/ | *naŋ /naŋ/ | nyingki /ɲiŋki/ | — /—/ | ʔanu /ʔanu/ | — /—/ | nyingka /ɲiŋka/ |
| Name | ǀqʼûle /ǀʛûle/ | *r-miŋ /r-miŋ/ | wangalk /waŋalk/ | — /—/ | sunix /sunixʷ/ | — /—/ | warra /wara/ |
| Eye | ǃʼûĩ /ǃʼũĩ/ | *s-mik /s-mik/ | mela /mela/ | *mat /mat/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | miibul /miːbul/ |
| Hand | ǀkxʼàa /ǀkxʼaː/ | *lak /lak/ | marra /maɾa/ | *tiːʔ /tiːʔ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | ǀqʼàn /ǀqʼã/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | ʼʘnàje /ʔʘnaje/ | *siŋ /siŋ/ | tungal /tuŋal/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | ǂqhài /ǂqʰai/ | *d-kʷəy /d-kʷəy/ | ngawu /ŋawu/ | *cɔː /cɔː/ | ƛ̓ikm /tɬʼikm/ | kan /kan/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | ʼâã /ʔãː/ | *dzya /dzya/ | jitha /dʒiθa/ | *ɟaː /ɟaː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | kxʼāhã /kxʼaːhã/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | qāχla /qaːχla/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | ǂʼûã /ǂʼũã/ | *tik /tik/ | kunngirr /kuŋŋir/ | *muːj /muːj/ | maw /maw/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Two | ǂnûm /ǂûm/ | *g-nis /g-nis/ | kiyarrng /kijaraŋ/ | *ɓaːr /ɓaːr/ | lhnús /ɬnus/ | — /—/ | kiyarrngka /kijaraŋka/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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