In this episode, we travel to the Kalahari and the Okavango Delta to explore Khwe (or Kxoe), a Khoe language spoken by approximately 8,000 people across Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zambia, and South Africa,. We examine the rich linguistic features of the language, including its complex inventory of up to 36 click consonants and its use of tone to distinguish meaning,.
Join us as we discuss:
• From Foraging to Settlements: The history of Khwe speakers, who trace their ancestry to hunter-gatherers in the Tsodilo Hills, and the modern pressures causing a language shift toward Bantu languages like Tswana,.
• Unique Vocabulary: How the Khwe worldview shapes their lexicon, including a single verb (ǁám̀) that encompasses "taste," "smell," and "touch," and the semantic broadening of the word for "healing ceremony" to now mean "to write",.
• The Orthography Struggle: The challenges of standardizing the language, from early academic texts written in German and French that were inaccessible to the community, to a revised orthography that still lacks official status in Namibia today,,.
• Forced Migration: The displacement of Khwe communities, including the relocation of former soldiers to Platfontein, South Africa, following the Namibian War.
