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Glite Dictionary
🧑🏾‍🦱 Indigenous Africans 🗣️ African language family
Khoisan

Khoisan

1 9.9
Languages native to southern Africa that use click sounds
  • noun
  • /ˈkoʊɪsɑn/
: khoisan
  • The Khoisan languages are known for their extensive use of click consonants, setting them apart from other language families.

This could be entirely A coincidence that the largest sound inventory of any language is the Khoisan of Botswana and Namibia.

Examples

  • If the language belonged to a family that existed in East Africa prior to the arrival of the Bantu there, such as Khoisan or Cushitic, a hypothesis of pre-Indonesian arrival could be supported.

    Academic text (1991)

  • This could be entirely A coincidence that the largest sound inventory of any language is the Khoisan of Botswana and Namibia.

    Lex Fridman

  • Many new learners find the Khoisan languages fascinating due to their unique click sounds.

  • Linguists often study Khoisan to understand the diversity of language in southern Africa.

Synonyms

Khoisan language
vsKhoisan
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A group of native languages from southern Africa that use click sounds

is the same concept but is the shorter name without the word language

Compounds

Khoisan language
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A group of native languages from southern Africa that use click sounds

Surface Forms

Khoisan singular
Khoisans plural

Morphology

Khoisan = Khoi + San (semi-transparent) = Khoi + San

The form is a straightforward compound of the ethnonyms 'Khoi' and 'San', but the meaning as a collective label will not be obvious to learners unfamiliar with those group names.

Etymology

Khoisan names a family of native languages from southern Africa and the word comes from joining the two group names Khoi and San. These languages are famous for their 'click' sounds, so the name is used for the language group known for those clicks.