Kwʼadza (Qwadza), or Ngomvia, is an extinct Afroasiatic language formerly spoken in Tanzania in the Mbulu District.
The last speaker died sometime between 1976 and 1999.
Kwʼadza | |
---|---|
Ngomvia | |
Native to | Tanzania |
Region | Mbulu |
Extinct | 1980s |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | wka |
Glottolog | kwad1248 |
ELP | Kw'adza |
Kwʼadza is poorly attested, and apart from perhaps being close to Aasax, its classification is not certain. Although it has a large number of identifiably Cushitic roots, the non-Cushitic numerals itame 'one' and beʼa ~ mbɛa 'two' suggest a connection with Hadza, while haka 'four' suggests a connection with Sandawe. It is possible that Kwʼadza borrowed e.g. 'four' from Sandawe, but also that it was a non-Cushitic language whose speakers were undergoing language shift to Cushitic when it was recorded.[citation needed]
The phonology is not certain, but the following has been suggested (Ehret 1980):
Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | labial | ||||||||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | kʷ | ʔ | |||
voiced | b | d | ɡ | ɡʷ | |||||
Affricate | dz | ||||||||
Ejective | tsʼ | tɬʼ | tʃʼ | kʼ | kʼʷ | ||||
Fricative | f | s | ɬ | x | xʷ | h | |||
Approximant | β̞ | l | j |
/ɡ/ and /l/ have the allophones [dʒ] and [ɽ] before front vowels. /tʃʼ/ is 'mildly' ejective. Ehret reports that /kʼ/ and /kʼʷ/ are voiced [ɡ, ɡʷ] if a preceding consonant is voiced.
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
Close | i | u |
Close-mid | e | o |
Open | a |
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