Region South Africa Language family Tuu
ǃKwi
ǁXegwi Glottolog xegw1238 | Ethnicity Tlou-tle ISO 639-3 xeg | |
Extinct 1988, with the death of Jopi Mabinda | ||
ǁXegwi, also known as Batwa, is an extinct ǃKwi language spoken at Lake Chrissie in South Africa, near the Swazi border. The last known speaker, Jopi Mabinda, was murdered in 1988. However, a reporter for the South African newspaper Mail & Guardian reports that ǁXegwi may still be spoken in the Chrissiesmeer district.
The ǁXegwi name for their language has been spelled giǁkwi:gwi or kiǁkwi:gwi. Their name for themselves has been transcribed tlou tle or kxlou-kxle, presumably [kouke]. The Nguni (Zulu and Swazi) called them (a)batwa, amaNkqeshe, amaNgqwigqwi; the Sotho called them Baroa/Barwa.
Phonology
ǁXegwi lost the abrupt clicks (the various manners of ǂ and ǃ) found in its relatives. It reacquired ǃ from Nguni Bantu languages, but clicks remained relatively infrequent, compared to other Tuu languages. It also had a series of uvular plosives not found in other Tuu languages.