Native to Tanzania Extinct late 20th century Glottolog kwad1248 | Region Mbulu District ISO 639-3 wka | |
Language family Afro-Asiatic?
Cushitic?
Rift?
East Rift
Kw'adza | ||
Kw'adza (Qwadza) is an extinct Afroasiatic language formerly spoken in Tanzania in the Mbulu District. The last speaker died sometime between 1976 and 1999. It 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 numerals itame 'one' and be'a ~ mbɛa 'two', for example, suggest a connection with Hadza.
Phonology
The phonology is not certain, but the following has been suggested (Ehret 1980):
/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.
Vowels are /a e i o u/.
References
Kw'adza language Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA