The Khoisan languages

The Khoisan languages are a group of African languages primarily spoken in southern and eastern Africa. They are known for their distinctive use of click consonants, a feature that sets them apart from other language families. The term “Khoisan” was originally used to group these languages together, but modern linguistics now recognizes that they belong to at least three separate language families, and some languages are isolates with no known relatives. These families are the Khoe, Kxʼa, and Tuu, while the Sandawe and Hadza languages of East Africa were once included but are now considered distinct from the Khoisan group.

Khoisan languages are mostly spoken by the Khoikhoi and San peoples of southern Africa, who have traditionally been hunter-gatherers. These languages are primarily found in the Kalahari Desert region, spanning Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa, as well as parts of East Africa, particularly in Tanzania. The Khoe family, which includes languages such as Khoekhoe (or Nama), is one of the largest, with Khoekhoe being the most widely spoken Khoisan language today, with roughly a quarter of a million speakers.

One of the most remarkable features of Khoisan languages is their system of click consonants, which are made by manipulating the tongue against different parts of the mouth. This allows for a diverse range of sounds, making Khoisan languages some of the most phonetically complex in the world. For example, Juǀʼhoan, a language spoken in Namibia and Botswana, contains 48 click consonants.

Sadly, most Khoisan languages are endangered, with many speakers shifting to other dominant languages, especially Bantu languages like Zulu and Xhosa. As a result, many Khoisan languages are now moribund, with only a few remaining speakers. Efforts to preserve and revitalize these languages are ongoing, but they face significant challenges due to their limited number of speakers and lack of written tradition.