Fwe | |
---|---|
cìfwè | |
Region | Zambezi region, Namibia and Western Province, Zambia |
Native speakers | 10,200 (2006)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | fwe |
Glottolog | fwee1238 |
K.402 [2] |
Person | màfwè |
---|---|
People | cìfwè |
Fwe, or Chifwe, is a Bantu language spoken by 10,000 people along the Okavango River in the Zambezi region of Namibia and in the Western Province in Zambia. It is closely related to Kuhane, and is one of several Bantu languages of the Okavango which have click consonants.
Although under the pressure of Lozi and Kuhane (Subiya), Fwe speakers tend to have a positive attitude towards Fwe, and speaking Fwe is often considered an important part of one's identity,[3] and thus underscores the vitality of the language.[4]
Main phonological differences between Zambian and Namibian Fwe, as noted by both the speakers and seen in the data:[5]
Zambian Fwe | Namibian Fwe |
---|---|
loss of clicks | maintenance of clicks |
overgeneralization of /l/ | [l] only as conditioned allophone of /r/ |
epenthetic [h] frequently used | epenthetic [h] rarely used |
Morphological differences between Zambian and Namibian Fwe:
Zambian Fwe | Namibian Fwe | |
---|---|---|
past | na- | a- |
reflexive | kí- | rí- |
remote past | na- | ni- |
remote future | na- | (á)rá- |
inceptive | sha- | shi- |
connective | PP - o | PP - a |
persistive | shí- | shí-/-sí- |
negative imperative | ásha- | ásha-/-ása- |
negative infinitive | shá- | shá-/-sá- |
negative subjunctive | sha | sha-/-sa- |
near future | mbo-/mba- | mbo |
Fwe syllables consist, at most, of a consonant, a glide, and a vowel.
Bilabial | Dental/ Labiodental |
Alveolar | Postalveolar/ Palatal |
Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Click | plain | ᵏǀ ᶢǀ | |||||
prenasalized | ⁿ̥ǀ ⁿǀ | ||||||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
Stop | voiceless | p | t | k | |||
voiced | b | d | ɡ | ||||
prenasalized | ᵐp ᵐb | ⁿt ⁿd | ᵑk ᵑɡ | ||||
Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ʃ | h | ||
voiced | β | v | z | ʒ | |||
prenasalized | ᶬf ᶬv | ⁿs ⁿz | ⁿʃ | ||||
Affricate | plain | tʃ | |||||
prenasalized | ⁿtʃ ⁿdʒ | ||||||
Tap | ɾ | ||||||
Glide | j | w |
Fwe has five contrastive vowel phonemes: /ɪ ʊ ɛ ɔ a/. Vowels contrast in length, as seen in the minimal pairs below:[9]
ku-kúr-a
INF-grow-FV
to grow
ku-kúːr-a
INF-shift-FV
to shift, move house
Fwe has two underlying tones, high and low. At the surface level, these tones may be articulated as high, low, falling, or downstepped high tone.[10]