Bantu-Khoisan contact in northern Namibia: the case of plant namesHilde GunninkCALL, 25 August 2014

Bantu-Khoisan contact in northern Namibia

Traces of contact between Bantu and Khoisan

• clicks in Bantu languages Kwangali, Manyo, Mbukushu, Fwe and Yeyi

• genetic evidence for intermarriage with Khoisan women for Fwe and Mbukushu

• plant names

Plant name vocabularyMbukushu

Bantu K.333

Zambia, Namibia, Botswana

340

Manyo (Gciriku)

Bantu K.332

Namibia 160

Kwangali

Bantu K.33

Namibia, Angola 50

Fwe Bantu K.402

Zambia, Namibia 170

Khwe Khoisan, West Kalahari Khoe

Namibia 310

Similarities between Bantu and Khoisan plant names

Influence from Bantu to Khwe: 43 itemsMbukushu to Khwe: 24Fwe to Khwe: 4Manyo to Khwe: 13Kwangali to Khwe: 2

Influence from Khwe to Bantu: 26 itemsKhwe to Mbukushu: 26Khwe to Fwe: 6Khwe to Manyo: 8Khwe to Kwangali: 2

Direction of influence• Bantu > Khoisan:

– noun class prefix in Khwe

• Mb. ka-tjama ‘watermelon’Kh. katcama ‘watermelon’

• Mb di-ŋofuUrochloa oligotrichaKh diŋofu Urochloa brachyura

– trisyllabic noun stems

• Ma nandundu ‘grass sp.’Kh nandundu ‘grass sp. (Tricholaena monachne)’

Direction of influenceKhoisan > Bantu• no noun class prefix in Khwe

– Mb. ru-bi ‘yellow heads (Gnidia kraussiana)’Kh. bii ‘yellow heads (Gnidia kraussiana)’

Ma. u-ge ‘marula tree’Mb. ghu-ge ‘marula tree’Kh. qae ‘marula tree’

• phonological adaptation of vowel sequences– Mb. nguhe ‘Sansevieria sp.’Kh. gui ‘Sansevieria longiflora’

– Mb. di-|ore ‘Grewia flavescens’Kh. |oɛrɛ ‘Grewia flavescens’

Bantu influence in Khwe• Bantu loanwords in Khwe: 14• Supposed Bantu loanwords in Khwe, but:– wrong prefix (7)– wrong plant and wrong prefix (4)– word with a different meaning (4)– no Bantu source at all (14)

Bantu influence in Khwe: loanwords

Bantu loanwords in KhweKh morombe ‘mimosa (Mimosa pigra)’Mb mu-rombe ‘mimosa (Mimosa pigra)’

Kh mahangu ‘pearl millet’Mb/Ma/Fwma-hangu ‘pearl millet’

Kh nandundu ‘blue seed grass’Mb nandundu ‘grass sp.’

Kh makunde ‘beans’Mb ma-kunde ‘beans’

Bantu influence in Khwe: supposed loanwords

Kh bororo ‘dwarf custard apple’

Mb di-roro ‘dwarf custard apple’Ma li-roro ‘wild fruit sp.’Fw ø-roro ‘dwarf custard apple’Proto-Bantu *dodo ‘tree: Anonaceae: Anona

spp.’

Bantu influence in Khwe: supposed loanwords

Kh. buu nu ‘castor-oil plant’

Mb. mono ‘castor-oil plant’Ma. ma-rumono ‘castor-oil plant’

mono ‘castor-oil seeds’ru-monomono ‘castor-oil plant’

Fw. ø-mbono ‘castor oil plant’Proto-Bantu *bono ‘castor-oil plant’

Bantu influence in Khwe: supposed loanwords

Loanwords with a different meaning

Kh kyanunuka‘pumpkin’Ma -kununuka‘to roam about in search of drink or food’

Kh cikurukadi Blumea decurrensMb ka-kurukadhi ‘praying mantis’Ma ka-kurukadhi ‘old woman; praying mantis’

Kh djama-djama Digitaria seriataMa -djama ‘beat, pound reed before weaving mats’

Bantu influence in Khwe: supposed loanwords

No Bantu source word

Kh. bangwara Blepharis caloneuraKh. mucingambo Mikania sagittiferaKh. djamburu Lannea zastrowianaKh. narikuku ‘kenaf’ Hibiscus cannabinusKh. dindoro Trachyandra sp.Kh. namirindongo Friesodielsia obovata

Khwe influence in Bantu: loanwords

Kh bii ‘yellow heads (Gnidia kraussiana)’Mb ru-bi ‘yellow heads (Gnidia kraussiana)’

Kh gui Sansieveria sp.Mb n-guhe Sansieveria longiflora

Kh |oɛrɛ ‘sandpaper raisin (Grewia flavescens)’Mb di-|ore ‘sandpaper raisin (Grewia flavescens)’

Kh ǂx’aro ‘buffalo thorn (Ziziphus mucronata)’Fw mu-caro ‘buffalo thorn (Ziziphus mucronata)’

Khwe influence in Bantu: calques

• Kh. po-doa Mb. mbwawajackal-grass jackal‘natal grass ‘natal grass (Melinis

repens)’(Melinis repens)’

• Kh. |xuni-yi Mb. ghu-ghandu-tjicrocodile-tree CL14-crocodile-treeAcacia arenaria Acacia nigrescens

Khwe influence in Bantu: calques

• Kh. xam-tcao-doa Fw. mi-cira yo-ba-ndavulion-tail-grass CL4-tail CON.CL4-CL2-

lionAristida meridionalis Aristida meridionalis

• Kh. khyani-cudjere Mb. nunde-nyambi god-peanut bean-god‘bean sp.’ ‘bean, lentil’

Khwe influence in Bantu: structural borrowing

Khwe: head-final NP’s

• qau -yileopard -tree‘fluted abutilon (Abutilon angulatum)’

• nǁami -|gapangolin-leaf‘melon (Cucumis kalahariensis)’

• ǁxˈeri -tcoscorpion-medicine‘woodrose (Merremia tridentata)’

Khwe influence in Bantu: structural borrowing

Bantu: head-initial NP’s• Kw: mu-tjima go-ngombe

CL3-heart CL3.CON-cattle‘African myrrh’

• Fw: mi-cira yo-ba-ndavu CL4-tail CON.CL4-CL2-lion Aristida meridionalis

Khwe influence in Bantu: structural borrowing

Head-final Bantu plant namesMb. mu-tjima-tji

CL3-heart-tree‘African myrrh (Euclea divinorum)’

Mb. ŋunde-tjibean-tree‘bean’

Fw. ngwe-bunaleopard-leaf‘plant sp.’

Ma. mu-kongo-tjiCL3-secretary.bird-tree‘poison-pod albizia (Albizia versicolor)’

Khwe influence in Bantu: structural borrowing

Structural borrowing as a result of contact?• structural borrowing as the result of calquing:Kh. |xuni-yi Mb. ghu-ghandu-tji

crocodile-tree CL14-crocodile-treeAcacia arenaria Acacia nigrescens

• nominal suffixes in Bantu are the result of contact with Khoe

Summary• Bantu influence on Khwe plant names:

– only loanwords– majority of loanwords are from Mbukushu (~55%)– many apparent loanwords are difficult to trace

• Khwe influence on Bantu plant names:– majority of influence on Mbukushu (~60%)– loanwords: phonological adaptation of diphthongs, not of clicks

– calques– structural borrowings

Conclusions• Contact was heaviest between Khwe and Mbukushu

• Khwe was possibly in contact with other Bantu languages as well (Yeyi? Kwamashi? Shanjo? Totela? etc…)

• Influence from Bantu on Khwe fairly superficial

• Influence from Khwe on Bantu more structural