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367 LANGUAGE FILE
Language name !Xũ !Kung
Language name Zuñi �zu�nji
Autonym (if known and different)
Autonym (if known and different)
Language family Khoisan
Language family isolate
Spoken in Botswana, Angola, Namibia
Spoken in New Mexico (USA)
Approximate number of speakers 10k
Approximate number of speakers 3k
Writing system
Writing system
Phonetics/phonology
Phonetics/phonology
Stress
Stress word-initial
Contains following rare click; ejective; contrastive breathy voicing
consonant (types)
Contains following rare ejective
consonant (types)
Said to have how many vowels? 5 + length + nasalisation + pharygealisation (24 in all)
+ 22 diphthongs
Said to have how many vowels? 5 + length
Marked vowel types
Marked vowel types
Tone none
Tone
Rhythm no information
Rhythm no information
Vowel harmony none
Vowel harmony none
Morphology polysynthetic stem-based
Morphology isolating
Particular formation types prefix; suffix; incorporation; partial prefixed reduplication
Particular formation types suffix
Syntax
Syntax
Word order SVO NA postpositions
PossN
Word order SOV NA postpositions
PossN
Particular syntactic phenomena
Particular syntactic phenomena conjugation classes; dual; morphological aspect; nominative
/ accusative marking; noun classes; switch reference
Points of interest 48 contrastive click consonants and another
47 non-click consonants gives this language one of the
largest consonant inventories known
Points of interest
Sources Campbell (1991), Maddieson (1984), Mithun (1999),
Ruhlen (1976)
Sources Campbell (1991), Maddieson (1984)