Hadza language

E52662

The Hadza language is an isolate spoken by the Hadza people of northern Tanzania, notable for its extensive use of click consonants and lack of clear genetic affiliation to other language families.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf click language
language isolate
natural language
closelyAssociatedWith Hadza culture
Hadza hunter-gatherer lifestyle
continent Africa
country Tanzania
endangermentStatus severely endangered
hasAlternativeName Hadzane
Hadzapi
Hadzapi language
Hatsa
Kangeju
Kindiga
Tangale
surface form: Tindiga

Wahi
hasBasicWordOrder flexible word order
often SOV
hasDocumentationStatus described in several modern linguistic studies
hasEstimatedSpeakers a few hundred to around one thousand speakers
hasGlottocode hadz1240
hasGlottologName Hadza people
surface form: Hadza
hasISO6393Code hts
hasLinguisticFeature complex verbal morphology
extensive use of click consonants
noun class–like pronominal system
tone
hasNeighboringLanguages Iraqw
Isanzu
Swahili language
surface form: Swahili
hasNoClearGeneticAffiliationWith other established language families
hasPhonologicalFeature multiple series of click consonants
rich consonant inventory
vowel length contrast
hasSociolinguisticSituation increasing pressure from Swahili
younger speakers often bilingual in Swahili
hasWritingSystem no indigenous writing system
isNotPartOf Bantu languages
surface form: Bantu language family

Cushitic
surface form: Cushitic language family

Khoisan languages
surface form: Khoisan language family

Nilotic languages
surface form: Nilotic language family
isOralTraditionLanguage true
languageFamily language isolate
region Lake Eyasi region
spokenBy Hadza people
spokenIn Tanzania
northern Tanzania
subjectOf comparative studies of African click languages
research on language isolates
usedFor daily communication within Hadza communities

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Khoisan languages hasSubgroup Hadza language