Xhosa

[The Finnish Spaniard]

I really want to learn Xhosa! I've always wanted to learn a "click language" and Xhosa seems like a good choice. It sounds so beautiful to me. Does anyone on the forums speak Xhosa?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gytCi5a7AJg

[Nero]

I can't stand those click languages...

[The Finnish Spaniard]

I can't stand those click languages...

why not?

[Nero]

I can't stand those click languages...

why not?

They just sound so... Alien, so abnormal, you know...

And this comes from me, a klingon enthusiast

[The Finnish Spaniard]

Haha,
I would buy some book/CD on Xhosa but I'm not giving up on swahili

[ego]

I had studied some Zulu in the past, which along with Xhosa make two dialects of the same language. I really loved it and I may return some day. The clicks are the most intriguing part

[Osias]

I can't stand those click languages...

[bad joke]
Learn to use keyboard shortcuts, then!
[/bad joke]

[The Finnish Spaniard]

I can't stand those click languages...

[bad joke]
Learn to use keyboard shortcuts, then!
[/bad joke]

.........is it pathetic that I laughed at that?

[Osias]

No, only geek!

[Dminor]

I wonder how clicks are written in IPA.

[Psi-Lord]

I wonder how clicks are written in IPA.

They’re mentioned in the IPA article in the Wikipedia:

For example, prior to 1989, the IPA symbols for click consonants were [​ʘ​], [​ʇ​], [​ʗ​], and [​ʖ​], all of which are clearly derived from Latin and Greek letters, as well as punctuation marks. However, except for [ʘ], none of these symbols was reflective of contemporary practice among Khoisanists (the main users of symbols for click consonants). As a result, they were replaced by the less Latin-like but more widespread symbols [​ʘ​], [​ǀ​], [​ǃ​], [​ǂ​], and [​ǁ​] at the IPA Kiel Convention in 1989.

And then there’s a complicated (at least for me) page on clicks alone, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_consonant.

[''']

Which would you recomend?:

!Xóő a.k.a. Taa - A HEAVILY click dependant language with the highest number of phenems of any language (yes I know it's misspellt but I don't have Portuguese characters)

Zulu/Xhosa - Koisan languages, rather popular in SA and namibia with relatively ferw clicks (only abotu 5 in Xhosa)

Ju|'hoan - pretty self explanatory, language of "The gods must be crazy".

[ILuvEire]

I really like Xhosa. I think I might learn some.

Also, how did you pronounce Xhosa before you knew about the clicks and everything. I pronounced it /Zo:s@/. How weird?

[culúrien]

I really like Xhosa. I think I might learn some.

Also, how did you pronounce Xhosa before you knew about the clicks and everything. I pronounced it /Zo:s@/. How weird?

I pronounced it dZo:s@

[Sheidhaf]

I thought that Xhosa and Zulu were Bantu, not Khoisan.

I also pronounced it /Zo:s@/

[peterlin]

I thought that Xhosa and Zulu were Bantu, not Khoisan.

Of course they are Bantu (to be more precise Zone S; Nguni). Factual accuracy of ''' 's posts is often as good as his spelling.

My 'original' pronunciation was probably sth like [kxOsa] (in Polish the name used to be written as "Khosa", at least that was the spelling I encountered first).

BTW, I've been spending some time dabbling with Xhosa lately, though I'm not being very serious about it. I chose Xhosa over Zulu only because I found TY Zulu vastly inferior to the excellent TY Xhosa.

[ILuvEire]

I thought that Xhosa and Zulu were Bantu, not Khoisan.

Of course they are Bantu (to be more precise Zone S; Nguni). Factual accuracy of ''' 's posts is often as good as his spelling.

No need to be rude!

BTW, I've been spending some time dabbling with Xhosa lately, though I'm not being very serious about it. I chose Xhosa over Zulu only because I found TY Zulu vastly inferior to the excellent TY Xhosa.

I prefer Xhosa to Zulu, but Swahili to Xhosa.

[peterlin]

I thought that Xhosa and Zulu were Bantu, not Khoisan.

Of course they are Bantu (to be more precise Zone S; Nguni). Factual accuracy of ''' 's posts is often as good as his spelling.

No need to be rude!

I think it is useful to maintain a distinction between 'rudeness' and 'sarcasm'. My line was (intended to be) an example of the latter. And it's probably better not to have this meta-discussion here.

BTW, I've been spending some time dabbling with Xhosa lately, though I'm not being very serious about it. I chose Xhosa over Zulu only because I found TY Zulu vastly inferior to the excellent TY Xhosa.

I prefer Xhosa to Zulu, but Swahili to Xhosa.

You are talking about TY books, not the languages themselves, right? I agree in that TY Swahili is one of the best I've seen, but I prefer TY Xhosa (because of all the background info, the proverbs and sayings, the literary excerpts, the seemingy plausible dialougue settings and the way grammar info is fed - of course TY Swahili is not far behind in all those).

[ILuvEire]

BTW, I've been spending some time dabbling with Xhosa lately, though I'm not being very serious about it. I chose Xhosa over Zulu only because I found TY Zulu vastly inferior to the excellent TY Xhosa.

I prefer Xhosa to Zulu, but Swahili to Xhosa.

You are talking about TY books, not the languages themselves, right? I agree in that TY Swahili is one of the best I've seen, but I prefer TY Xhosa (because of all the background info, the proverbs and sayings, the literary excerpts, the seemingy plausible dialougue settings and the way grammar info is fed - of course TY Swahili is not far behind in all those).

I was talking about both the languages and the TY books. TY Swahili is awesome.

Oddly enough I've only encountered their "bad apples." TY Japanese was terrible. TY Finnish, even worse.

They redeemed themselves with Japanese in the recently printed second edition though. It's half way decent.