Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Ju, !Xun (Ekoka), Kung-Ekoka, !Kung, Ekoka-!Xû, Kung, !Ku, !Xu, !Hu, Qxü !Khung, !Xung, Ekoka
CLASSIFICATION		Kx'a
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		knw
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Southeastern !Xun Northwestern !Xun Central !Xun
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (5)

Information from: “The twelve modern Khoisan languages” . Matthias Brenzinger (2011)

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
14,000-18,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Namibia 9000 [speakers]; Botswana 2000; RSA 3700; Angola 1000 [...] for most areas the numbers of speakers of the !Xun dialect cluster are still preliminary guesses. The main problem with figures for !Xun speakers is the lack of demographic and linguistic surveys in Angola. Furthermore, most !Xun live scattered on farms, a setting which doesn’t allow for an easy collection of reliable data on language use patterns."

PLACES: Angola, Namibia, South Africa

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "!Xun from Angola now live west of Kimberley in Platfontein (with few still in Schmidtsdrift)... Many of the approximately 1,300 !Xun speakers (Kofi Ayisa, p.c.) living in the border area of northern Namibia are immigrants from Angola. Up to 400 of them live in resettlement schemes, i.e. Ekoka (185), Onamatadiva (132), Oshana-Shiwa (85), and Eendobe (62)."

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
4,000 (ǂKx'au||'ein variety only)
Native speakers worldwide

PLACES: Omaheke Region; Namibia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "[ǂKx'au||'ein variety spoken in] Epukiro/Gobabis and Omaheke Region."

Ethnic population
25000-30000
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Barnard (1992, p32) estimates the !Kung population to be approximately 25,000 to 30,000 people."

PLACES: Angola; Namibia; Botswana

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Southeastern Angola, northeastern Namibia and northwestern Botswana

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
6,900
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
1,760 in Namibia (2000). Population total all countries: 6,900.

PLACES: Namibia, Angola, South Africa

		2011	"Community-Based Digital Documentation of Ju\|'hoan (ktz) and =X'ao-\|\|'aen (aue): Audio, Video and Text Archives of Language and Culture Diversity" HRELP Abstract						http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=290	Megan Biesele	Megan Biesele. 2011. ""Community-Based Digital Documentation of Ju\|'hoan (ktz) and =X'ao-\|\|'aen (aue): Audio, Video and Text Archives of Language and Culture Diversity" HRELP Abstract." Online: http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=290.			4,000 (ǂKx'au\|\|'ein variety only)	1000-9999		Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Omaheke Region; Namibia	"[ǂKx'au\|\|'ein variety spoken in] Epukiro/Gobabis and Omaheke Region."
		1998	Few People, Many Tongues: The Languages of Namibia		222		Windhoek, Namibia: Gamsberg Macmillan			Jouni F. Maho	Maho, Jouni F. 1998. Few People, Many Tongues: The Languages of Namibia. Windhoek, Namibia: Gamsberg Macmillan. x+222pp. (Survey of the linguistic typology and the sociolinguistics of the Namibian languages. Revision (heavy) of Maho (1993).)	HHOLD	25000-30000			"Barnard (1992, p32) estimates the !Kung population to be approximately 25,000 to 30,000 people."		Angola; Namibia; Botswana	Southeastern Angola, northeastern Namibia and northwestern Botswana
		2011	The twelve modern Khoisan languages	Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Khoisan Languages and Linguistics						Matthias Brenzinger	Matthias Brenzinger. 2011. "The Twelve Modern Khoisan Languages." In Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Khoisan Languages and Linguistics,			14,000-18,000	10000-99999	"Namibia 9000 [speakers]; Botswana 2000; RSA 3700; Angola 1000 [...] for most areas the numbers of speakers of the !Xun dialect cluster are still preliminary guesses. The main problem with figures for !Xun speakers is the lack of demographic and linguistic surveys in Angola. Furthermore, most !Xun live scattered on farms, a setting which doesn’t allow for an easy collection of reliable data on language use patterns."	Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Angola, Namibia, South Africa	"!Xun from Angola now live west of Kimberley in Platfontein (with few still in Schmidtsdrift)... Many of the approximately 1,300 !Xun speakers (Kofi Ayisa, p.c.) living in the border area of northern Namibia are immigrants from Angola. Up to 400 of them live in resettlement schemes, i.e. Ekoka (185), Onamatadiva (132), Oshana-Shiwa (85), and Eendobe (62)."	-28.74358,23.983154; -17.560247, 18.050537; -19.621892, 20.253296; -21.749296, 19.896240
0199255911		2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer	Oxford University Press	New York			2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.									-19.6666666667,18.0
	16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International	Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		6,900	1000-9999	1,760 in Namibia (2000). Population total all countries: 6,900.	Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Namibia, Angola, South Africa

!Xun

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

14,000-18,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

4,000 (ǂKx'au||'ein variety only)

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6,900

Discussion

!Xun

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

14,000-18,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

4,000 (ǂKx'au||'ein variety only)

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6,900

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

Download language data

Sources of information

Compare Sources