A sketch of Hadza grammar

Abstract

Hadza is an endangered language spoken in north-central Tanzania. Once seen by some as a member of the so-called “Khoisan” phylum, it has been convincingly argued that Hadza is a language isolate, unrelated to any other language (Sands 1998). This paper describes Hadza in a compact and accessible manner, bringing together (and in many cases harmonising) existing scholarship (both published and unpublished), as well as enriching our understanding with original field data. Following a background on the language and a short review of existing literature, the segmental phonology and phonotactics of Hadza are presented. Hadza has 64 consonant phonemes including clicks and ejectives, and a set of 5 vowel qualities, each with a long and short variant. The suprasegmental system of Hadza is also discussed. Hadza possesses a two-level tone system: High and Low. Next, nominal and verbal morphosyntax are discussed. Hadza nouns exhibit two grammatical genders, which determine wider agreement patterns of both nominal and verbal morphology. The noun itself can be marked with a relatively extensive set of (primarily) suffixes, expressing concepts including diminutive, gender-number, associative, relative, locative, and possessive. Verbs also display a rich set of (primarily suffixal) morphemes, expressing concepts including pluractional, itive, ventive, causative, applicative, passive, reciprocal, durative, iterative, as well as a range of argument types. Lexical verbs often co-occur with an auxiliary in natural speech.