IsiXhosa
/ˌisiˈkʰoːsa/noun
A Bantu language spoken primarily in South Africa and Zimbabwe by Xhosa communities.
Did you know?IsiXhosa uses click consonants represented by letters such as c, x, and q, probably reflecting historical contact with Khoisan-speaking communities.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu
Proto-Bantu
*ki-/*ci-
“Reconstructed noun-class prefix associated with languages, instruments, or related things”
Early Bantu languages
Bantu
*isi-
“A descendant form used in several southern and eastern Bantu language names”
Precolonial Southern Africa
Nguni
Xhosa
“The ethnonym of the Xhosa people; its deeper origin is uncertain and disputed”
18th–19th Century
isiXhosa
isiXhosa
“The Xhosa language, formed with isi- plus Xhosa”
19th Century
English
Xhosa
“An English borrowing referring to the people and their language”
Modern English
English
isiXhosa
“The standardized modern name of the language”
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