IsiXhosa is one of the twelve official languages spoken in South Africa. Rich in click consonants and tonal variations, isiXhosa is a Bantu language primarily spoken in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces. It is deeply rooted in the cultural identity of the Xhosa people and plays a vital role in education, media, and daily communication. For professionals working with young children, understanding isiXhosa speech and language development is essential, as the language’s unique phonological and grammatical structures influence how children acquire and use speech.
Approximately eight million people speak isiXhosa as a first language, making it the second most widely spoken home language in South Africa after isiZulu. It is also used as a second or third language by millions more, contributing to its prominence in South African society. While isiXhosa is primarily concentrated within South Africa, small communities of speakers can also be found abroad, including in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, where South African diaspora communities have settled. In these international contexts, isiXhosa is often preserved within families and cultural organizations, helping maintain linguistic heritage across generations.
In this essay we are going to talk about isiXhosa consonants, vowels, and language differences so that you have the information you need to work with any isiXhosa children on your caseload or in your classrooms.
Interesting Facts About isiXhosa Speech and Language Development
(Source: Buzz South Africa)
- Nelson Mandela’s Mother Tongue: The late Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first Black president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was a native isiXhosa speaker, which brought global attention to the language.
- Celebrated Literary Tradition: IsiXhosa boasts a vibrant literary history, with figures like S.E.K. Mqhayi, the “father of Xhosa poetry,” and contemporary authors such as Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang who contribute to its evolving canon.
- Educational Significance: IsiXhosa is taught in schools and universities across South Africa and increasingly studied in international linguistics and African language programs, offering a rich context for understanding multilingual education.
- Language of Ubuntu: The philosophy of ubuntu—”I am because we are”—is deeply embedded in isiXhosa culture and language, reflecting a communal worldview that is also mirrored in communication styles and social language use.
- One of the Click Languages: IsiXhosa is renowned for its use of click consonants, a feature shared with only a handful of languages worldwide. There are three primary click types—dental, lateral, and alveolar—each represented by unique symbols and sounds (e.g., c, x, and q).
- Tonal and Agglutinative: IsiXhosa is a tonal language, meaning pitch affects meaning—an important consideration in speech-language assessment. It is also agglutinative, forming words by stringing together morphemes, which impacts both expressive and receptive language development.
These facts not only highlight the linguistic complexity of isiXhosa but also underscore its cultural and clinical relevance for speech-language pathologists working in multilingual and multicultural contexts.
isiXhosa Speech and Language Development
isiXhosa Consonants in Comparison to English
| isiXhosa Consonants Not Shared with English | /!/ / ɓ/ /ǀ/ /ǁ/ /x/ /pʼ/ /tʼ/ /kʼ/ /tsʼ/ /tʃʼ/ /kxʼ/ |
| Consonants Shared With English | /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/ /f/ /v/ /s/ /z/ /ʃ/ /tʃ/ /dʒ/ /h/ /m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /j/ /l/ /r/ /w/ |
| English Consonants Not Shared with isiXhosa | /ð/ /θ/ |
isiXhosa Vowels in Comparison to English
| isiXhosaVowels Not Shared with English | |
| Vowels Shared With English | /a/ /i/ /o/ /u/ /ɛ/ /e/ /ɔ/ |
| English Vowels Not Shared with isiXhosa | /ɚ/ /ʌ/ /ʊ/ /I/ /æ/ /ə/ |
The Use of Phonotactic Constraints in isiXhosa Speakers
IsiXhosa is a predominantly CVCV structure so consonant clusters are not common. There are a few definite differences that should be kept in mind when assessing the sounds produced by an isiXhosa and English speaker:
- IsiXhosa has nasalization in front of plosives word initially e.g. mpendulo /m̩pendulo/ “answer” (not in English word initially)
- It is a tonal language so difference in tone changes the meaning
- Stress is usually penultimate in a word
- The root can be combined with several prefixes and thus create other words e.g -nja inja ( dog) izinja (dogs) okwenja (like a dog)
Language Specific Differences Between English and isiXhosa
isiXhosa and English exhibit several differences due to their distinct linguistic origins. Notably, isiXhosa is a subject-verb-object (SVO) language but changes to subject-verb-object (SVO) when prepositions are used, whereas English follows a strict subject-verb-object (SVO) structure. This structural variation impacts sentence formation and word order.
| Feature | isiXhosa | English |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence Word Order | Subject-verb-object but changes to SOV when prepositions are used | Strict Subject-Verb Object order |
| Adjectives/Noun modifiers | Noun -adject e.g. isitya (dish )esikhulu (big) | Adjective-Noun order |
| Possessives | Possessive articles -a- or -ka- Depending on noun class e.g. ilokhwe kamama ( Mom’s dress) | Marked with morpheme ‘s for singular nouns and s’ for plural nouns Possessive adjectives (i.e. my, their) and pronouns (i.e. mine, theirs) also exist |
| Possessive Pronouns | My-ami Your-akho His/her-akhe Our-ethu Your (all) -enu Their-abo | Mine, yours, his, hers |
| Verb inflection | Complex, morphological Nditya ( I eat) Utya (you eat) No he/she distinction Itya ( it eats) Sitya (we eat) Batya (they eat) | 2 present tense forms: I eat You eat He/She/It eats We eat They eat |
| Pronouns | We.Thina. You.Wena. You (pl) Nina He/she.Yena. Them. Bona. It- Lona | Exist |
| Pronoun Gender | No gender pronouns | He, She, It |
| Subject of Sentence | subject prefix corresponds to the subjective case of the English personal pronoun with subject concord e.g. isisu sibuhlungu ( the stomach is sore) | Subject stated specifically or with pronouns in each sentence. |
| Regular Past Tense | Morphological Replace ‘a’ with ‘e’ or ‘ile’ E,g, pheka (cook)-phekile (cooked) | One form (-ed) |
| Irregular Past Tense | No irregular past tense but regular and irregular verbs | Exist |
| Negatives | Morphological Change concord and verb ending Batya (they eat) Abatyi ( they don’t eat) | “not” follows the copula, precedes any other verb |
| Double negatives | Does not have | Not allowed |
| Question formation | Morphological, linked to N class -bani =Who -yini, -ni =What kuphi.-phi=where -nini =When e.g. uya phi you are going where | Add modals (i.e. do, have) Use subject-verb inversion |
| Definite Articles | No distinction between definite and indefinite | the |
| Indefinite Articles | Articles are morphological No distinction between definite and indefinite e.g. inja inkulu a/the dog is big | a, an |
| Prepositions | Morphological. Can be with single words e.g. above/on top=phezulu or locative suffix e.g. etafuleni =at/by the table | Specific words that precede a noun and its article Must be included Used for various functions (time, space, quantities, direction, etc.) but there are no standard rules on use |
| Present Progressive Verb Form | Exists e.g. itya (it eats) iyatya ( it is eating) -ya=ing in Eng | Exists |
| Modal Verbs | Exist | Exist (I may be late). |
| Copula/”To Be” Verb | Exists but used differently and varies e.g NdingumXhosa I am Xhosa | Used with nouns and adjectives (I am a boy. I am hungry.) |
| Auxiliary Verbs | Exist | Exist |
| Passive Voice | Exists morphological | Object precedes the verb and stating the subject is optional (His hair was cut by the woman) |
| Direct Object Pronouns | Exists Morphological e.g. Bazakuyitya ( they will eat it) | |
| Conjunctions | Exist may be morphological e.g. umama notata (mom and dad) or not e.g. umama okanye utata ( mom or dad) | Conjoins ideas with a conjunction word (and, but, or) |
| Plurals | Change prefix e.g. umntu-abantu (human-humans | Add –s (–es to nouns ending in s, ch, x, z) and some irregular plurals (i.e. children) Uncountable nouns are singular (i.e. information) |
| Subject-Verb Agreement | There is always Subj- Verb agreement Linked to N class | Required |
| Grammatical Case and Gender | No gender distinction | Nouns do not have a case system. Personal pronouns have 3 cases: nominative (subject pronouns), accusative (direct object pronouns) and genitive (possessive pronouns). Gender is only specified in personal pronouns and in some natural gender nouns (i.e. mother is feminine) and some noun suffixes (i.e. chairman, waitress) Verbs, adjectives and adverbs do not carry gender information |
| Negation | Add ‘a’ and a change in verb prefix and suffix e.g. Uyahamba ( he/she is going) Akahambi He/she is not going | “Not” follows the copula, precedes any other verb “Not” comes before an auxiliary verb Contractions (i.e. isn’t, aren’t, hasn’t, don’t, haven’t) Double negatives not allowed |
| Verb Tense, Aspect and Mood | Exists Morphological e.g. Utya ( he/she eats) Uzotya He/she will eat | 2 tenses: Present, 2 inflections (add –s to 3rd person singular only) Past, 1 inflection (suffix –ed and irregular verbs) Future tense is expressed through modal verbs (i.e. will, shall) 4 aspects: simple, progressive (copula to be + present/past participle), perfect (copula to have + present/past participle), perfect progressive (to have + to be + present/past participle) Present participles add suffix –ing Past participles add suffix –ed (i.e. studied), -en (i.e. taken), or use stem change (i.e. begun) |
| Habitual/Continuative State | Expressed through adverbs (i.e. the laughing boy) and inflected forms of the verb to be (i.e. The boy is laughing.) | |
| Verb Voice | Exists Morphologically e.g Active; itya It eats Ityiwa It is being eaten | 2 voices: active and passive In passive the voice object precedes the verb and stating the subject is optional (i.e. His hair was cut by the woman.) Different forms are used for active and passive meanings |
| Pronouns | Exists morphological | Replace noun with pronoun (noun or pronoun is always required) Personal pronouns include subject, object, and reflexive. Masculine, feminine and neutral pronoun used 2nd person plural pronoun doesn’t exist No differentiation in gender for 3rd person plural pronoun Indefinite (i.e. each, somebody), demonstrative (i.e. this, those), interrogative (i.e. who, what), possessive (mine, his) and relative pronouns (i.e. that, which), are also used |
| Relative Pronouns | Exists morphological | Used to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that) |
| Adverbs | Exist e.g Sebenza kakuhle (work well) | Adverbs occur in various positions according to rules |
| Comparative and Superlative | Exist | Uses –er with comparative and –est with superlative More (comparative) and most (superlative) are used with adjectives of more than two syllables Irregular forms (i.e. worst, furthest) |
isXhosa Phonological Processes
Prenasalisation occurs whenever a consonant is preceded by a homorganic nasal, either lexically or as a consequence of prefixation. The most notable case of the latter is the class 9 noun prefix in-, which ends in a homorganic nasal. Prenasalisation triggers several changes in the following consonant, some of which are phonemic and others allophonic. The changes can be summed as follows:
| Normal | Prenasalised | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| /pʰ/, /tʰ/, /kʰ/ | /mp/, /nt/, /ŋk/ | Aspiration is lost on obstruents. |
| /ǀʰ/, /ǁʰ/, /ǃʰ/ | /ᵑǀ/, /ᵑǁ/, /ᵑǃ/ | Aspiration is replaced by nasalisation of clicks. |
| /ǀ/, /ǁ/, /ǃ/ | /ᵑǀʱ/, /ᵑǁʱ/, /ᵑǃʱ/ | Plain clicks become breathy nasal. |
| /ɓ/ | /mb/ | Implosive becomes breathy. |
| /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /ɬ/ /v/, /z/, /ɮ/ | [ɱp̪fʼ], [ntsʼ], /ntʃ/, [ntɬʼ] [ɱb̪vʱ], [ndzʱ], [ndɮʱ] | Fricatives become affricates. Only phonemic, and thus reflected orthographically, for /ntʃ/. |
| /h/, /ɦ/, /w/, /wʱ/ | [ŋx], [ŋɡʱ], [ŋɡw], [ŋɡwʱ] | Approximants are fortified. This change is allophonic, and not reflected in the orthography. |
| /j/ | /ɲ/ | Palatal approximant becomes palatal nasal. |
| /l/ | /l/ or rarely /nd/ | The outcome /nd/ is a fossilised outcome from the time when /d/ and /l/ were still one phoneme. See Proto-Bantu language. |
isiXhosa Phonology – Description, Examples, and Ages
| Phonological Process | Description | Example | Age of Elimination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gliding of liquids | Substitution of liquid consonants with glides | /w/ and /j/ /ujakxʼazula/ (s/he’s tearing) → /ujakxʼazuja/ | 3;7 – 4;0 years |
| Stopping | Substitution of fricative consonant phonemes with stops/plosives. | /isɛlɛ/ (frog) → /itɛlɛ/ | 3;7 – 4;0 years |
| Depalatalisation | Occurs when a palatal consonant phoneme is substituted with a non-palatal phoneme. | /iɟasi/ (jacket) → /iʤasi/ | 3;7 – 4;0 years |
| Dentalisation | Substitution of a non-dental phoneme (such as ‘s’) with dental/interdental consonant (such as ‘th’). | /amaziɲɔ/ (teeth) → /amaðiɲɔ/ | 3;7 – 4;0 years |
| Deaspiration | Production of an aspirated consonant | (such as ‘kh’) as unaspirated (such as ‘k’) /ujakʰaɓa/ (s/he is kicking) → /ujakaɓa/ | 5;0 – 5;5 years |
| Denasalisation | Production of a nasalised consonant as a non-nasal phoneme. In isiXhosa, prenasalised phonemes (such as ‘ndl’) are produced without the nasal phoneme (‘dl’). | /inɮeɓe/ (ear) → / iɮeɓe / | 5;0 – 5;11 years |
| Deaffrication | Production of affricate consonant phonemes as fricatives. | /intɬɔkɔ/ (head) → /inɬɔkɔ/ | May be eliminated after 5;11 years, but occurs less frequently at 5;0 – 5;11 years |
Development of isiXhosa Speech Sounds
| Age | Process and Sounds |
|---|---|
| 3;0 – 3;6 years | Plosives /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /ɡ/, /cʼ/ /ɓ/ Fricatives /f/, /v/, /ʃ/, /ɦ/, /ɮ/ Nasals /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /ɲ/ Liquids /l/ Glides /w/, /j/ Clicks /ǀ/, /ǀʰ/, /ŋkǀ/, /ǀɡ̊/, /ǃ/, /ŋǃ/, /ŋǃɦ/, /ǃɡ̊/, /ǁʰ/, /ǁɡ̊/ |
| 3;7 – 4;0 years | Plosives /pʰ/, /kʰ/ Fricatives /s/, /z/, /x/, /ɣ/, /ɬ/ Affricates /tsʼ/, /ʣ/, /ʧʰ/, /ʤ/ Clicks /ŋǀ/, /ŋǀɦ/, /ǁ/, /ŋǁ/, /ŋǁʱ/ |
| 4;1 – 5;0 years | Affricates /ʧʼ/, /kxʼ/ Trill /r/ Clicks /ǃʰ/ |
| 5;1 – 6;0 years | Plosives /ᶡ/ Affricates /tɬ/ Clicks /ŋǃʱ/ |
Sources:
Doke: 1961 My Languages: Zulu
Lexikos vol.27 Stellenbosch 2017 A Computational Approach to Zulu Verb Morphology within the Context of Lexical Semantics (On-line version ISSN 2224-0039)
Maphalala, Z.,Pascoe ,M., Smouse, R.M. (2014) Phonological development of first language isiXhosa-speaking children aged 3.0-6.0years: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 28 (3), 176-194
Pascoe M, Rossouw K, Fish L, Jansen C, Manley N, Powell M, Rosen L.S (2016) Speech processing and production in two-year-old children acquiring isiXhosa: A tale of two children. In SA Afr J Commun Disord. May 20;63(2):e1-e15. doi: 10.4102/sajcd.v63i2.134.
Suzman S. (1985) Child Language Development, v24 p131-37
Websites with important information on indigenous languages:
isiXhosa Phonological Processes: SpeechOn Sounds
isiXhosa Consonant Development: SpeechOn Consonants
Zulu Language – Wikipedia
Contributors:
Enormous thanks to Thandeka Mdlalo for her research and creation of this page. Check out her book: Diversity: My call to Action or connect with her: LinkedIn: @thandekamdlalo Website:http://thediversitycentre.com.
