Anthony Traill (27 February 1939 – 27 April 2007) was a South African linguist, phonetician, and professor. He was the world's foremost authority on !Xóõ, a Tuu language within the larger Khoisan category. He published widely on the language, including a dictionary.
Traill's publications focused on the phonetics of !Xóõ in relation to other Khoisan languages. He also contributed importantly to the Khoisan and Bantu phonetic literature on tone with respect to voice and breathy voice.
Traill served as a Professorial Research Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, following his tenure as Professor and Chair of Linguistics, a position he held until 1998. He conducted research on the !Xóõ language and its speakers in Botswana through nearly 100 field trips over a period of more than 35 years. In addition to !Xóõ, he spoke Zulu, Tsonga, Tswana, and Afrikaans.
Traill developed a lump on his larynx after speaking !Xóõ for a long time, which is typical of adult native speakers, but not children, a testament to his time spent with the language.
After a long illness, Traill died on 27 April 2007, in Johannesburg, survived by his wife, Jill, and children, Stephen, Carol and Patrick.
Publications
Traill, Anthony. A !Xóõ Dictionary. (edited by Rainer Vossen). University Frankfurt/Main: Johann Wolfgang Goethe. , . Volume 9 of "Research in Khoisan Studies", which has . Traill, Anthony (1986). Phonetic and Phonological Studies of !Xóõ Bushman. (Quellen Zur Khoisan-Forschung, No 1), John Benjamins, January 1, 1986, . Traill, Anthony (1973). A Preliminary Sketch of !Xu) phonetics. Edinburgh University Department of Linguistics Work in Progress 6:1-23. Traill, Anthony (1985). Phonetic and Phonological Studies in !Xoo Bushman. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag.
Traill, Anthony. (1995). The Khoesan Languages. In Mesthrie, R. (ed.), Language in South Africa. 27–49. Cape Town: Cambridge University Press.
References