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81-421: In many mammals, the nape bears a loose, non-sensitive area of skin, known as the scruff , by which a mother carries her young by her teeth, temporarily immobilizing it during transport. In the mating of cats , the male will grip the female's scruff with his teeth to help immobilize her during the act, a form of pinch-induced behavioral inhibition . In traditional Japanese culture, the nape ( 項 , unaji )

162-652: A family that had a common ancestor about 10 to 15 million years ago . The evolutionary radiation of the Felidae began in Asia during the Miocene around 8.38 to 14.45 million years ago . Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at 6.46 to 16.76 million years ago . The genus Felis genetically diverged from other Felidae around 6 to 7 million years ago . Results of phylogenetic research shows that

243-464: A nictitating membrane , allowing them to blink without hindering their vision. The domestic cat's hearing is most acute in the range of 500 Hz to 32 kHz. It can detect an extremely broad range of frequencies ranging from 55 Hz to 79 kHz, whereas humans can only detect frequencies between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. It can hear a range of 10.5 octaves , while humans and dogs can hear ranges of about 9 octaves. Its hearing sensitivity

324-520: A "diagonal" gait: The diagonally opposite hind and fore legs move simultaneously. Cats are generally fond of sitting in high places or perching . A higher place may serve as a concealed site from which to hunt; domestic cats strike prey by pouncing from a perch such as a tree branch. Another possible explanation is that height gives the cat a better observation point, allowing it to survey its territory. A cat falling from heights of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) can right itself and land on its paws. During

405-601: A Malagasy dialect called Bushi is also spoken in Mayotte . The ancestors of the Malagasy people migrated to Madagascar around 1,500 years ago from Southeast Asia, more specifically the island of Borneo. The origins of how they arrived to Madagascar remains a mystery, however the Austronesians are known for their seafaring culture. Despite the geographical isolation, Malagasy still has strong resemblance to Barito languages especially

486-507: A cat's pupils expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes. The domestic cat has rather poor color vision and only two types of cone cells , optimized for sensitivity to blue and yellowish green; its ability to distinguish between red and green is limited. A response to middle wavelengths from a system other than the rod cells might be due to a third type of cone. This appears to be an adaptation to low light levels rather than representing true trichromatic vision. Cats also have

567-588: A cosegregation between the ASIP allele and coat black coloration. Cats have excellent night vision and can see at one sixth the light level required for human vision. This is partly the result of cat eyes having a tapetum lucidum , which reflects any light that passes through the retina back into the eye, thereby increasing the eye's sensitivity to dim light. Large pupils are an adaptation to dim light. The domestic cat has slit pupils , which allow it to focus bright light without chromatic aberration . At low light,

648-647: A factor that can promote African unity. Language is not static in Africa any more than on other continents. In addition to the (likely modest) impact of borders, there are also cases of dialect levelling (such as in Igbo and probably many others), koinés (such as N'Ko and possibly Runyakitara ) and emergence of new dialects (such as Sheng ). In some countries, there are official efforts to develop standardized language versions. There are also many less widely spoken languages that may be considered endangered languages . Of

729-430: A fall from a high place, a cat reflexively twists its body and rights itself to land on its feet using its acute sense of balance and flexibility. This reflex is known as the cat righting reflex . A cat always rights itself in the same way during a fall, if it has enough time to do so, which is the case in falls of 90 cm (3.0 ft) or more. How cats are able to right themselves when falling has been investigated as

810-495: A fresh kill; some cats reject cold food (which would signal to the cat that the "prey" item is long dead and therefore possibly toxic or decomposing). To aid with navigation and sensation, cats have dozens of movable whiskers (vibrissae) over their body, especially their faces. These provide information on the width of gaps and on the location of objects in the dark, both by touching objects directly and by sensing air currents; they also trigger protective blink reflexes to protect

891-451: A language on either side of a border (especially when the official languages are different), for example, in orthographic standards. Some notable cross-border languages include Berber (which stretches across much of North Africa and some parts of West Africa), Kikongo (that stretches across northern Angola, western and coastal Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western and coastal Republic of

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972-710: A large surface of olfactory mucosa , about 5.8 cm (0.90 in ) in area, which is about twice that of humans. Cats and many other animals have a Jacobson's organ in their mouths that is used in the behavioral process of flehmening . It allows them to sense certain aromas in a way that humans cannot. Cats are sensitive to pheromones such as 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol , which they use to communicate through urine spraying and marking with scent glands . Many cats also respond strongly to plants that contain nepetalactone , especially catnip , as they can detect that substance at less than one part per billion. About 70–80% of cats are affected by nepetalactone. This response

1053-602: A similar cultural background. Some widespread phonetic features include: Sounds that are relatively uncommon in African languages include uvular consonants , diphthongs and front rounded vowels Tonal languages are found throughout the world but are especially common in Africa - in fact, there are far more tonal than non-tonal languages in Africa. Both the Nilo-Saharan and the Khoi-San phyla are fully tonal. The large majority of

1134-437: A thicker protective layer of enamel , a less damaging saliva, less retention of food particles between teeth, and a diet mostly devoid of sugar. Nonetheless, they are subject to occasional tooth loss and infection. Cats have protractible and retractable claws. In their normal, relaxed position, the claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the paw's toe pads. This keeps the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with

1215-514: A variable number of caudal vertebrae in the tail (humans have only three to five vestigial caudal vertebrae, fused into an internal coccyx ). The extra lumbar and thoracic vertebrae account for the cat's spinal mobility and flexibility. Attached to the spine are 13 ribs, the shoulder, and the pelvis . Unlike human arms, cat forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free-floating clavicle bones which allow them to pass their body through any space into which they can fit their head. The cat skull

1296-454: A wide variety of sign languages , many of which are language isolates. Around a hundred languages are widely used for interethnic communication. These include Arabic , Swahili , Amharic , Oromo , Igbo , Somali , Hausa , Manding , Fulani and Yoruba , which are spoken as a second (or non-first) language by millions of people. Although many African languages are used on the radio, in newspapers and in primary-school education, and some of

1377-511: Is digitigrade . It walks on the toes, with the bones of the feet making up the lower part of the visible leg. Unlike most mammals, it uses a "pacing" gait and moves both legs on one side of the body before the legs on the other side. It registers directly by placing each hind paw close to the track of the corresponding fore paw, minimizing noise and visible tracks. This also provides sure footing for hind paws when navigating rough terrain. As it speeds up from walking to trotting, its gait changes to

1458-489: Is proximal to the other claws. More proximally is a protrusion which appears to be a sixth "finger". This special feature of the front paws on the inside of the wrists has no function in normal walking but is thought to be an antiskidding device used while jumping. Some cat breeds are prone to having extra digits (" polydactyly "). Polydactylous cats occur along North America's northeast coast and in Great Britain. The cat

1539-478: Is a list of language isolates and otherwise unclassified languages in Africa, from Vossen & Dimmendaal (2020:434): Many African countries have national sign languages, such as Algerian Sign Language , Tunisian Sign Language , Ethiopian Sign Language . Other sign languages are restricted to small areas or single villages, such as Adamorobe Sign Language in Ghana . Tanzania has seven, one for each of its schools for

1620-473: Is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae . Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC . It is commonly kept as a pet and farm cat , but also ranges freely as a feral cat avoiding human contact. Valued by humans for companionship and its ability to kill vermin ,

1701-473: Is a term of convenience covering some 30 languages spoken by around 300,000–400,000 people. There are five Khoisan families that have not been shown to be related to each other: Khoe , Tuu and Kx'a , which are found mainly in Namibia and Botswana , as well as Sandawe and Hadza of Tanzania , which are language isolates . A striking feature of Khoisan languages, and the reason they are often grouped together,

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1782-562: Is also possible, producing hybrids such as the Kellas cat in Scotland . Development of cat breeds started in the mid 19th century. An analysis of the domestic cat genome revealed that the ancestral wildcat genome was significantly altered in the process of domestication, as specific mutations were selected to develop cat breeds. Most breeds are founded on random-bred domestic cats. Genetic diversity of these breeds varies between regions, and

1863-669: Is also produced by other plants, such as silver vine ( Actinidia polygama ) and the herb valerian ; it may be caused by the smell of these plants mimicking a pheromone and stimulating cats' social or sexual behaviors. Cats have relatively few taste buds compared to humans (470 or so, compared to more than 9,000 on the human tongue). Domestic and wild cats share a taste receptor gene mutation that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugary molecules, leaving them with no ability to taste sweetness . They, however, possess taste bud receptors specialized for acids , amino acids like protein, and bitter tastes. Their taste buds possess

1944-453: Is attested from the 16th century and may have been introduced from Dutch poes or from Low German puuskatte , related to Swedish kattepus , or Norwegian pus , pusekatt . Similar forms exist in Lithuanian puižė and Irish puisín or puiscín . The etymology of this word is unknown, but it may have arisen from a sound used to attract a cat. A male cat

2025-400: Is called a tom or tomcat (or a gib , if neutered ). A female is called a queen (or sometimes a molly , if spayed ). A juvenile cat is referred to as a kitten . In Early Modern English , the word kitten was interchangeable with the now-obsolete word catling . A group of cats can be referred to as a clowder , a glaring , or a colony . The scientific name Felis catus

2106-463: Is enhanced by its large movable outer ears, the pinnae , which amplify sounds and help detect the location of a noise. It can detect ultrasound , which enables it to detect ultrasonic calls made by rodent prey. Recent research has shown that cats have socio-spatial cognitive abilities to create mental maps of owners' locations based on hearing owners' voices. Cats have an acute sense of smell, due in part to their well-developed olfactory bulb and

2187-503: Is generally accepted by linguists, though a few question the inclusion of Mande and Dogon , and there is no conclusive evidence for the inclusion of Ubangian . Several languages spoken in Africa belong to language families concentrated or originating outside the African continent. Malagasy belongs to the Austronesian languages and is the westernmost branch of the family. It is the national and co-official language of Madagascar , and

2268-469: Is important in Central Africa. Important South African languages are Sotho , Tswana , Pedi , Venda , Tsonga , Swazi , Southern Ndebele , Zulu , Xhosa and Afrikaans . French, English, and Portuguese are important languages in Africa due to colonialism. About 320 million, 240 million and 35 million Africans, respectively, speak them as either native or secondary languages. Portuguese has become

2349-714: Is lowest in purebred populations, which show more than 20 deleterious genetic disorders . The domestic cat has a smaller skull and shorter bones than the European wildcat . It averages about 46 cm (18 in) in head-to-body length and 23–25 cm (9.1–9.8 in) in height, with about 30 cm (12 in) long tails. Males are larger than females. Adult domestic cats typically weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb). Cats have seven cervical vertebrae (as do most mammals ); 13 thoracic vertebrae (humans have 12); seven lumbar vertebrae (humans have five); three sacral vertebrae (as do most mammals, but humans have five); and

2430-405: Is perhaps the most likely to be an isolate. Less-well investigated languages include Irimba , Luo , Mawa , Rer Bare (possibly Bantu languages), Bete (evidently Jukunoid), Bung (unclear), Kujarge (evidently Chadic), Lufu (Jukunoid), Meroitic (possibly Afroasiatic), Oropom (possibly spurious) and Weyto (evidently Cushitic). Several of these are extinct, and adequate comparative data

2511-467: Is quite flexible and varied but being low-light predators, they are generally crepuscular , which means they tend to be more active near dawn and dusk. However, house cats' behavior is also influenced by human activity and they may adapt to their owners' sleeping patterns to some extent. Languages of Africa The number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on

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2592-849: Is the Arab expansion in the 7th century, which led to the extension of Arabic from its homeland in Asia, into much of North Africa and the Horn of Africa. Trade languages are another age-old phenomenon in the African linguistic landscape. Cultural and linguistic innovations spread along trade routes and languages of peoples dominant in trade developed into languages of wider communication ( lingua franca ). Of particular importance in this respect are Berber (North and West Africa), Jula (western West Africa), Fulfulde (West Africa), Hausa (West Africa), Lingala (Congo), Swahili (Southeast Africa), Somali (Horn of Africa) and Arabic (North Africa and Horn of Africa). After gaining independence, many African countries, in

2673-495: Is their use of click consonants . Some neighbouring Bantu languages (notably Xhosa and Zulu ) have clicks as well, but these were adopted from Khoisan languages. The Khoisan languages are also tonal . Due partly to its multilingualism and its colonial past, a substantial proportion of the world's creole languages are to be found in Africa. Some are based on Indo-European languages (e.g. Krio from English in Sierra Leone and

2754-432: Is thus unlikely to be forthcoming. Hombert & Philippson (2009) list a number of African languages that have been classified as language isolates at one point or another. Many of these are simply unclassified, but Hombert & Philippson believe Africa has about twenty language families, including isolates. Beside the possibilities listed above, there are: Roger Blench notes a couple additional possibilities: Below

2835-482: Is uncertain. The family's most extensive branch, the Semitic languages (including Arabic , Amharic and Hebrew among others), is the only branch of Afroasiatic that is spoken outside Africa. Some of the most widely spoken Afroasiatic languages include Arabic (a Semitic language, and a recent arrival from West Asia), Somali (Cushitic), Berber (Berber), Hausa (Chadic), Amharic (Semitic) and Oromo (Cushitic). Of

2916-482: Is unusual among mammals in having very large eye sockets and a powerful specialized jaw. Within the jaw, cats have teeth adapted for killing prey and tearing meat. When it overpowers its prey, a cat delivers a lethal neck bite with its two long canine teeth , inserting them between two of the prey's vertebrae and severing its spinal cord , causing irreversible paralysis and death. Compared to other felines, domestic cats have narrowly spaced canine teeth relative to

2997-561: The Koman , Gumuz and Kadu branches. Some of the better known Nilo-Saharan languages are Kanuri , Fur , Songhay , Nobiin and the widespread Nilotic family , which includes the Luo , Dinka and Maasai . Most Nilo-Saharan languages are tonal , as are Niger-Congo languages. The Niger–Congo languages constitute the largest language family spoken in West Africa and perhaps the world in terms of

3078-458: The Kordofanian languages of south-central Sudan , was proposed in the 1950s by Joseph Greenberg . Today, linguists often use "Niger–Congo" to refer to this entire family, including Kordofanian as a subfamily. One reason for this is that it is not clear whether Kordofanian was the first branch to diverge from rest of Niger–Congo. Mande has been claimed to be equally or more divergent. Niger–Congo

3159-630: The Ma'anyan language of southern Borneo. With more than 20 million speakers, Malagasy is one of the most widely spoken of the Austronesian languages. Afrikaans is Indo-European , as is most of the vocabulary of most African creole languages . Afrikaans evolved from the Dutch vernacular of South Holland ( Hollandic dialect ) spoken by the mainly Dutch settlers of what is now South Africa , where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in

3240-676: The Tanzanian Sign languages used in Tanzania . Throughout the long multilingual history of the African continent, African languages have been subject to phenomena like language contact, language expansion, language shift and language death. A case in point is the Bantu expansion , in which Bantu-speaking peoples expanded over most of Sub-Equatorial Africa , intermingling with Khoi-San speaking peoples from much of Southeast Africa and Southern Africa and other peoples from Central Africa . Another example

3321-481: The " falling cat problem ". The cat family (Felidae) can pass down many colors and patterns to their offspring. The domestic cat genes MC1R and ASIP allow color variety in their coats. The feline ASIP gene consists of three coding exons. Three novel microsatellite markers linked to ASIP were isolated from a domestic cat BAC clone containing this gene to perform linkage analysis on 89 domestic cats segregated for melanism . The domestic cat family demonstrated

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3402-485: The 1 billion Africans (in 2009), about 17 percent speak an Arabic dialect . About 10 percent speak Swahili , the lingua franca of Southeast Africa; about 5 percent speak a Berber dialect; and about 5 percent speak Hausa , which serves as a lingua franca in much of the Sahel. Other large West African languages are Yoruba , Igbo , Akan and Fula . Major Horn of Africa languages are Somali , Amharic and Oromo . Lingala

3483-671: The Congo), Somali (stretches across most of the Horn of Africa), Swahili (spoken in the African Great Lakes region), Fula (in the Sahel and West Africa) and Luo (in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan). Some prominent Africans such as former Malian president and former Chairman of the African Commission , Alpha Oumar Konaré , have referred to cross-border languages as

3564-930: The Deaf, all of which are discouraged. Not much is known, since little has been published on these languages Sign language systems extant in Africa include the Paget Gorman Sign System used in Namibia and Angola , the Sudanese Sign languages used in Sudan and South Sudan , the Arab Sign languages used across the Arab Mideast, the Francosign languages used in Francophone Africa and other areas such as Ghana and Tunisia , and

3645-796: The Khartoum Mesolithic/Neolithic cultures. Niger-Congo languages are correlated with the west and central African hoe-based farming traditions and the Khoisan languages are matched with the south and southeastern Wilton culture . Afroasiatic languages are spoken throughout North Africa , the Horn of Africa , Western Asia and parts of the Sahel . There are approximately 375 Afroasiatic languages spoken by over 400 million people. The main subfamilies of Afroasiatic are Berber , Chadic , Cushitic , Omotic , Egyptian and Semitic . The Afroasiatic Urheimat

3726-603: The Niger–Congo languages are also tonal. Tonal languages are also found in the Omotic, Chadic and South & East Cushitic branches of Afroasiatic. The most common type of tonal system opposes two tone levels, High (H) and Low (L). Contour tones do occur, and can often be analysed as two or more tones in succession on a single syllable. Tone melodies play an important role, meaning that it is often possible to state significant generalizations by separating tone sequences ("melodies") from

3807-682: The beginning of the 1st century AD. By the end of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Egyptian domestic cat lineage had arrived in a Baltic Sea port in northern Germany . The leopard cat ( Prionailurus bengalensis ) was tamed independently in China around 5500 BC. This line of partially domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domestic cat populations of today. During domestication, cats have undergone only minor changes in anatomy and behavior, and they are still capable of surviving in

3888-589: The branches must have undergone major restructuring since diverging from their common ancestor. This hypothetical family would reach an expanse that stretches from the Nile Valley to northern Tanzania and into Nigeria and DR Congo , with the Songhay languages along the middle reaches of the Niger River as a geographic outlier. The inclusion of the Songhay languages is questionable, and doubts have been raised over

3969-609: The cat and other wild mammals to the island from the Middle Eastern mainland. Scientists therefore assume that African wildcats were attracted to early human settlements in the Fertile Crescent by rodents, in particular the house mouse ( Mus musculus ), and were tamed by Neolithic farmers. This mutual relationship between early farmers and tamed cats lasted thousands of years. As agricultural practices spread, so did tame and domesticated cats. Wildcats of Egypt contributed to

4050-713: The cat's retractable claws are adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats . It has a strong, flexible body, quick reflexes , and sharp teeth, and its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. It is a social species , but a solitary hunter and a crepuscular predator . Cat communication includes vocalizations—including meowing , purring , trilling, hissing , growling , and grunting —as well as body language . It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears , such as those made by small mammals . It secretes and perceives pheromones . Female domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn in temperate zones and throughout

4131-552: The continent, such as Old Persian and Greek in Egypt, Latin and Vandalic in North Africa and Modern Persian in the Horn of Africa . The three small Khoisan families of southern Africa have not been shown to be closely related to any other major language family. In addition, there are various other families that have not been demonstrated to belong to one of these families. The classifications below follow Glottolog . Khoisan

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4212-528: The continent: Afroasiatic , or Niger–Congo . Another hundred belong to smaller families such as Ubangian , Nilotic , Saharan , and the various families previously grouped under the umbrella term Khoisan . In addition, the languages of Africa include several unclassified languages and sign languages . The earliest Afroasiatic languages are associated with the Capsian culture , the Saharan languages are linked with

4293-762: The course of the 18th century, including the loss of verbal conjugation (save for 5 modal verbs), as well as grammatical case and gender. Most Afrikaans speakers live in South Africa . In Namibia it is the lingua franca . Overall 15 to 20 million people are estimated to speak Afrikaans. Since the colonial era, Indo-European languages such as Afrikaans , English , French , Italian , Portuguese and Spanish have held official status in many countries, and are widely spoken, generally as lingua francas . ( See African French and African Portuguese .) Additionally, languages like French, and Portuguese have become native languages in various countries. French has become native in

4374-511: The delineation of language vs. dialect ) at between 1,250 and 2,100, and by some counts at over 3,000. Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to SIL Ethnologue ), one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. The languages of Africa belong to many distinct language families , among which the largest are: There are several other small families and language isolates , as well as creoles and languages that have yet to be classified . In addition, Africa has

4455-560: The extinction of bird , mammal , and reptile species. As of 2017, the domestic cat was the second most popular pet in the United States, with 95.6 million cats owned and around 42 million households owning at least one cat. In the United Kingdom, 26% of adults have a cat, with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats as of 2020. As of 2021, there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in

4536-407: The eyes from damage. Outdoor cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night. Domestic cats spend the majority of their time in the vicinity of their homes but can range many hundreds of meters from this central point. They establish territories that vary considerably in size, in one study ranging 7–28 ha (17–69 acres). The timing of cats' activity

4617-404: The fusing of subject markers and TAM/polarity auxiliaries into what are known as tense pronouns are more common in auxiliary verb constructions in African languages than in most other parts of the world. Quite often, only one term is used for both animal and meat; the word nama or nyama for animal/meat is particularly widespread in otherwise widely divergent African languages. The following

4698-483: The ground and allows for the silent stalking of prey. The claws on the forefeet are typically sharper than those on the hindfeet. Cats can voluntarily extend their claws on one or more paws. They may extend their claws in hunting or self-defense, climbing, kneading , or for extra traction on soft surfaces. Cats shed the outside layer of their claw sheaths when scratching rough surfaces. Most cats have five claws on their front paws and four on their rear paws. The dewclaw

4779-411: The high IMP and free l-Histidine contents of tuna, which produces a strong umami taste synergy that is highly preferred by cats". One of the researchers in this research has stated, "I think umami is as important for cats as sweet is for humans". Cats also have a distinct temperature preference for their food, preferring food with a temperature around 38 °C (100 °F) which is similar to that of

4860-421: The larger ones are considered national languages , only a few are official at the national level. In Sub-Saharan Africa, most official languages at the national level tend to be colonial languages such as French, Portuguese, or English. The African Union declared 2006 the "Year of African Languages". Most languages natively spoken in Africa belong to one of the two large language families that dominate

4941-527: The main language of the Central African Republic ); while in Cameroon a creole based on French, English and local African languages known as Camfranglais has started to become popular. A fair number of unclassified languages are reported in Africa. Many remain unclassified simply for lack of data; among the better-investigated ones that continue to resist easy classification are: Of these, Jalaa

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5022-617: The maternal gene pool of the domestic cat at a later time. The earliest known evidence for the occurrence of the domestic cat in Greece dates to around 1200 BC. Greek, Phoenician , Carthaginian and Etruscan traders introduced domestic cats to southern Europe. By the 5th century BC, they were familiar animals around settlements in Magna Graecia and Etruria . During the Roman Empire , they were introduced to Corsica and Sardinia before

5103-580: The modern domesticated subspecies F. silvestris catus sampled worldwide was considered to have likely descended from the African wildcat ( F. lybica ), following results of phylogenetic research. In 2017, the IUCN Cat Classification Taskforce followed the recommendation of the ICZN in regarding the domestic cat as a distinct species, Felis catus . The domestic cat is a member of the Felidae,

5184-433: The national language of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, and Portuguese is the official language of Mozambique. Some linguistic features are particularly common among languages spoken in Africa, whereas others are less common. Such shared traits probably are not due to a common origin of all African languages. Instead, some may be due to language contact (resulting in borrowing) and specific idioms and phrases may be due to

5265-464: The number of languages. One of its salient features is an elaborate noun class system with grammatical concord . A large majority of languages of this family are tonal such as Yoruba and Igbo , Akan and Ewe language . A major branch of Niger–Congo languages is the Bantu phylum, which has a wider speech area than the rest of the family (see Niger–Congo B (Bantu) in the map above). The Niger–Kordofanian language family, joining Niger–Congo with

5346-487: The receptors needed to detect umami . However, these receptors contain molecular changes that make cat taste umami different from that of humans. In humans, they detect the amino acids glutamic acid and aspartic acid , but in cats, they instead detect inosine monophosphate and l-Histidine . These molecules are particularly enriched in tuna . This, it has been argued, is why cats find tuna so palatable : as put by researchers into cat taste, "the specific combination of

5427-664: The search for national unity, selected one language, generally the former Indo-European colonial language, to be used in government and education. However, in recent years, African countries have become increasingly supportive of maintaining linguistic diversity. Language policies that are being developed nowadays are mostly aimed at multilingualism. This presents a methodological complication when collecting data in Africa and limited literature exists. An analysis of Afrobarometer public opinion survey data of 36 countries suggested that survey interviewers and respondents could engage in various linguistic behaviors, such as code-switching during

5508-538: The segments that bear them. Tonal sandhi processes like tone spread, tone shift, downstep and downdrift are common in African languages. Widespread syntactical structures include the common use of adjectival verbs and the expression of comparison by means of a verb 'to surpass'. The Niger–Congo languages have large numbers of genders ( noun classes ) which cause agreement in verbs and other words. Case , tense and other categories may be distinguished only by tone. Auxiliary verbs are also widespread among African languages;

5589-518: The size of their jaw, which is an adaptation to their preferred prey of small rodents, which have small vertebrae. The premolar and first molar together compose the carnassial pair on each side of the mouth, which efficiently shears meat into small pieces, like a pair of scissors. These are vital in feeding, since cats' small molars cannot chew food effectively, and cats are largely incapable of mastication. Cats tend to have better teeth than most humans, with decay generally less likely because of

5670-488: The survey. Moreover, some African countries have been considering removing their official former Indo-European colonial languages, like Mali and Burkina Faso which removed French as an official language in 2024. The colonial borders established by European powers following the Berlin Conference in 1884–1885 divided a great many ethnic groups and African language speaking communities. This can cause divergence of

5751-674: The urban areas of the DRC, and Gabon. German was once used in Germany's colonies there from the late 1800s until World War I, when Britain and France took over and revoked German's official status. Despite this, German is still spoken in Namibia , mostly among the white population . Although it lost its official status in the 1990s, it has been redesignated as a national language. Indian languages such as Gujarati are spoken by South Asian expatriates exclusively. In earlier historical times, other Indo-European languages could be found in various parts of

5832-714: The very similar Pidgin in Nigeria , Ghana and parts of Cameroon ; Cape Verdean Creole in Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau Creole in Guinea-Bissau and Senegal , all from Portuguese; Seychellois Creole in the Seychelles and Mauritian Creole in Mauritius , both from French); some are based on Arabic (e.g. Juba Arabic in the southern Sudan , or Nubi in parts of Uganda and Kenya ); some are based on local languages (e.g. Sango ,

5913-862: The wild members of this genus evolved through sympatric or parapatric speciation , whereas the domestic cat evolved through artificial selection . The domestic cat and its closest wild ancestor are diploid and both possess 38 chromosomes and roughly 20,000 genes. Pantherinae other Felinae lineages Jungle cat ( F. chaus ) [REDACTED] Black-footed cat ( F. nigripes ) Sand cat ( F. margarita ) Chinese mountain cat ( F. bieti ) African wildcat ( F. lybica ) European wildcat ( F. silvestris ) [REDACTED] Domestic cat [REDACTED] Sand cat ( F. margarita ) Chinese mountain cat ( F. bieti ) European wildcat ( F. silvestris ) [REDACTED] Southern African wildcat (F. l. cafra) Asiatic wildcat (F. l. ornata) Near Eastern wildcat Domestic cat [REDACTED] It

5994-625: The wild. Several natural behaviors and characteristics of wildcats may have pre-adapted them for domestication as pets. These traits include their small size, social nature, obvious body language, love of play, and high intelligence. Since they practice rigorous grooming habits and have an instinctual drive to bury and hide their urine and feces, they are generally much less messy than other domesticated animals. Captive Leopardus cats may also display affectionate behavior toward humans but were not domesticated. House cats often mate with feral cats. Hybridization between domestic and other Felinae species

6075-535: The world's surviving language families, Afroasiatic has the longest written history, as both the Akkadian language of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egyptian are members. Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed grouping of some one hundred diverse languages. Genealogical linkage between these languages has failed to be conclusively demonstrated, and support for the proposal is sparse among linguists. The languages share some unusual morphology , but if they are related, most of

6156-537: The world. The origin of the English word cat , Old English catt , is thought to be the Late Latin word cattus , which was first used at the beginning of the 6th century. The Late Latin word may be derived from an unidentified African language . The Nubian word kaddîska 'wildcat' and Nobiin kadīs are possible sources or cognates. The forms might also have derived from an ancient Germanic word that

6237-403: The year in equatorial regions , with litter sizes often ranging from two to five kittens. Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats , a hobby known as cat fancy . Animal population control of cats may be achieved by spaying and neutering , but their proliferation and the abandonment of pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, contributing to

6318-412: Was absorbed into Latin and then into Greek, Syriac, and Arabic. The word may be derived from Germanic and Northern European languages, and ultimately be borrowed from Uralic , cf. Northern Sámi gáđfi , 'female stoat ', and Hungarian hölgy , 'lady, female stoat'; from Proto-Uralic * käďwä , 'female (of a furred animal)'. The English puss , extended as pussy and pussycat ,

6399-512: Was long thought that the domestication of the cat began in ancient Egypt , where cats were venerated from around 3100 BC. However, the earliest known indication for the taming of an African wildcat was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave in Shillourokambos , southern Cyprus , dating to about 7500–7200 BC. Since there is no evidence of native mammalian fauna on Cyprus, the inhabitants of this Neolithic village most likely brought

6480-480: Was one of the few areas of the body (other than face and hands) left uncovered by women's attire. The nape of a woman's neck held a strong attraction for many Japanese men (see oshiroi ). In Egyptian and Lebanese culture, slapping the nape is considered a gesture of utter humiliation. This anatomy article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cats The cat ( Felis catus ), also referred to as domestic cat or house cat ,

6561-609: Was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for a domestic cat. Felis catus domesticus was proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. Felis daemon proposed by Konstantin Satunin in 1904 was a black cat from the Transcaucasus , later identified as a domestic cat. In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled that the domestic cat is a distinct species, namely Felis catus . In 2007,

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