Namibia Languages
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Description[edit | edit source]
English is the sole official language in Namibia but only 3% speak it as a home language.
Oshiwambo is the most common language spoken.
Afrikaans is the most widely understood national language.
Most of the white population speaks either German or Afrakaans. [1]
Languages most often spoken in Namibian households are:
- Oshiwambo - also known as Ovambo (48.9% of households)
- Khoekhoegowab - also known as Khoekhoe (11.3%)
- Afrikaans - (10.4%)
- Otjiherero - also known as Herero (8.6%)
- RuKwangali - also known as Kwangali (8.5%)
- siLozi - also known as Lozi (4.8%)
- English - (3.4%)
- German - (0.9%)
- San - (0.8%)
- other - (2.4%) [2]
Word List(s)[edit | edit source]
- Useful phrases in Khoekhoe (Nama) - Omniglot
- Khoekhoe Common words and phrases - Wikipedia
- Useful Afrikaans phrases - Omniglot
- Useful phrases in Herero - Omniglot
- Useful phrases in Lozi - Omniglot
Alphabet and Pronunciation[edit | edit source]
Alphabet
- Oshiwambo alphabet - Omniglot
- Khoekhoe alphabet - Omniglot
- Khoekhoe Vowels, Consonants, Clicks - Wikipedia
- Afrikaans alphabet - Omniglot
- Herero alphabet - Omniglot
- Lozi alphabet - Omniglot
Pronunciation
- Oshiwambo pronunciation - Omniglot
- Khoekhoe pronunciation - Omniglot
- Afrikaans pronunciation - Omniglot
- Herero pronunciation - Omniglot
- Lozi pronunciation - Omniglot
Language Aids and Dictionaries[edit | edit source]
Dictionaries
- Wilfrid H G Haacke & Eliphas Eiseb, A Khoekhoegowab dictionary : with an English-Khoekhoegowab index , Windhoek : Gamsberg Macmillan, 2002 - Available at WorldCat
- Jan Kromhout, Afrikaans-English, English-Afrikaans dictionary, New York, N.Y. : Hippocrene Books, 2006 - Available at WorldCat
- Nduvaa Erna Nguaiko, The new Otjiherero dictionary : English-Herero, Otjiherero-Otjiingirisa, Bloomington, IN : AuthorHouse, 2011 - Available at WorldCat
- Ronald Gestwicki, An English-Herero, Herero-English dictionary, Windhoek, South West Africa, 1966 - Available at WorldCat
- J K Kloppers, D Nakare & L M Isala, Burenkango Rukwangali - English = English Rukwangali dictionary, Windhoek : Gamsberg Macmillan, 1994 - Available at WorldCat
- Owen O'Sullivan, English-Silozi dictionary, Lusaka : Zambia Educational Pub. House, 1993 - Available at WorldCat
- Concise Oxford-Duden German dictionary : German-English, English-German, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2006 - Available at WorldCat
Online Dictionaries
- Dictionary English - Afrikaans - Glosbe
- Dictionary English - Herero - Glosbe
- Dictionary English - Kwangali - Glosbe
- Dictionary English - Lozi - Glosbe
- Dictionary German - English - Glosbe
Language Aids
- Khoekhoe Grammar - Wikipedia
- Derek Fivaz & Sakaria Shikomba, A reference grammar of Oshindonga (Oshiwambo), Windhoek, Namibia : Out of Africa Publishers, 2003 - Available at WorldCat
- B C Donaldson, A grammar of Afrikaans, Berlin : Mouton de Gruyter, 1993 - Available at WorldCat
- Wilhelm J G Möhlig & Jekura U Kavari, Reference grammar of Herero (Otjiherero) : Bantu language of Namibia, Köln : Köppe, cop. 2008 - Available at WorldCat
Additional Resources[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Namibia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia#:~:text=Languages, accessed 9 Apr 2022.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Languages of Namibia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Namibia#:~:text=Languages%20most%20often%20spoken, accessed 9 Apr 2022.