Namibia, despite its scant population, is home to a wide diversity of languages, from multiple language families: Germanic, Bantu, and the various Khoisan families. When Namibia was administered by South Africa, Afrikaans, German, and English enjoyed an equal status as official languages. Upon Namibian independence in 1990, English was enshrined as the nation's sole official language in the constitution of Namibia. German and Afrikaans were stigmatised as relics of the colonial past,[1] while the rising of Mandela's Youth League and the 1951 Defiance Campaign spread English among the masses as the language of the campaign against apartheid.[2]
Language demographics
The most widely indigenous spoken languages are Oshiwambo dialects by 11% of the population; Khoekhoegowab by 11%; Afrikaans by 10%; RuKwangali by 9%; and Otjiherero by 9%.[3] Other native languages include the Bantu languages Setswana, Gciriku, Fwe, Kuhane, Mbukushu, Yeyi; and the Khoisan Naro, ǃXóõ, Kung-Ekoka, ǂKxʼauǁʼein and Kxoe.[4]
English, the sole official language, is spoken by 3.4% of people as their native language.
As of 2014 Portuguese was spoken by 4–5% of the total population, made up mostly of the Angolan community.[5] Although the number of Angolans in Namibia declined from 2014 to 2015, affected by the neighbouring country's economic crisis, there are still around 100,000 Portuguese speakers in Namibia as of 2024, equivalent to 3.3% of the country's population.[6][7][8] The language is now offered as an optional subject in many schools throughout the country.[9]
Indigenous languages are included in the school at primary level, while German and increasingly English are the communication languages between ethnic groups.
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Distribution of German -
Distribution of Oshiwambo -
Distribution of Khoekhoegowab -
Distribution of Afrikaans
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Distribution of Otjiherero -
Distribution of Kavango languages -
![Distribution of Zambezi[10] languages](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Distribution_of_Caprivi_languages_in_Namibia.png/120px-Distribution_of_Caprivi_languages_in_Namibia.png)
Distribution of Zambezi[10] languages
![Distribution of Zambezi[10] languages](https://naturehabitats.org/knowledge-base/fuchsia/?rdp_we_resource=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3ADistribution_of_Caprivi_languages_in_Namibia.png)
Languages most often spoken in Namibian households
| Main language | 2001 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| Oshiwambo | 48.5 | 48.9 |
| Khoekhoegowab | 11.5 | 11.3 |
| Afrikaans | 11.4 | 10.4 |
| Otjiherero | 7.9 | 8.6 |
| RuKwangali | 9.7 | 8.5 |
| siLozi | 5.0 | 4.8 |
| English | 1.9 | 3.4 |
| German | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| San | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| Other | 1.8 | 2.4 |
Source: 2001 Census[11] and 2011 Census[12]
See also
References
- ^ "Namibia Travel Guide". Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ^ Brutt-Griffler, J. (2002). World English: a study of its development. Multilingual Matters, p.165. ISBN 1853595772
- ^ "Languages Spoken - GRN Portal". www.gov.na. Archived from the original on 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
- ^ Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2009). Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. SIL International.
- ^ "Portuguese to be introduced in schools". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ^ "Opinion - Celebrating with Namibia the Legacy of the Portuguese Language".
- ^ "Celebrating Portuguese - Desert Radio". 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
- ^ Marketing, Intouch Interactive. "Angolan tourists on the decline - Tourism - Namibian Sun". Retrieved 2018-04-22.
- ^ "Namibia and Portugal renews relations | Namibia Economist". Retrieved 2024-06-14.
- ^ "Zambezi Region | Caprivi Strip | Namibia". www.namibian.org. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
- ^ "2001 Census" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on Sep 3, 2014.
- ^ "2011 Census" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on Oct 2, 2013.
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