Language Matters in Namibia

History, Development, and Contemporary Dynamics
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-27616-6
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 286 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Routledge Contemporary Africa

Language Matters in Namibia investigates the diversity of Namibia’s ethnolinguistic communities and cultures, considering how languages intersect with questions of nationhood, memory, identity, and decoloniality.

Namibia is a country characterised by multilingualism, with 13 officially recognised languages (10 indigenous and 3 European-based). Within this diverse linguistic landscape, only 3.4% of Namibians speak English at home, despite it being the country’s officially recognised language. Historically, colonial languages have been used in social, educational, professional, and occupational contexts, meaning that language is deeply tied up with unresolved aspects of identity, linguistic ideologies, hegemony, language practices, and culture. Emerging at a crucial moment in Namibia’s decolonial agenda, this book considers how language usage, patterns, structures, and functions are now shifting and evolving.

Bringing together important contributions from Namibian scholars, this book will be an important read for researchers of African languages, education, and sociolinguistics.

Zielgruppe

Academic and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sabao, Collen

Mbenzi, Petrus Angula

Wittmann, Gerda-Elisabeth

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Soziolinguistik
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Fremdsprachenerwerb und -didaktik
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Namibia and her “few people and many tongues”: The multilingual linguistic landscape of Namibia Collen Sabao, Petrus Angula Mbezi & Gerda-Elisabeth Wittmann
2. The Role of Mother Tongues in Shaping Namibian Ethnic Identities Ithindi Sylvia Ndapewa
3. Constructing Identity in Multilingual Namibia: Language Choice, Bilingualism, and Sociolinguistic Positioning Linda Natacha Perestrelo

4. African Languages: A tool for Decoloniality Martha Nahole, Natalia Intja & Helena Miranda
5. Navigating Identities: An Examination of Language and Gender Dynamics in the Kavango East Region of Namibia Irmgard Moyo & Anna Frugintta Mangundu,

6. Exploring Cultural Pluralism as a Shared Social Fabric in Kavango East Region of Namibia Natalia Intja &Laura Johannes
7. The Political and Historical Context of Silozi as Medium of Instruction in Zambezi Region: A Journey of Language and Power Begani Ziambo Mashinja

8. The Effects of Urbanisation on African Mother Tongues Rauha N. Nekongo & Coletta M. Kandemiri
9. Quo vadis, German? Reflections on the role and status of a colonial national language in its former colony Gerda-Elisabeth Wittmann
10. Tonal Analysis of Otjiherero Minimal Pairs Zenaune Karirao & Collen Sabao

11. Tracing language contact: A corpus-based study on the nativisation of loan words in the Oshiwambo dialect of Oshikwanyama in Oshana Region Clarina M Museta, Salomo Fikameni & Petrina Batholmeus
12. Lexical Borrowing in Oshiwambo: Language Contact and the Influence of English in Namibia Linda Natacha Perestrelo
13. The historical development of Oshikwanyama orthography: From missionary influence to post-independence reforms Edward Shikesho & Eliaser Joseph
14. Syllable count increase through phonological nativisation and re-syllabification of English loans in Oshiwambo Collen Sabao
15. The state of Indigenous Languages in the Namibian Education System: Implications for Decolonization and De-Marginalization Sylvanus Job, H Pomuti & Cynthy Kalinasho Haihambo-Ya Otto
16. Challenges of Teaching Afrikaans in the Junior Primary Phase in Namibia: Teacher Perspectives in a Changing Linguistic Landscape Jessica Jansen and Elsabe Potgieter
17. Navigating Teaching and Learning through Translanguaging in Grade 3 classrooms of Southern Namibia Annaly M. Strauss & Joanne M. Marshall

18. Instructional Design and Language Development in the Digital Age: CALL Integration in Namibian Higher Education Lazarus Gawazah & Collen Sabao

19. Challenges Experienced by Junior Primary Schools Teachers Teaching Afrikaans as a Medium of Instruction in A Multilingual Setting In Windhoek, Namibia Johanna Elizabeth De Koker, Cynthy Kalinasho Haihambo-Ya Otto & Job Uazembua Hengari

20. The Need to Revitalise Rukavango Languages: The Case of Rumanyo and Thimbukushu Natalia Intja, Helena Miranda & Fillemon Mungongi
21. Towards a model for terminology modernisation in the Kavango languages of Namibia Angelika Mate Mukoya, Erwina Mushinga Josef, Fillemon Mungongi & Faustinus Shikukutu
22. When a language of the majority becomes a minority in its own home: Language shift and minoritisation of indigenous Namibian languages Theresia Mushaandja & Collen Sabao
23. Revitalisation strategies for endangered indigenous languages in Namibia: A case of the Rumanyo language in Kavango East Region Erwina Mushinga Josef, Mangundu, AFS; Selma Nangura Mutangara & Angelika Mate Mukoya,

24. The function of proverbs in the Oshiwambo judicial system with specific reference to Epale court proceedings Petrus Angula Mbenzi & Lukas Homateni Julius
25. Language, Identity, and Political Rhetoric in Namibia: Shaping National Narratives in a Multilingual Context Frieda Nauyele Nanyeni-Kanyemba

26. The complex, yet fascinating, nature of multilingualism in varied contexts in Namibia (EPILOGUE) Collen Sabao, Gerda Wittmann & Petrus Angula Mbenzi

Über Autor(innen)

Collen Sabao is a Professor of Linguistics, Literature and Communication, and Head of the Department of Languages and Literature at the University of Namibia. He is also a Research Associate in the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Professor Sabao’s research interests lie in the areas
of Phonetics and Phonology, Political Discourse, Media Discourse, Pan Africanism, Afrocentricity, Appraisal Theory, Argumentation, World Literatures, and Rhetoric.

Petrus Angula Mbenzi is an Associate Professor for Oshiwambo at the University of Namibia. He teaches Oshiwambo advanced linguistics, orature, and Oshiwambo for beginners. He acts as an ambassador for the annual Oshakati Totem EXPO and a regular presenter of oral tradition on Oshiwambo Radio Service. His research interests include lexicography, onomastics, orature, sociolinguistics, and linguistics.

Gerda-Elisabeth Wittmann is a Senior Lecturer in German at the University of Namibia. Dr Wittmann’s research interests lie in the teaching and learning of German as a Foreign language, German in Southern Africa, language politics, and teacher professional development. She is an educationalist at heart and serves in the Scientific Advisory Committee for the International German Teachers’ Conference. Dr Wittmann is responsible locally for the DAAD-funded project SANDD – Sub-Saharan Africa Network GFL Digital.