| Also Known As: Otjiherero,Ochiherero,Herero
Description:
Herero (Otjiherero) is a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group). It is spoken by Herero people in Namibia (113,000) and Botswana. Total population in both countries is approximately 133,000.
Its linguistic distribution covers a zone called Hereroland: this zone is constituted of the region of Omaheke, along with the regions of Otjozondjupa and Kunene. The Himba, who are related to the Herero people, speak a dialect very close to the Herero language. In Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, there exists a considerable minority of hererophones.
Thanks to the translation of the Bible into Herero by missionary Gottlieb Viehe (1839-1901) at the end of the 19th century, the spoken language was transcribed to a script based on the Latin alphabet. Father Peter Heinrich Brincker (1836-1904) translated several theological works and songs.
Herero is taught in the elementary school both as a native tongue and as a secondary language, and is to be included as a principal material at the University of Namibia. Herero is also one of the six minority languages that are used by the Namibian State Radio (NBC). Embo Romambo, as of 2008, has published the only Dictionary in Herero...... full article at Wikipedia |
