Also Known As: Khoekhoegowap,Tamakwa,Namaqua,Kupkaferrn,Khoekhoegowab,Dama,Koekhoegowap,Berdama,Khoekhoe,Tamma,Khoi,Klipkaffern,Damaqua,Namakwa,Kakuya Bushman Nasie,Tama,Klipkaffer,Bergdamara,Naman,Damara,Maqua,Hottentot,Kupkaffer,Rooi Nasie,Khoeknoegowap,Nama,Nama language
Description:
The Khoekhoe language, or Khoekhoegowab, also known by the ethnic term Nàmá and previously the now discouraged term Hottentot, is the most populous and widespread of the Khoisan languages. It belongs to the Khoe language family, and is spoken in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa by three ethnic groups, the Nama, Damara, and Haiǁom. It appears that the Damara picked up the language from the Nama in Botswana, and that they migrated to Namibia separately. The name for Nama speakers, Khoekhoen, is from the Nama word khoe "person", with reduplication and the suffix -n to indicate the plural. According to Ethnologue, there were 250,000 speakers in the 1990s.
Nama is a national language in Namibia. In Namibia and South Africa, radio programs are broadcast in Nama.
Nama is a Khoe language, which is part of a hypothetical Khoisan phylum, it belongs to the northern branch of the Khoekhoe subbranch of the family (together with now extinct Eini).
Nama has 250,000 speakers in Namibia, South Africa, and (a few in) Botswana.
There are 5 vowel qualities, found as oral /i e a o u/ and nasal /ĩ ã ũ/. These may be long or short, and there are several sequences or diphthongs: oral [əi ae əu ao ui oa..... full article at Wikipedia |