Languages of Namibia
{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox country languages
|country = Namibia
|image =Sperrgebiet Verbotstafel.jpg
|image size =
|caption =Sign in Namibia in English, Afrikaans, German and Oshiwambo
|official = English
|semi-official =
|national = Afrikaans, German, Otjiherero, Khoekhoegowab, Oshiwambo, RuKwangali, Setswana, SiLozi
|unofficial = !Kung, Gciriku, Thimbukushu
|main =
|indigenous =
|regional =
|vernacular = Namlish, Namibian Afrikaans, Namibian German
|minority = Fwe, Kuhane, Mbukushu, Yeyi, Naro, ǃXóõ ǂKxʼauǁʼein
|immigrant = Portuguese
|foreign =
|sign = Namibian Sign Language
| keyboard = QWERTY
| keyboard image = 200px
|source =
}}
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,{{cite web|title=Namibia Travel Guide|url=http://www.namibia-travel-guide.com/bradt_guide.asp?bradt=550|accessdate=8 July 2010}} 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.Brutt-Griffler, J. (2002). World English: a study of its development. Multilingual Matters, p.165. {{ISBN|1853595772}}
Language demographics
File:NamibiaDeutscheSprache.jpg
The most widely spoken languages are Oshiwambo dialects by 49% of households in the country, then Khoekhoegowab by 11%; Afrikaans by 10%; RuKwangali by 9%; Otjiherero by 9%, and Silozi by 4.71%.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gov.na/languages-spoken|title=Languages Spoken - GRN Portal|website=www.gov.na|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306115415/http://www.gov.na/languages-spoken|archive-date=2017-03-06|url-status=dead}} Other languages include the Bantu languages Setswana, Gciriku, Fwe, Kuhane, Mbukushu, Yeyi; and the Khoisan Naro, ǃXóõ, Kung-Ekoka, ǂKxʼauǁʼein and Kxoe.{{cite book|editor-last=Lewis|editor-first=M. Paul |title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition|year=2009|publisher=SIL International|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/.}}
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.{{cite web|title=Portuguese to be introduced in schools|url=http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?archive_id=83964&page_type=archive_story_detail&page=1517|publisher=The Namibian|accessdate=19 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224164422/http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?archive_id=83964&page_type=archive_story_detail&page=1517|archive-date=24 February 2014|url-status=dead}} 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.{{Cite web |title=Opinion - Celebrating with Namibia the Legacy of the Portuguese Language |url=https://neweralive.na/posts/opinion-celebrating-with-namibia-the-legacy-of-the-portuguese-language#google_vignette}}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-06 |title=Celebrating Portuguese - Desert Radio |url=https://www.desertradio.fm/celebrating-portuguese/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.namibiansun.com/news/angolan-tourists-on-the-decline2017-12-19|title=Angolan tourists on the decline - Tourism - Namibian Sun|last=Marketing|first=Intouch Interactive|access-date=2018-04-22|language=en}} The language is now offered as an optional subject in many schools throughout the country.{{Cite web |title=Namibia and Portugal renews relations {{!}} Namibia Economist |url=https://economist.com.na/20565/general-news/namibia-and-portugal-renews-relations/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |language=en-GB}}
Indigenous languages are included in the school syllabus at primary level. From secondary level English is the medium of instruction. English is the main lingua franca in the north and Afrikaans (Namibian Afrikaans) in the south. English and Afrikaans are both widely spoken in Windhoek.Discrimination through language in Africa?: perspectives on the Namibian experience. Walter de Gruyter, p. 315. {{ISBN|311014817X}}
File:Sprachenverteilung Khoekhoegowab Namibia (2011).svg|Distribution of Khoekhoegowab
Image:Distribution of Oshiwambo in Namibia.png|Distribution of Oshiwambo
Image:Distribution of Nama (Damara) in Namibia.png|Distribution of Khoekhoegowab
Image:Distribution of Afrikaans in Namibia.png|Distribution of Namibian Afrikaans
File:Distribution of Otjiherero in Namibia.png|Distribution of Otjiherero
File:Distribution of Kavango languages in Namibia.png|Distribution of Kavango languages
File:Distribution of Caprivi languages in Namibia.png|Distribution of Silozi{{Cite web|url=https://namibian.org/lodges/zambezi-caprivi-region/|title=Zambezi Region {{!}} Caprivi Strip {{!}} Namibia|website=www.namibian.org|access-date=2018-04-22}}
Languages most often spoken in Namibian households
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| 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{{Cite web|url=http://www.nsa.org.na/files/downloads/a5d_Namibia%202001%20Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%20Main%20Report.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903134131/http://www.nsa.org.na/files/downloads/a5d_Namibia%202001%20Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%20Main%20Report.pdf|url-status=dead|title=2001 Census|archivedate=Sep 3, 2014}} and 2011 Census{{Cite web|url=http://www.nsa.org.na/files/downloads/Namibia%202011%20Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%20Main%20Report.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002064316/http://www.nsa.org.na/files/downloads/Namibia%202011%20Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%20Main%20Report.pdf|url-status=dead|title=2011 Census|archivedate=Oct 2, 2013}}