Zemba language

{{Short description|Bantu language spoken in Angola and Namibia}}

{{distinguish|Zimba language|Zumba}}

{{Infobox language

|name = Zemba

|nativename = Dhimba

|pronunciation =

|states = Angola, Namibia

|region =

|ethnicity = Herero, Tjimba

|speakers = Angola: 18,000

|date = 2011

|ref = e25

|speakers2 = Namibia: 7,000 (2016)

|familycolor = Niger-Congo

|fam2=Atlantic–Congo

|fam3=Benue–Congo

|fam4=Bantoid

|fam5=Bantu

|fam6=Kavango–Southwest

|fam7=Southwest Bantu

|fam8=Herero (R.30)

|iso3 = dhm

|glotto = zemb1238

|glottorefname=Zemba

|guthrie = R.311

}}

Zemba or Dhimba is a Bantu language spoken mainly in Angola where the language has about 18,000 speakers, and also in Namibia with some 7,000. It is closely related to Herero, and is often considered a dialect of that language, especially as the Zemba are ethnically Herero.

There are various spellings and pronunciations of the name: Zimba, Dhimba, Tjimba, Chimba, etc. However, when spelled Tjimba or Chimba in English, it generally refers to the Tjimba people, non-Herero hunter-gatherers who speak Zemba. The spelling Himba should be distinguished from the Himba people and their dialect of Herero.

Ethnologue separates Zemba as a distinct language from Himba (Otjihimba, Ovahimba), classified as a dialect of Herero proper.{{e25|her|Herero}} Maho (2009), however, sets up a Northwest Herero language, which includes Zemba; from the map, it would appear to include Himba and Hakaona as well.