Herero language : Ask Biography

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The Herero language (Otjiherero) is a language of the Bantu family (Niger � Congo group). It is spoken by the Herero people in Namibia (206,000) and Botswana. The total number of speakers in both countries is approximately 237,000.

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.

Because of missionary Gottlieb Viehe's (1839 � 1901) translation of the Bible into Herero 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 Namibian schools 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). Gamsberg Macmillan, , has published the only dictionary in Herero.