Kwanyama or Cuanhama is a
national language of
Angola and
Namibia. It is a standardized dialect of the
Ovambo language, and is
mutually intelligible
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...
with
Oshindonga
Ndonga, also called Oshindonga, is a Bantu dialect spoken in Namibia and parts of Angola. It is a standardized dialect of the Ovambo language, and is mutually intelligible with Kwanyama, the other Ovambo dialect with a standard written form. Wi ...
, the other Ovambo dialect with a standard written form.
The entire Christian Bible has been translated into Kwanyama and was first published in 1974 under the name ''Ombibeli'' by the South African Bible Society. Jehovah’s Witnesses released the modern translation of the
new testament, the ''New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures'' in Kwanyama in 2019,
both printed an
electronic online version
Phonology
/t/ and /d/ are dentalized when followed by a front vowel /i/. An /s/ sound can only occur in loanwords.
References
Bibliography
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*
*
Further reading
*Turvey, B. H. C. (1977) ''Kwanyama-English Dictionary''; compiled by B. H. C. Turvey; edited by W. Zimmermann and G. B. Taapopi. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press (based on the work compiled by George Tobias & Basil Henry Capes Turvey, 1954)
External links
Language map of Namibia
PanAfrican L10n page on KwanyamaOmalinjongameno Ōngeleka. (Services of the Church in Kwanyama Authorised for Use in the Diocese of Damaraland, 1957)digitized by Richard Mammana 2015
Ovambo language
Languages of Namibia
Languages of Angola
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