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Moved from main page to here;
This is seriously the only information I can find that hasn't been contradicted, except for the number of speakers, though Ethnologue seems like a reliable source. The sources contradict each other on whether Nama contrasts voicing, just what accompaniments it's clicks can have, and many other things.
- The linguistic community as a whole seems unable to ascertain the number of click consonants in some Khoisan languages. For instance, is the !Kung name N!xau three phonemes, or five? Is the click a sequence n + !x? n! + x? n + ! + x? Or just one phoneme, a prenasalised voiceless laminal retroflex click with affricated velar release? (BTW, I tend to believe that it's just one phoneme, on a par with Swahili and Zulu prenasalised voiced stops.) I must say though, I like this page; it actually shows some of the language in use, rather than just the name - population - location approach that has been taken with so many Wikipedia pages about languages in the past. thefamouseccles 04:11 17 Dec 2003 (UTC)
- Indeed. Also, the sample text has /ts/ but the phonology section doesn't seem to include it (unless it's a consonant cluster rather than an africate). It would seem one of the sections is incorrect or incomplete in some way, or cover different dialects. Eddy1701 (talk) 03:19, 23 August 2008 (UTC)
Dictionary for Nama
editThe article mentions that a dictionary exists; could someone provide a citation or ISBN number?
- Haacke & Eiseb 2002. Added. — mark ✎ 08:07, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
The dictionary was Published by Gamsberg-Macmillan Publishers, Windhoek ISBN 99916-0-401-4, gamsberg@iafrica.com.na
It would be interesting to know who the author of the contributions on the Nama language is.
W. Haacke
shift to Afrikaans?
editIs it true (as stated in the French article) that most Namas now speak Afrikaans rather than Nama? QuartierLatin1968 22:54, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
National language status
editIs Nama a national language of Namibia? This article says it is, but Namibia contradicts it.
Namibia has only one official language, English. They use the term "national language" to refer to various other recognized languages, of which Nama/Damara is definitively one. Unfortunately, I could never find a definitive, official list of these "national languages" issued by any government insitution.
"Klipkaffer" language
edit"Klipkaffer" language redirects here and has been nominated for speedy deletion. Any thoughts on whether this redirect should be kept or deleted? --Richard 20:16, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
Khoekhoe language template
editIf you are a native speaker of Khoekhoe then you can help translate this template into your own language:
| naq | This user is a native speaker of Khoekhoegowab. |
Sample text
editIs this edit [1] legitimate? Before the edit the text was identical to another version to be found on the internet, after it not anymore. Also the changes done are not consistent (e.g. in the first two paragraphs clicks followed by vowels received a g after them, but not in the third one), so it can't be just a change of orthographic convention (or it must be a poorly performed one). The IP-address that did it seems to be a regular vandal, but that doesn't say it all, of course. MuDavid (talk) 14:28, 25 March 2010 (UTC)
- I reverted it, then. MuDavid (talk) 11:42, 30 July 2010 (UTC)
Pronunciation
editFrom my knowledge the name of the language is pronounced kwe-kwe (the 'we' as in Wembley), not koi-koi. Unfortunately I don't have a reference, and I don't know how to write it in phonetic alphabet. Anyone? --Pgallert (talk) 07:01, 31 January 2020 (UTC)