Language Matters in Namibia investigates the diversity of Namibia’s ethnolinguistic communities and cultures, considering how languages intersect with questions of nationhood, memory, identity and decoloniality.

Namibia is a country characterised by multilingualism, with 13 officially recognised languages (10 indigenous and 3 European-based). Within this diverse linguistic landscape, only 3.4% of Namibians speak English at home, despite it being the country’s officially recognised language. Historically, colonial languages have been used in social, educational, professional, and occupational contexts, meaning that language is deeply tied to unresolved aspects of identity, linguistic ideologies, hegemony, language practices and culture. Emerging at a crucial moment in Namibia’s decolonial agenda, this book considers how language usage, patterns, structures, and functions are now shifting and evolving.

Bringing together important contributions from Namibian scholars, this book will be an important read for researchers of African languages, education and sociolinguistics.

Collen Sabao is a Professor of Linguistics, Literature and Communication, and Head of the Department of Languages and Literature at the University of Namibia. He is also a Research Associate in the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Professor Sabao’s research interests lie in the areas of Phonetics and Phonology, Political Discourse, Media Discourse, Pan Africanism, Afrocentricity, Appraisal Theory, Argumentation, World Literatures, and Rhetoric.

Petrus Angula Mbenzi is an Associate Professor for Oshiwambo at the University of Namibia. He teaches Oshiwambo advanced linguistics, orature and Oshiwambo for beginners. He acts as an ambassador for the annual Oshakati Totem EXPO and a regular presenter of oral tradition on Oshiwambo Radio Service. His research interests include lexicography, onomastics, orature, sociolinguistics, and linguistics.

Gerda-Elisabeth Wittmann is a Senior Lecturer in German at the University of Namibia. Dr Wittmann’s research interests lie in the teaching and learning of German as a Foreign language, German in Southern Africa, language politics, and teacher professional development. She is an educationalist at heart and serves in the Scientific Advisory Committee for the International German Teachers’ Conference. Dr Wittmann is responsible locally for the DAAD-funded project SANDD – Sub-Saharan Africa Network GFL Digital.