Overview
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Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

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Domains of Use

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Speaker Number Trends

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Transmission

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Community Members

    No members

Revitalization Programs

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Language Information By Source

A sociolinguistic survey of the languages of Botswana
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Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

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Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

1,400 - 1,900 in Boteti Subdistrict, Botswana (calculated from 1991 census)

Year of info

2000

Location and Context

Countries

Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Tutume, Boteti, Northwest, Botswana; Namibia; Zimbabwe

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

Positive

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Tutume, Boteti, Northwest, Botswana; Namibia; Zimbabwe

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Tswana, Kalanga, English, Kgalagari, Mbukushu, Ndebele, Kuhane, Yeyi

Domains of other languages

With spouse, with children, by the chief, kgotla, at the clinic, singing to oneself, church, prayer, reading/writing

More on context

"Multilingualism is common in the Boteti region. Of those interviewed… less than one tenth said they spoke only one language."

Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

105,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

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Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

90,000 in Zimbabwe (Chebanne and Nthapelelang 2000). Population total all countries: 105,000.

Year of info

2009

Location and Context

Countries

Zimbabwe, Botswana

Coordinates

-18.363649, 26.502354; -18.933405, 27.766865; -17.622918, 27.341696;-20.166027, 28.570951

Location description

Matabeleland North, primarily Hwange District; Lupane and Binga districts; Bulawayo. Also in Botswana.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Matabeleland North, primarily Hwange District; Lupane and Binga districts; Bulawayo. Also in Botswana.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Ndebele, Dombe, Tonga, Shona, English

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

Also use Ndebele, Dombe [dov], Tonga [toi], Shona [sna], or English.

Vulnerable

Native Speakers Worldwide

100000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2010

Location and Context

Countries

Zimbabwe

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Matabeleland North, Hwange District

Government support

Zimbabwe Education 1987 Act

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Matabeleland North, Hwange District

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Kalanga

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

"Although the Zimbabwe Education 1987 Act (as amended in 199) in Section 55 of X1 has provisions for the teaching of minority languages in areas where they exist, very little is actually being done. Furthermore, in Zimbabwe, there is very limited electronic broadcasting and print media which is being done in Nambya."

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

1998

Location and Context

Countries

Zimbabwe

Coordinates

-18.344098,26.459713

Location description

Hwange district, Matabeleland North Province, Zimbabwe. Villages of Nemananga, Chikandakubi, Mbizha, Jambezi, Nekabandama, Nekatambe, Makwandala, Silewu, Lupote, Mabale.

Government support

Official minority language

Institutional support

Liturgical booklets, dictionary

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Hwange district, Matabeleland North Province, Zimbabwe. Villages of Nemananga, Chikandakubi, Mbizha, Jambezi, Nekabandama, Nekatambe, Makwandala, Silewu, Lupote, Mabale.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Tonga, Ndebele, Lozi

Domains of other languages

Education, radio

More on context

"Although it was decreed that Nambya should be the language to be used as the medium of instruction in Hwange district, this decree met with immense difficulties regarding its implementation." "...[T]he language has very few published materials in it, whether it be literature- or language-related." "Although provision was made [in Zimbabwe] to broadcast Nambya on radio alongside the other official minority languages, this provision has not been utilised yet." "...Nambya is supposed to be an official minority language [in Zimbabwe]."

Media Resources

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  1. Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled by research teams at University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute for Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) at Eastern Michigan University
    2012. "Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled By Research Teams At University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute For Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) At Eastern Michigan University."
  2. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)
    Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)
    http://www.ethnologue.com/
  3. Some Segmental Phonological Processes Involving Vowels in Nambya: A Preliminary Descriptive Account
    Maxwell Kadenge. 2010. "Some Segmental Phonological Processes Involving Vowels in Nambya: A Preliminary Descriptive Account." In The Journal of Pan African Studies, 3: 239-252.
  4. A sociolinguistic survey of the languages of Botswana
    Sue Hasselbring. 2000. "A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Languages of Botswana." v. 1: 1-142. Basarwa Languages Project, Collaborative Basarwa Research Programme of the Univ. of Botswana & Univ. of Tromsø.
  5. Survey of the minority languages of Zimbabwe
    Hachipola, Simooya Jerome. 1998. "Survey of the Minority Languages of Zimbabwe." xxii, 126. Univ. of Zimbabwe Publ.
  6. Nambya dictionary
    A. Moreno. 1988. "Nambya Dictionary." Mambo Press.
  7. Lyeja Gole Lyotanga, Grade 1-2, Including Teacher's Book
    "Lyeja Gole Lyotanga, Grade 1-2, Including Teacher's Book." Curriculum Development Unit.