Khoekhoe language

Khoekhoe
Nama/Damara
Khoekhoegowab
Native to	Namibia, Botswana and South Africa
Region	Orange River, Great Namaland, Damaraland
Ethnicity	Khoikhoi, Nama, Damara, Haiǁom, ǂKhomani
Native speakers	200,000 ± 10,000 (2011)[1]
Language family	Khoe–Kwadi Khoe Khoekhoe Khoekhoe
Dialects	Nama–Damara Haiǁom–ǂĀkhoe
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Namibia  South Africa[a][2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: naq – Khoekhoe, Nama hgm – Haiǁom
Glottolog	nort3245  Subfamily: North Khoekhoe nama1264  Language: Nama haio1238  Language: Haiǁom-Akhoe
ELP	Khoekhoe
The distribution of the Nama language in Namibia
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The Khoekhoe /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ language (Khoekhoegowab), or Nama (Namagowab) /ˈnɑːmə/, Damara (ǂNūkhoegowab),^[3] Nama/Damara,^[4][5] and Hottentot^[b], is the most common of the non-Bantu languages of Southern Africa that make much use of click consonants. Because of that, Khoekhoe used to be Khoisan, but this group is not used now. It is part of the Khoe language family, and is used in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa, usually by three ethnic groups: Namakhoen, ǂNūkhoen, and Haiǁomkhoen.

1. ↑ Brenzinger, Matthias (2011) "The twelve modern Khoisan languages." In Witzlack-Makarevich & Ernszt (eds.), Khoisan languages and linguistics: proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium, Riezlern / Kleinwalsertal (Research in Khoisan Studies 29). Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
2. ↑ "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 – Chapter 1: Founding Provisions". gov.za. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
3. ↑ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
4. ↑ Haacke, Wilfrid H. G. (2018), Kamusella, Tomasz; Ndhlovu, Finex (eds.), "Khoekhoegowab (Nama/Damara)", The Social and Political History of Southern Africa's Languages, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 133–158, doi:10.1057/978-1-137-01593-8_9, ISBN 978-1-137-01592-1
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "Khoekhoe languages". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
6. ↑ "Hottentot". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 15 December 2022.