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Ambo Language
The Ovambo () language is a dialect cluster spoken by the Ovambo people in southern Angola and northern Namibia, of which the written standards are Kwanyama and Ndonga. The native name for the language is ''Oshiwambo'' (also written ''Oshivambo''), which is also used specifically for the Kwanyama and Ndonga dialects. It is the largest spoken local language in Namibia, particularly by the Ovambo people. The language is closely related to that of the Herero and Himba, the Herero language (''Otjiherero''). An obvious sign of proximity is the prefix used for language and dialect names, Proto-Bantu ''*ki-'' (class 7, as in the name of the Swahili language, ''Kiswahili''), which in Herero has evolved to ''Otji-'' and in Ovambo further to ''Oshi-''. History After Namibia's independence in 1990, the area previously known as Ovamboland was divided into the Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana and Oshikoto Regions. The population, estimated at between 700,000 and 750,000, fluctuates remarka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of countries and dependencies by population, population and is the List of African countries by area, seventh-largest country in Africa. It is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Angola has an Enclave and exclave, exclave province, the province of Cabinda Province, Cabinda, that borders the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and most populous city is Luanda. Angola has been inhabited since the Paleolithic, Paleolithic Age. After the Bantu expansion reached the region, states were formed by the 13th century and organised into confederations. The Kingdom of Kongo ascended to achieve hegemony among the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dialect Continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varieties may not be. This is a typical occurrence with widely spread languages and language families around the world, when these languages did not spread recently. Some prominent examples include the Indo-Aryan languages across large parts of India, varieties of Arabic across north Africa and southwest Asia, the Turkic languages, the varieties of Chinese, and parts of the Romance languages, Romance, Germanic languages, Germanic and Slavic languages, Slavic families in Europe. Terms used in older literature include dialect area (Leonard Bloomfield) and L-complex (Charles F. Hockett). Dialect continua typically occur in long-settled agrarian populations, as innovations spread from their various poin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lüderitz
Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. Lüderitz had a population of 16,125 people in 2023. The town is known for its colonial architecture, including some Art Nouveau work, and for wildlife including seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches. It is also home to a museum and lies at the end of a decommissioned railway line to Keetmanshoop. The town is named after Adolf Lüderitz, founder of the German South West Africa colony. Economy and infrastructure The centre of Lüderitz' economic activity is the port, until the incorporation of the exclave Walvis Bay in 1994 the only suitable harbour on Namibia's coast. However, the harbour at Lüderitz has a comparatively shallow rock bottom, making it unusable for many modern ships. The recent addition of a new quay has allowed larger fishing vessels to dock at Lüderitz. The town has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Colonial Empire
The German colonial empire () constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies, and territories of the German Empire. Unified in 1871, the chancellor of this time period was Otto von Bismarck. Short-lived attempts at colonization by Kleinstaaterei, individual German states had occurred in preceding centuries, but Bismarck resisted pressure to construct a colonial empire until the Scramble for Africa in 1884. Claiming much of the remaining uncolonized areas of Africa, Germany built the third-largest colonial empire at the time, after the British Empire, British and Second French colonial empire, French. The German colonial empire encompassed parts of Africa and Oceania. Germany lost control of most of its colonial empire at the beginning of the World War I, First World War in 1914, but some German forces held out in German East Africa until the end of the war. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, German defeat in World , Germany's colonial empire was officially confiscated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa and various islands in Asia and Oceania. It was one of the most powerful empires of the early modern period, while at its greatest extent in 1820, covering 5.5 million square km ( million square miles), making it among the List of largest empires, largest empires in history. Composed of colonialism, colonies, Factory (trading post)#Portuguese feitorias (c. 1445), factories, and later Territory#Overseas territory, overseas territories, it was the longest-lived colonial empire in history, from the conquest of Ceuta in North Africa in 1415 to the handover of Macau to China in 1999. The power and influence of the Kingdom of Portugal would eventually expand across the globe. In the wake of the Reconquista, Portuguese maritime exploration, Port ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oshikoto Region
Oshikoto is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, named after Lake Otjikoto. Its capital is Omuthiya. Further major settlements in the region are Tsumeb, Otjikoto's capital until 2008, and Oniipa. , Oshikoto had 112,170 registered voters. Geography Oshikoto Region is named after Lake Otjikoto near its former capital Tsumeb. Oshikoto is one of only three Namibian regions without either a shoreline or a foreign border. It borders the following regions: * Ohangwena - north * Kavango West - east * Otjozondjupa - southeast * Kunene - southwest * Oshana - west Demographics The region's population has grown significantly over recent years, partly as a result of resettling / redistribution within the Oshiwambo-speaking area. Apart from Tsumeb and Oniipa, people have settled in a corridor along the trunk road, sometimes forming quite dense concentrations. Economy and infrastructure The northern part of the region practices crop agriculture, whereas the main economic activities i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oshana Region
Oshana is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia; its capital is Oshakati. The towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva and Ondangwa, all situated with this region, form an urban cluster with the second largest population concentration in Namibia after the capital Windhoek. , Oshana had 113,112 registered voters. Geography Oshana is one of only three Namibian regions without either a coastline or a foreign border. It borders the following regions: *Ohangwena Region, Ohangwena - north *Oshikoto Region, Oshikoto - east *Kunene Region, Kunene - south *Omusati - west The name ''Oshana'' describes the most prominent landscape feature in the area, namely the shallow, seasonally inundated depressions which underpin the local agro ecological system. Although communications are hindered during the rainy season, the fish which breed in the oshanas provide an important source of dietary protein. Economy and infrastructure The Oshakati-Ongwediva-Ondangwa complex has experienced dramatic urban growth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omusati Region
Omusati (the Oshindonga word for Mopane, the dominant tree in the area) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Outapi. The towns of Okahao, Oshikuku and Ruacana as well as the self-governed village Tsandi are situated in this region. , Omusati had 148,834 registered voters. The region is home to the Ruacana Falls, among the largest waterfalls in Africa, and the Omugulugwombashe heritage site, where the Namibian struggle for independence started in 1966. Geography In the north, Omusati borders the Cunene Province of Angola. Domestically, it borders the following regions: * Ohangwena - northeast * Oshana - east * Kunene - south and west The region got its name from the Mopane tree (''omusati'': ) which is the dominant species in the region. The Makalani palms decrease rapidly westwards from the border with Oshana region. The change in vegetation type reflects ecological conditions forming a natural boundary between the two regions. The region is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ohangwena Region
Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi as well as the self-governed village of Okongo and the proclaimed settlements Ongha, Ongenga and Omungwelume. , Ohangwena had 150,724 registered voters. Ohangwena is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude. In the north, Ohangwena borders Angola: the Cunene (province), Cunene Province, except for a small border with Cuando Cubango Province in the far northeast. Domestically, it borders the following regions: *Kavango West - East *Oshikoto Region, Oshikoto - South *Oshana - Points of the compass, South West *Omusati - West Economy and infrastructure The northern and western parts of the region are the most densely populated of this essentially subsistence agricultural region in which small scale mahangu cultivation and the keeping of cattle form the predominant activities. Although the region depends on rai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovamboland
Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan and later a non-geographic ethnic-based second-tier authority, the Representative Authority of the Ovambos, in South West Africa (present-day Namibia). The apartheid government stated that the goal was for it to be a self-governing homeland for the Ovambo people. Practically, however, it was intended by the apartheid government as a reservation that forced them into cheap labour by limiting movement; Ovambo men were not allowed outside Ovamboland unless they signed as a contract labourer for 16 months, while women were not allowed out at all. The term originally referred to the parts of northern Namibia inhabited by the Ovambo ethnic group: namely, the area controlled by the traditional Ovambo kingdoms in pre-colonial and early colonial times, such as Ondonga, Ongandjera, and Oukwanyama. Its endonym is ''Ovambo ~ Owambo''. Background In the 1960s, South Africa, which was administering South West Africa under a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swahili Language
Swahili, also known as as it is referred to endonym and exonym, in the Swahili language, is a Bantu languages, Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent littoral islands). Estimates of the number of Swahili speakers, including both native and second-language speakers, vary widely. They generally range from 150 million to 200 million; with most of its native speakers residing in Tanzania and Kenya. Swahili has a significant number of loanwords from other languages, mainly Arabic, as well as from Portuguese language, Portuguese, English language, English and German language, German. Around 40% of Swahili vocabulary consists of Arabic loanwords, including the name of the language ( , a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning 'of the coasts'). The loanwords date from the era of contact between Arab slave trade, Arab traders and the Northeast Bantu languages, B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proto-Bantu Language
Proto-Bantu is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Bantu languages, a subgroup of the Southern Bantoid languages. It is thought to have originally been spoken in West/Central Africa in the area of what is now Cameroon.Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. (2011). ''Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages'', pp. 337ff. About 6,000 years ago, it split off from Proto- Southern Bantoid when the Bantu expansion began to the south and east. Two theories have been put forward about the way the languages expanded: one is that the Bantu-speaking people moved first to the Congo region and then a branch split off and moved to East Africa; the other (more likely) is that the two groups split from the beginning, one moving to the Congo region, and the other to East Africa. Like other proto-languages, there is no record of Proto-Bantu. Its words and pronunciation have been reconstructed by linguists. From the common vocabulary which has been reconstructed on the basis of pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
