Oshikwanyama
/oʃiˌkwɑːnˈjɑːmə/noun
Oshikwanyama is a standardized variety of the Oshiwambo language spoken chiefly by the Kwanyama people of northern Namibia and southern Angola.
Did you know?Oshikwanyama is written in a standardized Latin alphabet, while its wider linguistic family, Oshiwambo, includes several related varieties spoken across the Namibia–Angola border.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu
Proto-Bantu
*ki-
“Noun-class prefix associated with languages or linguistic forms in many Bantu languages”
Precolonial period
Bantu
Kwanyama
“Name of the Kwanyama people and their traditional polity in the Ovambo region”
19th Century
Oshikwanyama
Oshi-Kwanyama
“The Kwanyama language; formed with oshi-, a language-related noun-class prefix”
1880s–1900s
German/Portuguese records
Cuanhama / Kuanyama
“Colonial spellings used for the people and territory, reflecting different attempts to represent the name in European orthographies”
20th Century
English
Oshikwanyama
“Established English-language form for the language variety”
Modern English
English
Oshikwanyama
“A standardized Oshiwambo variety used in education, publishing, broadcasting, and public life”
Explore more surprising origins