How People In Namaqualand Are Keeping The Nama Language Alive

Words Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp

More than anything else, Paul Dawid Vogelsang wants his language to be heard on radio, taught and to be spoken. Vogelsang, who is 64, speaks Nama, an indigenous Khoekhoe language that has faced declining usage over the last century.

There are no official statistics about how many people speak Nama in South Africa.

I don't want it to die out, he says.

Some Khoe and San languages in South Africa have gone extinct already, such as Xam, which is the language of the national motto. Other languages, including Nuu, !Xun, Khwedam !Ora and Xiri Korana and Griqua have various levels of use, and some of these are highly endangered.