Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Dhimba, Dimba, Otjidhimba, Zemba, Tjimba, Simba, Chimba, Oluthimba, Luzimba
CLASSIFICATION		Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Benue-Congo, Southern Bantoid
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		dhm
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “A sociolinguistic survey of the Dhimba language” . Kunkel, Janet and Cameron, Barbara (2002)

Vulnerable

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
30,000–35,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"12,000 in northern Namibia; 18,000–23,000 in southwestern Angola."

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"Results indicate a high confidence that Dhimbas primarily marry other Dhimbas and continue to speak their language. The tendency also holds true for the languages the respondents spoke with their children... Dhimbas primarily continue to speak
Dhimba with their children. The continued vitality of Dhimba is significantly demonstrated through the frequency of Dhimba that is spoken in Dhimba families."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Herero
Ndonga

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"A high proportion of Dhimbas in all sample groups [do not] understand Herero or Ndonga (minimum 75%% intelligibility)"

PLACES: Namibia, Angola

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "In Namibia the Dhimba people live in the Opuwo District of the Kunene Region and in the northwestern corner of the Omusati Region. The Kunene Region comprises what is often still called 'Kaokoland.'"

PLACES: The border area of Angola and Namibia.

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "The present abode of the Himba covers an extensive area of some 30 000 sq. kilometers in [former] South West Afrca [currently Namibia] and Angola jointly. It stretches for 200 km westwards from Ruacana Falls to just below the escarpment, where it is bounded by the arid semi-desert regions of the Namib. The greater part of the Himba territory falls within the borders of South West Africa [currently Namibia], being about 20 000 sq. km in extent. It is roughly bounded by the Hoarusib River in the south, Owambo in the east, the Namib to the west, with the Kunene River as its northern boundary... Almost 7 000 Himba are living here, with probably only half that figure in the adjacent parts of Angola - an average population density therefore of close to one per three sq. km."

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~7,000 - 10,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Aproximadamente entre 5.000 y 7.000 himba habitan en el Norte del Kaokoland y entre 2.000 y 3.000 en el Suroeste de Angola. El número total de la población himba alcanza actualmente entre 7.000 y 10.000 individuos."

PLACES: northeastern Namibia; southeastern Angola

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Los territorios himba actuales viven repartidas entre territorio namibio y territorio angoleño. Los himba de Namibia se encuentran al Noroeste del país, en una zona denominada Kaokoland, entre los paralelos 17° y 18° y los meridianos 12° a 14°… Los himba se encuentran en la mitad más septentrional del Kaokoland, al Norte de Ohopoho, ocupando sólo unos 20.000 km2. Los himba que viven en la rivera Norte del Kunene, en el Suroeste de Angola por debajo del paralelo 16°, se encuentran en los lugares de pastos menos inhóspitos entre los ríos Curoca y Kunene, entre los meridianos 12° y 15°, ocupando una franja de unos 200 km… Entre Iona y Curoca se puede calcular una superficie total aproximada de algo más de 10.000 km2."

~24,000
Native speakers worldwide

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "In the opinion of the Dhimba-speakers, Dhimba constitutes a Herero dialect... Dhimba-speakers are often trilingual, i.e. fluent in Herero and Ndonga... Dhimba remains a strong means of ethnic identification... The modernization of the graphic system of Dhimba by religious societies in the seventies, according to Ndonga convention, separated the Dhimba writing system from its Herero counterpart to some extent. For example, Dhimba-speakers insist on writing 'Zimba', their ethnic name, in Herero fashion rather than in Ndonga, i.e. 'Dhimba'."

PLACES: Namibia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Dhimba speakers... reside in the north-western comer of Owamboland, especially in Otjovanatjie and Etoto and partly in the north-eastern comer of Kaokoland (Ehombo) but also in scaterred communities in urban quarters of Opuwo, Okangwati and Ondangwa."

			1992	Los himba: etnografía de una cultura ganadera de Angola y Namibia		Amarú Ediciones						Giner Abati, Francisco	Giner Abati, Francisco. 1998. Los himba: etnografía de una cultura ganadera de Angola y Namibia. Salamanca [Spain]: Amarú Ediciones.		~7,000 - 10,000	1000-9999	"Aproximadamente entre 5.000 y 7.000 himba habitan en el Norte del Kaokoland y entre 2.000 y 3.000 en el Suroeste de Angola. El número total de la población himba alcanza actualmente entre 7.000 y 10.000 individuos."			Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)			northeastern Namibia; southeastern Angola	"Los territorios himba actuales viven repartidas entre territorio namibio y territorio angoleño. Los himba de Namibia se encuentran al Noroeste del país, en una zona denominada Kaokoland, entre los paralelos 17° y 18° y los meridianos 12° a 14°… Los himba se encuentran en la mitad más septentrional del Kaokoland, al Norte de Ohopoho, ocupando sólo unos 20.000 km2. Los himba que viven en la rivera Norte del Kunene, en el Suroeste de Angola por debajo del paralelo 16°, se encuentran en los lugares de pastos menos inhóspitos entre los ríos Curoca y Kunene, entre los meridianos 12° y 15°, ocupando una franja de unos 200 km… Entre Iona y Curoca se puede calcular una superficie total aproximada de algo más de 10.000 km2."
			1995	Dhimba: a Herero dialect	5-33		Studies of the Department of African Languages and Cultures, Warsaw University	18		Warsaw University		Ohly, Rajmund	Ohly, Rajmund. 1995. Dhimba: a Herero dialect. Studies of the Department of African Languages and Cultures, Warsaw University 18. 5-33.		~24,000			Herero, Ndonga	"In the opinion of the Dhimba-speakers, Dhimba constitutes a Herero dialect... Dhimba-speakers are often trilingual, i.e. fluent in Herero and Ndonga... Dhimba remains a strong means of ethnic identification... The modernization of the graphic system of Dhimba by religious societies in the seventies, according to Ndonga convention, separated the Dhimba writing system from its Herero counterpart to some extent. For example, Dhimba-speakers insist on writing 'Zimba', their ethnic name, in Herero fashion rather than in Ndonga, i.e. 'Dhimba'."				Namibia	"Dhimba speakers... reside in the north-western comer of Owamboland, especially in Otjovanatjie and Etoto and partly in the north-eastern comer of Kaokoland (Ehombo) but also in scaterred communities in urban quarters of Opuwo, Okangwati and Ondangwa."
			2002	A sociolinguistic survey of the Dhimba language			SIL Electronic Survey Reports	2002-070			http://www.sil.org/silesr/abstract.asp?ref=2002-070	Kunkel, Janet and Cameron, Barbara	Kunkel, Janet and Barbara Cameron. 2002. "A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Dhimba Language." In SIL Electronic Survey Reports, 2002-070: Online: http://www.sil.org/silesr/abstract.asp?ref=2002-070.	HHOLD	30,000–35,000	10000-99999	"12,000 in northern Namibia; 18,000–23,000 in southwestern Angola."	Herero, Ndonga	"A high proportion of Dhimbas in all sample groups [do not] understand Herero or Ndonga (minimum 75%% intelligibility)"	Vulnerable (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	10	"Results indicate a high confidence that Dhimbas primarily marry other Dhimbas and continue to speak their language. The tendency also holds true for the languages the respondents spoke with their children... Dhimbas primarily continue to speak Dhimba with their children. The continued vitality of Dhimba is significantly demonstrated through the frequency of Dhimba that is spoken in Dhimba families."	Namibia, Angola	"In Namibia the Dhimba people live in the Opuwo District of the Kunene Region and in the northwestern corner of the Omusati Region. The Kunene Region comprises what is often still called 'Kaokoland.'"	-18.056570, 13.840657; -17.623922, 14.377762;
B	October, 12	3	1973	Double descent among the Himba of South West Africa			Cimbebasia	2	State Museum, Windhoek			Malan, Johannes Stefanus	Malan, Johannes Stefanus. 1973. Double descent among the Himba of South West Africa. Cimbebasia (B) 2. 81-112.										The border area of Angola and Namibia.	"The present abode of the Himba covers an extensive area of some 30 000 sq. kilometers in [former] South West Afrca [currently Namibia] and Angola jointly. It stretches for 200 km westwards from Ruacana Falls to just below the escarpment, where it is bounded by the arid semi-desert regions of the Namib. The greater part of the Himba territory falls within the borders of South West Africa [currently Namibia], being about 20 000 sq. km in extent. It is roughly bounded by the Hoarusib River in the south, Owambo in the east, the Namib to the west, with the Kunene River as its northern boundary... Almost 7 000 Himba are living here, with probably only half that figure in the adjacent parts of Angola - an average population density therefore of close to one per three sq. km."

Himba

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30,000–35,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~7,000 - 10,000

~24,000

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