Also known as: Namdeutsch, Namibisches Deutsch, Namibia-Deutsch
The German variety of Namibia, maintained by a long-standing German-speaking minority and shaped by contact with Afrikaans, English, and Namibian languages such as Oshiwambo, Otjiherero, and Khoekhoegowab. It remains visible in schools, churches, media, tourism, and everyday community life, especially around Windhoek and the coast.
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Namibian German is a dialect of the German language.
Namibian German is primarily spoken in Namibia.
Namibian German is part of the East & Southern Africa region on DialectAtlas.
Yes — Namibian German is also referred to as Namdeutsch, Namibisches Deutsch, Namibia-Deutsch.
German also includes Hochdeutsch, Bairisch, Schwäbisch, Sächsisch, Berlinerisch, Plattdüütsch, Hessisch, Kölsch, Wienerisch, Schwyzerdütsch, Hunsrik, Pennsylvania Dutch, Texas German. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Standard German · Standard High German · Schriftdeutsch
The codified standard variety of German used in education, media, and administration across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Based on the High German consonant shift and a written norm dating to Luther; the spoken standard is conventionally associated with the Hanover region of Lower Saxony.
Bavarian · Bavarian-Austrian
A large Upper German dialect group spoken across Bavaria and most of Austria, with distinctive vowel shifts and vocabulary far removed from Standard German.
Swabian
An Alemannic dialect spoken across Baden-Württemberg and parts of Bavaria. Recognisable for its diminutive "-le" suffix and softened consonants.
Saxon · Upper Saxon
An East Central German dialect spoken in Saxony around Dresden and Leipzig, characterised by softened plosives and a distinctive intonation.
Berlin German · Berlinisch
The urban dialect of Berlin and surrounding Brandenburg. Mixes Low German substrate with Standard German, famous for its dry humour and clipped delivery.
Low German · Niederdeutsch · Plattdeutsch
The Low German varieties of northern Germany and the eastern Netherlands. Linguistically closer to Dutch and English than to Standard German in several core features.
Hessian
A Central German dialect group covering Hesse around Frankfurt. The Frankfurt variety is widely recognisable from German television and theatre.
Cologne German · Ripuarian
A Ripuarian Central Franconian dialect spoken in Cologne and the surrounding Rhineland. Distinctive for its melodic intonation and rich local vocabulary.
Viennese
The urban Bavarian dialect of Vienna, layered with Yiddish, Czech, and Italian loanwords from the city's long Habsburg history.
Swiss German · Schweizerdeutsch
A cluster of High Alemannic varieties spoken across German-speaking Switzerland. Mutually unintelligible with Standard German for most non-Swiss listeners.
Brazilian German · Riograndenser Hunsrückisch · Hunsrückisch
A German-derived minority variety spoken by descendants of nineteenth-century settlers in southern Brazil, especially Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná. It descends mainly from Hunsrück Franconian and has developed under long contact with Brazilian Portuguese.
Pennsylvania German · Deitsch
A West Central German minority language maintained especially by Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Ontario, and related settlements. Despite its name, it is Germanic rather than Dutch.
Texasdeutsch
An endangered German enclave variety spoken by descendants of nineteenth-century German settlers in central Texas, especially around New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, and the Hill Country. It preserves older German features while reflecting long contact with American English.
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The largest Khoisan language, spoken across Namibia and parts of Botswana and South Africa. The most-documented click language; one of the official languages of Namibia.
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A Kxʼa click language of the Kalahari, spoken by Juǀʼhoan San communities across north-eastern Namibia and north-western Botswana. The most thoroughly documented of the surviving San languages.
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The last surviving language of the !Ui branch of the Tuu family, spoken in the southern Kalahari around Upington in the Northern Cape. One fluent native speaker remains, who runs a community language school; the language has one of the largest consonant inventories ever recorded, including dozens of click consonants.
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A Sotho-Tswana Bantu language and the national language of Botswana. Closely related to Sesotho, with substantial speaker communities in South Africa's North West and Northern Cape provinces.
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A !Ui (Tuu) click language of the Upper Karoo in the Northern Cape, extinct since the 1910s. Survives in the vast Bleek and Lloyd archive of the 1870s and in South Africa's national motto, !ke e: ǀxarra ǁke — "diverse people unite".
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A Bantu language and the most-spoken indigenous language of Angola, used across the central highlands around Huambo. Around 6 million speakers.