{{Short description|Dialect in Namibia}} {{Infobox language |name=Kwanyama |nativename=Oshikwanyama |states=[[Angola]] and [[Namibia]] |region=[[Cunene Province]] (Angola), [[Ovamboland]] (Namibia) |speakers=1,003,783 in Angola (2024);<ref name="censoAO">{{cite web | title=Resultados Definitivos do Recenseamento Geral da População e Habitação - 2024 | url=https://www.ine.gov.ao/Arquivos/arquivosCarregados//Carregados/Publicacao_638992698392586291.pdf | date=2025-11-20 | language=pt}}</ref><br> 250,000 in Namibia (2006) |familycolor=Niger-Congo |fam2=[[Atlantic–Congo]] |fam3=[[Volta-Congo]] |fam4=[[Benue–Congo]] |fam5=[[Bantoid]] |fam6=[[Southern Bantoid]] |fam7=[[Bantu languages|Bantu]] |fam8=[[Kavango–Southwest]] |fam9=[[Southwest Bantu]] |fam10=[[Ovambo language|Ovambo]] |iso1=kj |iso2=kua |iso3=kua |glotto=kuan1247 |glottorefname=Kuanyama |lingua = 99-AUR-la |guthrie=R.21 }} '''Kwanyama''' ({{langx|pt|Cuanhama}}) is a [[national language]] of [[Angola]] and [[Namibia]]. It is a standardized dialect of the [[Ovambo language]], and is [[mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] with [[Oshindonga]], the other Ovambo dialect with a standard written form.
The entire Christian Bible has been translated into Kwanyama and was first published in 1974 under the name ''Ombibeli'' by the South African Bible Society.<ref>Ombibeli, 1974, front page</ref> Jehovah's Witnesses released a translation of the [[New Testament|new testament]], the ''New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures'' in Kwanyama in 2019,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/south-africa/Jehovahs-Witnesses-Release-the-New-World-Translation-of-the-Christian-Greek-Scriptures-in-Kwanyama/|title=Jehovah's Witnesses Release the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures in Kwanyama|date=20 August 2019|website=Jw.org}}</ref> both printed and [https://www.jw.org/kj/oishangomwa/ombibeli/bi12/omambo/ electronic online version].
==Phonology== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+Consonants ! colspan="2" | ![[Labial consonant|Labial]] ![[Dental consonant|Alveolar]] ![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]] ![[Velar consonant|Velar]] ![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]] |- ! rowspan="3" |[[Plosive]] !<small>voiceless</small> |{{IPA link|p}} |{{IPA link|t}}~{{IPA link|t̪}} |{{IPA link|tʃ}} |{{IPA link|k}} | |- !<small>voiced</small> |{{IPA link|b}} |{{IPA link|d}}~{{IPA link|d̪}} |{{IPA link|dʒ}} | | |- !<small>prenasal</small> |{{IPA link|ᵐb}} |{{IPA link|ⁿd}} |{{IPA link|ⁿdʒ}} |{{IPA link|ᵑɡ}} | |- ! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative]] !<small>voiceless</small> |{{IPA link|f}} |({{IPA link|s}}) |{{IPA link|ʃ}} |{{IPA link|x}} |{{IPA link|h}} |- !<small>voiced</small> |{{IPA link|v}} | | | | |- ! rowspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]] !<small>voiced</small> |{{IPA link|m}} |{{IPA link|n}} |{{IPA link|ɲ}} | | |- !<small>voiceless</small> |{{IPA link|m̥}} |{{IPA link|n̥}} |{{IPA link|ɲ̊}} |{{IPA link|ŋ̊}} | |- ! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]] |{{IPA link|w}} |{{IPA link|l}} |{{IPA link|j}} | | |}
/t/ and /d/ are dentalized when followed by a front vowel /i/. An /s/ sound can only occur in loanwords.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+Vowels ! ![[Front vowel|Front]] ![[Back vowel|Back]] |- ![[Close vowel|Close]] |{{IPA link|i}} |{{IPA link|u}} |- ![[Mid vowel|Mid]] |{{IPA link|e}} |{{IPA link|o}} |- ![[Open vowel|Open]] | colspan="2" |{{IPA link|a}} |} '''<big>Tones</big>'''
Kwanyama has two tones : high and low.
== Grammar ==
=== Verbs === Verbs are inflected for two tenses: present and non-present. There is a mandatory subject concord before verbs, indicating person, tense, and negation. Verbs are divided into two categories, active and stative, each of which have different subject concords. The future tense in active verbs is indicated by inserting the auxiliary ''ka'' after the nonpast subject concord. {| class="wikitable" |+Kwanyama subject concords ! colspan="4" |Active ! colspan="5" |Stative |- !Person !Negation !Past !Nonpast !Person !Negation !Past !Present !Future |- ! rowspan="2" |1S !+ |Onda |Ohandi/Ohai ! rowspan="2" |1S !+ |Onda li ndi |Ondi |Ohandi ka kala ndi |- !- |Inandi |Itandi !- |Kandi li ndi |Kandi/ Nghi |Itandi ka kala ndi |- ! rowspan="2" |2S !+ |Owa |Oto ! rowspan="2" |2S !+ |Owa li u |Ou |Oto ka kala u |- !- |Ino |Ito !- |Kwa li u |Ku |Ito ka kala u |- ! rowspan="2" |3S !+ |Okwa |Ota ! rowspan="2" |3S !+ |Okwa li e |oku |Ota ka kala e |- !- |Ina |Ita !- |Ka li e |Ke |Ita ka kala e |- ! rowspan="2" |1P !+ |Otwa |Ohatu ! rowspan="2" |1P !+ |Otwa li tu |Otu |Ohatu ka kala tu |- !- |Inatu |Itatu !- |Katwa li tu |Katu |Itatu ka kala tu |- ! rowspan="2" |2P !+ |Omwa |Otamu ! rowspan="2" |2P !+ |Omwa li mu |Omu |Otamu ka kala mu |- !- |Inamu |Itamu !- |Kamwa li mu |Kamu |Itamu ka kala mu |- ! rowspan="2" |3P !+ |Ova |Otaa/Otava ! rowspan="2" |3P !+ |Ova li ve |Ove |Otava ka kala ve |- !- |Inaa/Inava |Itaa/Itava !- |Kava li ve |Kave |Itava ka kala ve |} Another way to negate a verb is to add the prefix ''ha-'' before the verb stem (ex. ''okwiimba'' 'to sing' -> ''okuhaimba'' 'to not sing').<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://fsi-languages.yojik.eu/languages/PeaceCorps/Kwanyama/haiti.pdf |title=A Beginners Guide to Oshikwanyama |publisher=Peace Corps}}</ref>
==References== <references/>
== Bibliography == *{{cite book |last=Crane |first=Thera |author2=Lindgren-Streicher, Karl |author3=Wingo, Andy |year=2004 |title=Hai ti! A Beginner's Guide to Oshikwanyama |url=http://wingolog.org/pub/hai-ti/hai-ti.pdf}} *{{Cite book|title=A Tonal Grammar of Kwanyama|url=https://archive.org/details/tonalgrammarkwan00halm|url-access=limited|last=Halme|first=Riikka|year=2004|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tonalgrammarkwan00halm/page/n6 12]-18}} *{{cite book |last=Zimmerman, W. |author2=Hasheela, P. |year=1998 |title=Oshikwanyama Grammar |location=Windhoek |publisher=Gamsberg Macmillan}}
==Further reading== *Turvey, B. H. C. (1977) ''Kwanyama-English Dictionary''; compiled by B. H. C. Turvey; edited by W. Zimmermann and G. B. Taapopi. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press {{ISBN|0854943153}} (based on the work compiled by George Tobias & Basil Henry Capes Turvey, 1954)
==External links== * [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_map.asp?name=NA&seq=10 Language map of Namibia] * [http://www.ikuska.com/Africa/Lenguas/kwanyama/index.htm Grammar and vocabulary] {{in lang|es}} * [http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Kwanyama PanAfrican L10n page on Kwanyama] * [http://mammana.org/bcp/kwanyama1957/ Omalinjongameno Ōngeleka. (Services of the Church in Kwanyama Authorised for Use in the Diocese of Damaraland, 1957)] digitized by Richard Mammana 2015 {{Incubator|code=kj}}
{{Languages of Angola}} {{Languages of Namibia}} {{Narrow Bantu languages (Zones N–S)}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Ovambo language]] [[Category:Languages of Namibia]] [[Category:Languages of Angola]]
{{Bantu-lang-stub}} {{Angola-stub}} {{Namibia-stub}}