The Linguistic Dilemma in Namibia’s Zambezi Region: Is the dominance of the Silozi language a curse or a blessing? Zambezi Region: Is the dominance of the Silozi language a curse or a blessing

Abstract

The geographically isolated Zambezi Region, formerly known as the Caprivi Region/Strip is the land of contrasts with a history unique to Namibia. In this part of the country, people are geographically, socially, culturally and linguistically different from the rest of Namibia. The Region is home to about eight (8) languages and language groups, viz Subia, Yeyi, Fwe, Totela, Mbukushu, Barakwena, Mbalangwe and the region’s lingua franca, Silozi. Despite their Bantu provenance and classification, the languages of the Zambezi Region are somehow different to those of a similar nature in mainland Namibia, and are much closer to those of nearby Zambia and Botswana. The Silozi language is the most dominant in the Region and exclusively used in most domains of local governance at the expense of other indigenous languages of the Region. Technically, it can also be argued that Silozi is not a Namibian language, but rather that of neighbouring Zambia where it is spoken as a first language by close to a million people. How Silozi became part of Namibia’s eight (8) nationally recognised languages is largely historical and political and this was discussed in this paper. The frequent political tension in the region is often exacerbated by linguistic differences. It is this linguistic and political differences which are partially blamed for the formation of the secessionist movement called the Caprivi Liberation Army which launched a short lived insurrection against the Namibian state in the region in August of 2009. It is from this premise that the paper intended to investigate how and why Silozi became the dominant language mostly used in the region and how this impacts the development of other indigenous languages.