Speakers living and languages dying: The endangerment of !Xóõ and øHua in Botswana

Abstract

!Xóõ and øHua are San languages spoken in Botswana, with !Xóõ also cross-bordering into South Africa and Namibia. !Xóõ is a Southern Khoesan language genetically affiliated to the Taa branch of Khoesan languages. The classification of øHua has been rather problematic. It has been classified with Southern Khoesan or Northern Khoesan, as an isolate or into the Ju-øHoan conglomerate. Both of these languages are acutely endangered. The objective of this article to is address the classification of !Xóõ and øHua, discuss the geographical spread in Botswana and lay out factors that lead to their acute endangerment in the country. The paper argues that endangering factors include the San relocation exercise in Botswana, contact with powerful Bantu groups and the current anguage/ language-in-education policy. The collective effect of these factors is the obliteration of !Xóõ and the øHua cultures and languages, and the domination and marginalization of these people in the land of their birth. The paper further recommends that this decimation of !Xóõ and øHua language and culture could be curbed by an enabling political will, documentation of these cultures and languages, the development of orthographies if possible, among other things.