by Johan Meyer
Namibia is a culturally diverse country. Although English is the only official language, there are nine recognised national languages and three recognised regional languages. These statuses mean these languages are taught in school and used in national broadcasting. Two of these languages, Afrikaans and German, are linked to Namibia’s colonial history before independence. The other languages are indigenous to the area.
All birds have a scientific name that is used internationally to identify a bird up to species level. These names are unique for each species, but in reality, these names also change over time. These names are used alongside bird names in various languages. Depending on the language, a certain level of standardisation has taken place. In English, the International Ornithological Committee’s (IOC) names are mostly used. Similar standardisation of bird names has occurred for languages like French, Spanish and German to name a few. This has been done for all the birds of the world. For some languages, like Afrikaans, a regional list of standardised names is used.
These names are species specific. This means that each species has its own unique name in that specific language. Historically, most languages only have generic names used for similar birds. These birds may not even be related, but since they are similar, they have the same name. Due to this, names have been artificially standardised in many languages. The first attempt for this for any African language was done by H. Kolberg for Herero. He made a list of species-specific names for some birds of Namibia in 1986. This list was not complete for all the birds of Namibia but showed that bird names could be standardised in an African language. Before this list, only general bird names were known and used. The aim of this study was to list the names that were species specific for the birds of Namibia found in literature sources.
Method
This study consisted of an extensive literature search. Mainly dictionaries, but also other sources, were consulted. All bird names found were recorded to create a database. This database had a specific structure. With each entry the following was recorded:
1. The name in the specific language.
2. The name in the language found in source (mainly English, Afrikaans or German)
3. The source name
4. The family of birds to which the name belongs
5. The scientific name if it is found in source.
The names that were species specific, meaning they refer to just one species, were noted and put in a separate database. This species- specific names database was analysed for this study. A full list of the sources of the literature search is found at the end of the article.
Results and Discussion
Herero had the most names. This is due to the work of H. Kolberg in 1986. He produced a list of various species for which he standardised the names. Kwanyama had the least names, only 7 representing 7 species. This does not necessarily reflect the number of names existing in the language, but rather an indication of the amount and quality of the sources used. Only one dictionary was consulted in the study. Herero also had the highest percentage of Namibian birds with species specific names, and Kwanyama had the lowest. The average percentage of birds with species-specific names was only 8.44%. Even Herero with the highest number of species-specific names only had 17.77%. On the other end of the spectrum Kwanyama had a mere 1.03%.
Unlike English, Afrikaans and German, the other Namibian languages are lacking in names for birds. It has to be taken into account that only species-specific names were taken into account. All the languages mentioned here still have many generic names, where one name is used in general for more than one species. Thus, there is a need to standardise the names using these generic names by adding descriptive parts.
Conclusion.
It can clearly be seen that much research is needed in regards to bird names in the national and regional languages of Namibia. More dictionaries need to be consulted. Field work also needs to be done in order to document bird names before they get lost, as younger generations normally do not know the names of birds in their language. The rich birdlife of Namibia can only be fully appreciated by all Namibians if they have names for all of the birds in their own language. This will also create a better awareness of the rich birdlife that Namibia has and will aid in the conservation of birds.
Gestwicki, R. 1966. An English – Herero, Herero – English Dictionary. Anglican Church, Windhoek, Namibia.
Haacke, W.G.H., Eiseb, E., Gericke, C. 2010. Khoekhoegowab-Afrikaans Glossarium. Macmillan Education Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.