Endangered Languages Project

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~10,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Naro is spoken by roughly 10000 Naro as their first, and by about the same number of people as their second language."

SPEAKER ATTITUDE: Positive
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: Kuru Development Trust
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "Hessel and Coby Visser supported the standardization of Naro and fostered literacy in this language. The language is an important feature of Naro identity and language loyalty among Naro might be the strongest of all Khoisan speaking communities. Naro is one of the dominant languages in the Ghanzi district and there is a certain level of standardization reached through decades of language work done by the Kuru Development Trust."
Scripts (Writing system): Yes

PLACES: Botswana; Namibia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "The majority of Naro speakers work on commercial farms in the Ghanzi area. However, there are still some Naro villages, such as East- and West-Hanahai with 300 inhabitants each, and D’Kar with 1000 Naro inhabitants. About 1000 Naro speakers live in the bordering area in Namibia."

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Ethnic population
7,600-9,400

DATE OF INFO: 1995-1999

DOMAINS OF USE

MORE ON VITALITY

"Certainly the vitality of Naro was assisted by the relatively positive attitude that Afrikaans-speakers in Ghanzi have had toward Naro. Afrikaans-speaking ranchers are often bilingual in Naro to some degree. Afrikaans-speaking shop keepers often speak Naro to their customers."

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

Positive

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"Both Naro and Ju|'hoan have had language development efforts for over a decade. This may have resulted in more positive attitudes among the speakers of these languages."

PLACES: Botswana

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Ghanzi

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Villages, settlements, and towns: "East Hanahai, West Hanahai, Chobokwane, New Xanagas, D'kar, Ghanzi, Bere, Kacgae, Kuke, Groot Laagte, Karakobis, Charles Hill, Kule"

SPEAKER ATTITUDE: Positive
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: Kuru Development Trust
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "The [Kuru Development] Trust has managed, for several years, to empower the Naro people through literacy, education and texts in the Naro language. This has resulted in enhanced linguistic vitality and cultural pride."
Scripts (Writing system): Yes

PLACES: Botswana

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~10,000
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 1991

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: Dictionary, Bible translation, Kuru Development Trust, literacy classes and materials, Qauqaua book of folk tales
Scripts (Writing system): Latin-based, rendering clicks with rarely-used Latin letters
More on Orthography: "We collected words and put them in a wordlist. This list grew into a dictionary, of which we published a first preliminary version in 1994. In the meantime, we had developed a preliminary orthography, that would also serve the purpose of teaching the local people to read and write."

PLACES: Botswana

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: D'kar, Ghanzi District

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: "This [Naro] population is spread out over a big area, stretching from over the border with Namibia through Ghanzi town to the Kike area in Ngamiland."

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~10,000
Native speakers worldwide

PLACES: Botswana, Namibia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Gantsi District, Botswana

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: "The Naro language is mainly spoken in an area that stretches from Kuke in the Gantsi District in Botswana, through Gantsi town, to just over the border into Namibia."

Vulnerable

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
6,000-8,000 speakers in Botswana

DATE OF INFO: 1995

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

MORE ON VITALITY

"Forty three percent of those [in the Ghanzi District] who speak a language other than the one they learned from their parents best said that they speak Naro best. According to this data, Naro has in this generation gained more speakers than it lost."

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

Positive

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

Used as medium of education in some preschools

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

!Xóõ
/Gwi
≠Kx'au//'ein
Afrikaans
English
Goo
Herero
Kgalagari
Nama
Ts'ao
Tswana

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"Some booklets are being published and some adults are being taught to read and write Naro… Naro is being used as a medium of education in some preschools in Ghanzi District."

"Most of the people in the Ghanzi District speak two or more languages. More people said that they speak Tswana as a second language than any other language. "

Scripts (Writing system)

Yes

More on Orthography

"An orthography was developed for the language in the early 1990's."

PLACES: Botswana, Namibia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Ghanzi, Northwest, Botswana; Namibia

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: "[Naro] is spoken primarily in Ghanzi District."

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
9,000
Native speakers worldwide

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "Long-term language work by religious missions has created a strong sense of linguistic identity among the Naro."

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
9,000
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
9,000
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"The name 'Naro' 'appears to hold no meaning other than being the specific designation for the language of this group.' (Guenther, 1986a, p 5) They use their language to differentiate themselves from other Bushmen."

DATE OF INFO: 1986

Scripts (Writing system): Roman
More on Orthography: "Visser (1994) devised a fully romanised orthography for the Naro. However, the language is not standardized."

PLACES: Eastern Namibia, western Ghanzi district of Botswana.

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
6,000-9,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"According to Guenther (1986a) there are 9,000 Naro, 5,000 in Botswana and 4,000 in Namibia. Barnard (1992:135) gives the more modest figure 'more than 6,000'. According to Visser (1994) there are closer to 6,000 than to 15,000 Naro in Botswana. Hasselbring's estimation is that there are 8,000 Naro in the Ghanzi district (Hasselbring 1996:7). Whichever figure is most correct, we can conclude that the Naro is one of the major Khoisan groups. They may constitute something like 10 per cent of the Khoisan speaking people in Botswana."

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "It is probably not the case today that Naro attracts new speakers from other non-Khoisan groups, but among the Khoisan languages it is clear that Naro is one of the stronger languages. To some extent, Naro is used as a lingua franca among other Khoisan speakers in the Ghanzi area."

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "The Naro live along the Ghanzi Ridge, a 100-150 km wide ridge of sedentary and volcanic formation which runs along the road from Sandfontein to Maun. In fact, the road was built along the ridge. The area is rich in water and has been the traditional area of the Naro."

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
14,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Naro is stable"

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
14,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
10,000 in Botswana (2004 R. Cook). Population total all countries: 14,000.

DATE OF INFO: 2004

PLACES: Botswana, Namibia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Ghanzi District, Ghanzi, Bere, Dekar, East Hanahai, West Hanahai, Kuke, New Kanagas, Tshobokwane, Makunda, Grootelaagte, Karakobis, Kanagas, Charles Hill, and commercial farms. Also in Namibia.

ALSO KNOWN AS		Nharo, Naron, /Ai San, Nharon, Nhauru, Nhaurun, \|\|Aikwe, \|Aikwe, \|\|Ai\|\|en, \|\|Aisan, \|\|Ai\|\|e, Qoo, Gaa, Ts'ao
CLASSIFICATION		Khoe, Kalahari
ORTHOGRAPHY		Yes
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		nhr
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Ts'ao
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

	Duisburger Arbeiten zur Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft		2000	Where are the Khoesan of Botswana?	Botswana: the Future of the Minority Languages	13-31		Herman M. Batibo and Birgit Smieja	Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang	40				Sue Hasselbring	Sue Hasselbring. 2000. "Where Are the Khoesan of Botswana?" In Botswana: the Future of the Minority Languages, edited by Herman M. Batibo and Birgit Smieja. 40: 13-31. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.	HHOLD	7,600-9,400		1995-1999				To the chief, clinic workers		Positive	"Both Naro and Ju\|'hoan have had language development efforts for over a decade. This may have resulted in more positive attitudes among the speakers of these languages."			Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	"Certainly the vitality of Naro was assisted by the relatively positive attitude that Afrikaans-speakers in Ghanzi have had toward Naro. Afrikaans-speaking ranchers are often bilingual in Naro to some degree. Afrikaans-speaking shop keepers often speak Naro to their customers."	13		Villages, settlements, and towns: "East Hanahai, West Hanahai, Chobokwane, New Xanagas, D'kar, Ghanzi, Bere, Kacgae, Kuke, Groot Laagte, Karakobis, Charles Hill, Kule"	Botswana	Ghanzi	-22.156446,21.88433
0199255911			2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures				Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer	Oxford University Press		New York				2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.																					-22.3333333333,20.5
		16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)				M. Paul Lewis	SIL International		Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		14,000	2004	10000-99999	10,000 in Botswana (2004 R. Cook). Population total all countries: 14,000.								Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Botswana, Namibia	Ghanzi District, Ghanzi, Bere, Dekar, East Hanahai, West Hanahai, Kuke, New Kanagas, Tshobokwane, Makunda, Grootelaagte, Karakobis, Kanagas, Charles Hill, and commercial farms. Also in Namibia.
	Sociolinguistic studies of Botswana language series		2000	A sociolinguistic survey of the languages of Botswana		1-142			Basarwa Languages Project, Collaborative Basarwa Research Programme of the Univ. of Botswana & Univ. of Tromsø	v. 1	Gaborone			Hasselbring, Sue	Sue Hasselbring. 2000. "A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Languages of Botswana." v. 1: 1-142. Basarwa Languages Project, Collaborative Basarwa Research Programme of the Univ. of Botswana & Univ. of Tromsø.	EBALL			1995		6,000-8,000 speakers in Botswana		With the chief, at the clinic, church, writing	!Xóõ, /Gwi, ≠Kx'au//'ein, Afrikaans, English, Goo, Herero, Kgalagari, Nama, Ts'ao, Tswana	Positive	"Some booklets are being published and some adults are being taught to read and write Naro… Naro is being used as a medium of education in some preschools in Ghanzi District." "Most of the people in the Ghanzi District speak two or more languages. More people said that they speak Tswana as a second language than any other language. "	Used as medium of education in some preschools		Vulnerable (40 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	"Forty three percent of those [in the Ghanzi District] who speak a language other than the one they learned from their parents best said that they speak Naro best. According to this data, Naro has in this generation gained more speakers than it lost."	12	10	"[Naro] is spoken primarily in Ghanzi District."	Botswana, Namibia	Ghanzi, Northwest, Botswana; Namibia
			1998	Few People, Many Tongues: The Languages of Namibia		222			Windhoek, Namibia: Gamsberg Macmillan					Jouni F. Maho	Maho, Jouni F. 1998. Few People, Many Tongues: The Languages of Namibia. Windhoek, Namibia: Gamsberg Macmillan. x+222pp. (Survey of the linguistic typology and the sociolinguistics of the Namibian languages. Revision (heavy) of Maho (1993).)	HHOLD	9,000	9,000	1986	1000-9999	"The name 'Naro' 'appears to hold no meaning other than being the specific designation for the language of this group.' (Guenther, 1986a, p 5) They use their language to differentiate themselves from other Bushmen."								Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Eastern Namibia, western Ghanzi district of Botswana.
			2011	The twelve modern Khoisan languages	Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Khoisan Languages and Linguistics									Matthias Brenzinger	Matthias Brenzinger. 2011. "The Twelve Modern Khoisan Languages." In Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Khoisan Languages and Linguistics,			~10,000		10000-99999	"Naro is spoken by roughly 10000 Naro as their first, and by about the same number of people as their second language."	Several thousand			Positive	"Hessel and Coby Visser supported the standardization of Naro and fostered literacy in this language. The language is an important feature of Naro identity and language loyalty among Naro might be the strongest of all Khoisan speaking communities. Naro is one of the dominant languages in the Ghanzi district and there is a certain level of standardization reached through decades of language work done by the Kuru Development Trust."	Kuru Development Trust		Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Botswana; Namibia	"The majority of Naro speakers work on commercial farms in the Ghanzi area. However, there are still some Naro villages, such as East- and West-Hanahai with 300 inhabitants each, and D’Kar with 1000 Naro inhabitants. About 1000 Naro speakers live in the bordering area in Namibia."	-21.677848, 21.717224
9780520255609			2008	One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost					University of California					Peter Austin	Austin, Peter. 2008. "One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost." University of California.			14,000		10000-99999	"Naro is stable"								Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
			1997	Khoisan groups and languages	Languages in Botswana: language ecology in southern Africa	123-142	Deals with Ju/’hoan, €Kx’au//’ein, Nama/Damara, Naro, /Gwi, //Gana, Kxoe, Shua, Tshwa, and !Xóõ.		Longman Botswana		Gaborone			Lars-Gunnar Andersson and Tore Janson	Lars-Gunnar Andersson and Tore Janson. 1997. "Khoisan Groups and Languages." In Languages in Botswana: language ecology in southern Africa, 123-142. Longman Botswana.	EBALL		6,000-9,000		1000-9999	"According to Guenther (1986a) there are 9,000 Naro, 5,000 in Botswana and 4,000 in Namibia. Barnard (1992:135) gives the more modest figure 'more than 6,000'. According to Visser (1994) there are closer to 6,000 than to 15,000 Naro in Botswana. Hasselbring's estimation is that there are 8,000 Naro in the Ghanzi district (Hasselbring 1996:7). Whichever figure is most correct, we can conclude that the Naro is one of the major Khoisan groups. They may constitute something like 10 per cent of the Khoisan speaking people in Botswana."					"It is probably not the case today that Naro attracts new speakers from other non-Khoisan groups, but among the Khoisan languages it is clear that Naro is one of the stronger languages. To some extent, Naro is used as a lingua franca among other Khoisan speakers in the Ghanzi area."			Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						"The Naro live along the Ghanzi Ridge, a 100-150 km wide ridge of sedentary and volcanic formation which runs along the road from Sandfontein to Maun. In fact, the road was built along the ridge. The area is rich in water and has been the traditional area of the Naro."
	Duisburger Arbeiten zur Sprach-und Kulturwissenschaft		2000	Linguistic Barriers as a Hindrance to Information Flow: The Case of Botswana	Botswana: the Future of the Minority Languages	95-104		Herman M. Batibo and Birgit Smieja	Peter Lang		Düsseldorf, Germany			Herman M. Batibo and Naledi Mosaka	Herman M. Batibo and Naledi Mosaka. 2000. "Linguistic Barriers As a Hindrance To Information Flow: The Case of Botswana." In Botswana: the Future of the Minority Languages, edited by Herman M. Batibo and Birgit Smieja. 95-104. Peter Lang.								Radio	Setswana, English	Positive	"The [Kuru Development] Trust has managed, for several years, to empower the Naro people through literacy, education and texts in the Naro language. This has resulted in enhanced linguistic vitality and cultural pride."	Kuru Development Trust	Setswana proficiency: 39.8%%; English: 25.4%%						Botswana
	Quellen zur Khoisan-Forschung (Research in Khoisan studies), #15		1998	The phonological system of Naro	Language, identity and conceptualization among the Khoisan	117-136		Schladt, Mathias	Rüdiger Köppe Verlag	15	Köln			Visser, Hessel	Hessel Visser. 1998. "The Phonological System of Naro." In Language, identity and conceptualization among the Khoisan, edited by Mathias Schladt. 15: 117-136. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.	EBALL		~10,000		10000-99999									Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				"The Naro language is mainly spoken in an area that stretches from Kuke in the Gantsi District in Botswana, through Gantsi town, to just over the border into Namibia."	Botswana, Namibia	Gantsi District, Botswana	-23.308207,24.489684; -21.698744,21.630093; -21.693161,20.920286
	Duisburger Arbeiten zur Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft, #40		2000	Language and cultural empowerment of the Khoesan people: the Naro experience	Botswana: the Future of the Minority Languages	193-215		Herman M. Batibo and Birgit Smieja	Peter Lang	40	Frankfurt-am-Main			Hessel Visser	Hessel Visser. 2000. "Language and Cultural Empowerment of the Khoesan People: the Naro Experience." In Botswana: the Future of the Minority Languages, edited by Herman M. Batibo and Birgit Smieja. 40: 193-215. Peter Lang.	EBALL		~10,000	1991	10000-99999							Dictionary, Bible translation, Kuru Development Trust, literacy classes and materials, Qauqaua book of folk tales		Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				"This [Naro] population is spread out over a big area, stretching from over the border with Namibia through Ghanzi town to the Kike area in Ngamiland."	Botswana	D'kar, Ghanzi District	-21.53317,21.934448
9783110170498	Trends in Linguistics: Studies and Monographs		2007	Language Endangerment in Southern and Eastern Africa	Language Diversity Endangered	179-204		Matthias Brenzinger	Mouton de Gruyter		Berlin	9		Matthias Brenzinger	Brenzinger, Matthias. 2007. "Language Endangerment in Southern and Eastern Africa." In Language Diversity Endangered, edited by Matthias Brenzinger. 179-204. Mouton de Gruyter.			9,000		1000-9999		about 9,000				"Long-term language work by religious missions has created a strong sense of linguistic identity among the Naro."			Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Naro

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~10,000

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~10,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~10,000

Vulnerable

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

9,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

9,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6,000-9,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

14,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

14,000

Discussion

Naro

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~10,000

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~10,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~10,000

Vulnerable

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

9,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

9,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6,000-9,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

14,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

14,000

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

Download language data

Sources of information

Compare Sources