German language in Namibia
German benefits from its similarity to Afrikaans and has a prominent position in the tourism and business sectors.
Boers, i.e. South African whites who spoke Dutch (South African Dutch would later develop into Afrikaans) already lived in the country alongside Orlam tribes and mixed-race Rehoboth Basters.
In 1920 Dutch (later to be superseded by Afrikaans) and English replaced German as the official languages of the country.
The German-speaking population wished German to be reinstated as an official language and in 1932 the Treaty of Cape Town encouraged South Africa to do so.
Though German lost its official status, it continues to be used in everyday Namibian life.
However, a customer entering such a shop may well be greeted in Afrikaans; relatively fewer signs are in Afrikaans but the language retains a leading position as a spoken lingua franca in Windhoek and throughout the central and southern parts of the country.
[5] Especially in the south, in the regions of Hardap and ǁKaras, many place names are German or Afrikaans.
[6] In Windhoek, Swakopmund, Keetmanshoop, Grootfontein and Lüderitz many or most street names are German in origin, even though after 1990 many streets were renamed to honor black Namibian people, predominantly but not exclusively from the currently ruling SWAPO party.
This variant of German is called variously Südwesterdeutsch (German südwest, southwest, referring to the country's former name, South West Africa); while younger people also call it Namsläng (i.e. Namibian slang) or Namdeutsch.
