The Himba people, who are related to the Herero and Mbanderu, speak a dialect very close to Otjiherero.

[3] Because of the translation of missionary Gottlieb Viehe (1839–1901) of the Bible into Herero, at the end of the 19th century, the spoken language was transcribed to an alphabet based on the Latin script.

Father Peter Heinrich Brincker (1836–1904) translated several theological works and songs.

Otjiherero is taught in Namibian schools both as a native tongue and as a secondary language.

The Hakaona variety is now considered a separate Bantu language, as sometimes is Zemba (Otjizemba).