The future of African languages in Namibia: is there a plan?

Abstract

After independence in 1990, Namibia made English, spoken by 0.8% of its 1.6 million inhabitants, the new sole official language. However, there is a gap between the ideological position of English and the status of indigenous languages. The gap requires a very clear, well-balanced policy such that the indigenous languages would also play their meaningful roles. Regarding language-status planning, the allocative decisions to develop and use certain indigenous languages have not been made, the policy itself being vague in the first place. The purpose of this article is to examine the cost-effectiveness of the policy.