Namlish...

English is the national language in Namibia. Of course, the quality of English varies greatly depending on whether one is in a rural or urban community, the individuals' level of education, etc. Interestingly enough most of the Namibians I know speak multiple languages including, but not limited to, their mother tongue, at least one other Bantu language, Afrikaans, and English. For instance, one of the women I work closely with at the office speaks Damara (a click language) as her mother-tongue, Otjiherero (a Bantu language) because her husband is Herero, Otjiwambo (another Bantu language) because it is closely related to Otjiherero, Afrikaans because she was educated under the apartheid regime, and English because it is now the language of the government! And she is not alone; I am continually impressed by how effortlessly Namibians flow between two or more languages in the course of a 3 minute conversation.

With all of these languages floating around in peoples brains, it is no small wonder that things can sometimes get a little mashed up. Enter Namlish. Namlish is the amalgamation which has resulted from Namibians infusing English with various expressions used in the assortment of mother-tongue's found here.

A few brief examples of Namlish:

• "I am coming now" = "I am leaving and will be back at some undisclosed time" (this is often used as someone is walking out of the room)

• "Now now" (as in 'i am coming to meet you now now') = "it will happen eventually" note: the number of "nows" generally indicates the urgency so if someone says they will do something "now now" it may happen in the next few days, whereas if they said "now now now now now" it may happen within the next few hours

• "Iz it?" = wow, i had to think for about 5 mins before i could remember the English equivalent "really? for real? is that so?"

• "So?" = used in my region the same way that 'Iz it' is used in the rest of the country

• "Borrow me" (as in "Borrow me a dollar") = " give me" the concept of "borrowing" something doesn't really exist in most Namibian cultures; lending and giving are typically considered the same thing.

• "nay?" (as in "the weather is hot today, nay?") = often used as a way to affirm your statement

• "a rubber" = "rubber band" Im sure you can imagine how confused and surprised I was the first time one of my older female colleagues asked me to "borrow her a rubber."

• "naughty" = "bad" this is generally used to describe people or animals and it still makes me giggle every time i hear it. "oh, that cow is very naughty"

• "Fine/nawa" = Fine (nawa) can be used as a response to a greeting, such as "how are you? I am fine" or as the entire greeting. Occasionally I will pass someone in the street and they will greet me with "Fine" or "Nawa." This might be unique to my area, where making an "Mmmmmmmmm" sound at the back of your throat is also considered a greeting.

Needless to say, my English has degenerated significantly. Sometimes it takes me a little while to figure out how things are said in American English. I am aware that my spoken English now has a slightly different structure, i have developed a funny accent, and in general I speak much slower. I sometimes wonder if I am doing a disservice to my mother tongue by adapting my English to the Namibian way, but i believe adapting ultimately helps me to be better understood, nay?