Kwambi or Otshikwambi is a dialect of the Ovambo language spoken by the Kwambi tribe in Northern Namibia. Unlike Ndonga and Kwanyama it does not have a standardized written form in schools but is used and written in the Roman Catholic Church in Namibia. It shares more features with Ndonga than with Kwanyama.
Kwambi uses a five-vowel system:
Kwambi contains the following consonant phonemes:
Note that the symbol /þ/ has been chosen for the liquid phoneme in the table even though this phoneme has a wide range of pronunciations even in the speech of individual speakers, just like in Ndonga, ranging from an alveolar tap [þ] to a lateral approximant [l], with something that can perhaps be described as a lateral flap also occurring. Magnusson (2003) found a tendency for Kwambi speakers to use a tap pronunciation more often than a lateral approximant, and also a tendency for Kwambi speakers to use this alveolar tap more than speakers of Ndonga.
Kwambi shares most of its vocabulary with Ndonga. However, in addition to some differences which are predictable due to phonological differences (such as Kwambi âÂÂâ vs. Ndonga âÂÂshunaâ (=go back) due to the fact that Ndonga has no affricate) there are some other differences as well.
There are word pairs where Kwambi has /w/ instead of Ndonga /j/ even though both dialects have both phonemes as part of their phonological inventory â for example âÂÂekuwaâ vs. âÂÂekuyaâ for âÂÂaxeâ and âÂÂuuluwiâ vs. âÂÂuuluyiâ for âÂÂbrainâÂÂ.
Kwambi âÂÂpwaakenaâ for âÂÂlistenâ corresponds to Ndonga âÂÂpulakenaâÂÂ.
In some words Kwambi has /h/ where Ndonga has /j/, as in for example âÂÂhinaâ vs. âÂÂyinaâ (=his/her/their mother), âÂÂhaâ vs. âÂÂyaâ (=go) and âÂÂehegoâ vs. âÂÂeyegoâ (=tooth).
Words for âÂÂgoodâ and âÂÂbadâ come in a variety of forms, but h-forms such as âÂÂaahanawaâÂÂ, âÂÂuuhanawaâÂÂ, âÂÂiihanawaâ etc. (=good) and âÂÂaahineyiâÂÂ, âÂÂuuhineyiâ and âÂÂiihineyiâ (=bad) are only found in Kwambi, not in Ndonga (compare âÂÂaawanawaâÂÂ, âÂÂuuwanawaâÂÂ, âÂÂiiwanawaâ and âÂÂaawinayiâÂÂ, âÂÂuuwinayiâÂÂ, âÂÂiiwinayiâ respectively).
The personal pronoun for 1st person plural is âÂÂseâ in Kwambi but âÂÂtseâ in Ndonga. A difference in 1st person singular pronouns, Kwambi âÂÂngayeâ vs. Ndonga âÂÂngameâÂÂ, is noticeable when comparing spoken Kwambi with written Ndonga, but in spoken Ndonga âÂÂngayeâ is commonly used, just like in Kwambi. Similarly, for 2nd person singular Kwambi âÂÂngweyeâ at first glance seems to contrast with Ndonga âÂÂngoyeâÂÂ, but again there is less of a difference if we only compare the spoken varieties of the dialects, since âÂÂngweyeâ is commonly found in spoken Ndonga.
The word for âÂÂwhoâ in Kwambi is âÂÂoreâ (plural âÂÂooreâÂÂ), contrasting with Ndonga âÂÂâ (plural âÂÂâÂÂ).
The sequence nasal+fricative in some Ndonga demonstratives (ndhika, ndhoka etc.) corresponds to a single fricative in Kwambi (dhika, dhoka etc.). Demonstratives with an initial sequence nasal+k in Ndonga are absent from Kwambi, where the forms âÂÂhukaâÂÂ, âÂÂhokaâ etc. are always used instead of âÂÂâÂÂ, âÂÂâ etc. A phenomenon whereby non-syllabic /m/ cannot occur in front of /v/ in Kwambi might be related, and it gives rise to word pairs such as Kwambi âÂÂâ (=rain) and âÂÂâ (=this year) vs. Ndonga âÂÂomvulaâ and âÂÂnuumvoâÂÂ.
All verbs except âÂÂhaâ (=go) must be analysed as lacking an initial /h/ in Kwambi, which gives us word pairs such as Kwambi âÂÂaraâ vs. Ndonga âÂÂhalaâ (=want) and Kwambi âÂÂangaâ vs. Ndonga âÂÂhangaâ (=brew beer). However, a phonological rule inserts an initial [h] in front of verbs in certain contexts as described by Magnusson (2003), which means that this difference is not always obvious.
Although both dialects have the words âÂÂkuutumbaâ and âÂÂkaatumbaâ for âÂÂsitâÂÂ, Kwambi has a third commonly used variant, namely âÂÂkiitumbaâÂÂ, which does not exist in Ndonga. A vowel difference can also be seen in the word pair âÂÂâ (Kwambi) vs. âÂÂkakamaâ (Ndonga) for âÂÂshiverâÂÂ.
The word for âÂÂlike thisâ is âÂÂngeyiâ in Ndonga but âÂÂngiiâÂÂ, âÂÂngiinoâ or âÂÂngiikaâ in Kwambi. This also has an effect on the words for âÂÂnowâÂÂ, which seem to be derived from these. In other words, Kwambi âÂÂngashingiiâÂÂ, âÂÂngashingiikaâ and âÂÂngashingiinoâ correspond to Ndonga âÂÂngashingeyiâ (or âÂÂngayingeyiâÂÂ).
There are also cases where the two dialects use non-cognate words, like Kwambi âÂÂembareâ vs. Ndonga âÂÂegalaâ (=hat), Kwambi âÂÂotshimbareâ vs. Ndonga âÂÂontungwaâ (a kind of traditional basket) and âÂÂâ vs. Ndonga âÂÂoshigandhiâ (=granary, corn bin). Also, there is a part of a traditional Ovambo homestead that is called âÂÂotshotoâ in Kwambi but âÂÂoshinyangaâ in Ndonga. The word âÂÂonimeâ for lion is an exclusively Ndonga word, while the synonym âÂÂonkoshiâ is used in both dialects.
At least one case exists where Kwambi and Ndonga assign a word to different noun classes, namely the word âÂÂoshoroâ (with class 9 prefix o-), which in Ndonga is âÂÂâ (with class 14 prefix uu-). The word refers to a game involving small holes in the ground and pebbles.
There are significant differences in the use of conjunctions, with the common Ndonga conjunction âÂÂiheâ (=but, consequently) being absent from Kwambi, where âÂÂndereâ can be used instead. Kwambi âÂÂngenoâ (which can serve for example to introduce counteractive clauses), on the other hand, is absent from Ndonga. Furthermore, the Ndonga word âÂÂeâ (which can perhaps be best translated as âÂÂandâÂÂ) is practically absent from Magnusson's (2003) Kwambi material. âÂÂNkene/nkeeâ and âÂÂonkene/onkeeâ are also very rare in Kwambi.
Regarding the numerals, Kwambi uses mostly âÂÂineâ as a word for âÂÂfourâ when counting words from noun class 4 and 10, contrasting with Ndonga âÂÂneâÂÂ, and âÂÂuwaariâ for âÂÂtwoâ when the head noun belongs to noun class 14, contrasting with Ndonga âÂÂuyaliâÂÂ. Traditional Kwambi also had a distinct set of words for the numbers six, seven and eight, which was not sensitive to the noun class of the counted object and was based on a system of counting âÂÂlittle fingersâÂÂ. The word for âÂÂsixâÂÂ, âÂÂkanekamweâÂÂ, corresponded to Ndonga âÂÂhamanoâÂÂ, âÂÂuunuwariâ for âÂÂsevenâ corresponded to Ndonga âÂÂheyaliâ and âÂÂuunuutatuâ for âÂÂeightâ corresponded to Ndonga âÂÂâÂÂ. These were contracted forms of the phrases âÂÂâÂÂ, âÂÂâ and âÂÂâ respectively, meaning âÂÂone little fingerâ âÂÂtwo little fingersâ and âÂÂthree little fingersâÂÂ. Some older speakers can still be heard using these forms (Magnusson (2003) even recorded one case of an elderly man using the uncontracted form âÂÂâ for âÂÂeightâÂÂ), but they are clearly disappearing from the language.
Finally, there are cases where a word which exists in both dialects has an extended meaning in one of them. The word âÂÂyogaâÂÂ, which in both dialects means âÂÂswimâÂÂ, is used in Ndonga also in the sense âÂÂwashâÂÂ, for which Kwambi uses âÂÂkoshaâÂÂ. In a similar vein, Ndonga uses âÂÂnyolaâ (=engrave) also in the sense âÂÂwriteâÂÂ, for which Kwambi uses âÂÂtshangaâÂÂ. In the case of the word âÂÂepashaâ (Ndonga âÂÂepahaâÂÂ), meaning âÂÂtwin birthâÂÂ, it seems that it is instead Kwambi that has an extended meaning for the word, using it to denote something abnormal at birth more generally, e.g. a case where the baby's feet come out first.
As with the vocabulary, Kwambi morphology is basically similar to Ndonga. Some of the differences that exist are predictable due to phonological differences. For example, grammatical forms associated with Bantu noun class 7 consistently have an affricate in Kwambi where Ndonga has a fricative, which for example can be seen in the local names of the dialects themselves: Otshikwambi vs. Oshindonga.
Nevertheless, not all differences are due to differences in the phoneme inventories of the two dialects. Most notably, the use of the prefix ee- for noun class 10 (like in Kwanyama) sets Kwambi apart from Ndonga, which uses oo-. The existence of a form emu- or eemu- co-existing with omi- as a noun class 4 prefix is only found in Kwambi, not in Ndonga. Furthermore, Kwambi has a simplified system for negative concords, where the forms for the negative subjunctive are the same as those of the negative habitual (1p sing âÂÂkandiâÂÂ, 1p pl âÂÂkatuâ etc.). Another difference is that Kwambi makes a distinction between noun classes 8 and 9 in that many of the grammatical forms for class 9 have an /h/ where Ndonga uses /j/, which makes the Ndonga class 9 forms such as âÂÂâ (present tense concord) and âÂÂoyaâ (past tense concord) identical to those used by both dialects for class 8. Lastly, whereas Ndonga has a full set of forms for âÂÂonlyâÂÂ, inflected according to noun class (âÂÂalikeâÂÂ, âÂÂagukeâ etc.), Kwambi uses the uninflected word âÂÂikeâÂÂ, as in âÂÂomadhina ikeâ (=only the names).
A New Testament was published in the Kwambi language in 1951, as Etestamtente Epe. The Gospels and the Apocalypse were translated by Father K. Kress and the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles were translated by Father Franz Seiler and published by Omission Heklesia Ekatolika.