Namibian Black German
Namibian Black German, also NBG, is a pidgin language of Namibia that derives from standard German. It is nearly extinct. It was spoken mostly by Namibians who did not learn standard German during the period of German rule. It was never a first language. It is currently spoken as a second language by people over 50 years old, who today usually also speak German, Afrikaans, or English.History
Colonial acquisition of German in Namibia often took place outside of formal education and was primarily self-taught. Like many pidgin languages, Namibian Black German developed through limited access to the standard language and was restricted to the work environment.
Currently several hundred thousand Namibians speak German as a second language, and while Namibian German often does not adhere to standard German, it is not pidgin.Prepositions
English and Afrikaans have left an influence on the development of NBG, leading to three primary prepositional patterns:
- adding a preposition where Standard German would use the accusative
- dropping prepositions which are usually present in Standard German
- changing the preposition that is required by the verb
Examples
Examples of phrases with Standard German equivalents:
- Lange nicht sehen - long no see
- Was Banane kosten? - How much does the banana cost?
- spät Uhr - 'late hour', meaning 'it's late'
- Herr fahren Jagd, nicht Haus - "Master went hunting and he's not at home"
