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Zemba or Dhimba is a Bantu language spoken mainly in Angola where the language has about 18,000 speakers, and also in Namibia with some 7,000. It is closely related to Herero, and is often considered a dialect of that language, especially as the Zemba are ethnically Herero.

There are various spellings and pronunciations of the name: Zimba, Dhimba, Tjimba, Chimba, etc. However, when spelled Tjimba or Chimba in English, it generally refers to the Tjimba people, non-Herero hunter-gatherers who speak Zemba. The spelling Himba should be distinguished from the Himba people and their dialect of Herero.

Ethnologue separates Zemba as a distinct language from Himba (Otjihimba, Ovahimba), classified as a dialect of Herero proper. Maho (2009), however, sets up a Northwest Herero language, which includes Zemba; from the map, it would appear to include Himba and Hakaona as well.

References

1. ^ Zemba at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
3. Herero at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

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