Editing Khwe language (section)

== Orthography ==
In 1957, Oswin Köhler, founder of the Institut für Afrikanistik at the [[University of Cologne]], designed an orthography of Khwe in which he published three volumes of texts and grammatical sketches, based on observations of language and culture made over 30 years of visits to Namibia.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|title = Linguistic research for literary empowerment of Khoesaan languages of Namibia|last = Haacke|first = W.G.|date = 2006|journal = African Studies|doi = 10.1080/00020180500355652|publisher = Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group|volume = 64|issue = 2|pages = 157–176|s2cid = 145575707}}</ref> As Köhler's orthography was designed for academic purposes, his volumes were published in German and French, and therefore inaccessible to the Khwe themselves. Köhler never made an attempt to teach literacy to members of the community.

Attempts to teach the Khwe orthography to first language speakers were not made until 1996, by scholars of the institute who took up Köhler's work. At the request and with the consultation of the Khwe, the orthography was revised and simplified by Matthias Brenzinger and Mathias Schladt between 1996 and 1997.<ref>{{Cite book|title = A Multipurpose Orthography for Kxoe: Development and Challenges|last = Schladt|first = Mathias|publisher = Basarwa Language Project|year = 2000|pages = 125–139|editor-first = H.M.|editor-last = Batibo|editor-last2 = Tsonope|editor-first2 = J.|work = The State of Khoesaan Languages in Botswana}}</ref>

A collection of Khwe folktales was published in 1999 by Christa Kilian-Hatz and David Naude, using the revised orthography along with interlinear and free translations.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Folktales of the Kxoe in the West Caprivi|last = Kilian-Hatz|first = Christa|journal = Namibian African Studies|volume = 5|location = Cologne|publisher = Rüdiger Köppe|year = 1999}}</ref> Kilian-Hatz also published a dictionary of Khwe,<ref>{{Cite book|title = Khwe Dictionary (with a Supplement on Khwe Place-names of West Caprivi by Matthias Brenzinger)|last = Kilian-Hatz|first = Christa|publisher = Rüdiger Köppe Verlag|year = 2003|isbn = 3-89645-083-2|location = Cologne|series = Namibian African Studies 7|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/khwedictionary00chri}}</ref> although this is written in the linguistic orthography which uses symbols from the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] in place of the [[Latin script]] use for the applied orthography.

The revised orthography has not been granted official status in Namibia. The Khwe language is not taught as a subject or used as a language of instruction in formal education, and few literacy materials exist.<ref name=":6" />