Editing Khwe language (section)

== Distribution ==
The Khoe mainly occupy the Okavango Delta of Botswana.<ref name=":1" /> Specifically, Khwe speakers primarily live in the western [[Caprivi Strip|Caprivi]] area in Namibia, however, the entirety of the Khoe population occupies a much larger geography. Khwe speakers in the western Caprivi are somewhat distant, [[Lexicon|lexically]], from other similar Khoe languages, such as [[Damara people|Damara]]. According to a [[dialect]] survey conducted by the [[University of Namibia]]'s Department of African Languages, it was revealed that proto-Damara most likely migrated through the western Caprivi area before the Khwe settled the area, as there is little lexical overlap.<ref>Haacke, W. (2008, December). Linguistic hypotheses on the origin of Namibian Khoekhoe speakers.''Southern African Humanities,'' ''20'', 163-177.</ref>

The Khwe speakers' distribution in the greater Kavango-Zambezi region influenced [[Click consonant|clicks]] in Khoisan languages, some argue.<ref name=":9" /> The Khwe, and other Khoe language speaking peoples, resided in greater Southern Africa, prior to the great Bantu Migration, which occurred about 5,000 years ago. In this migration, the Bantu speaking population of [[West Africa|West]] and [[Central Africa]], around the [[Nigeria]]-[[Cameroon]] borderlands, migrated to [[Southern Africa]], and in this process, encountered the native Khwe population.<ref name=":9" /> While the Khwe migrated into the Caprivi and greater Kavango-Zambezi region after the Damara, they were certainly there 5,000 years ago when Bantu speakers migrated to the area, and through their linguistic and cultural exchanges, both languages were fundamentally altered.<ref name=":9" /> The [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], [[syntax]], and phonology sections on this page further discuss the changes occurred, and how it has influenced contemporary Khwe.

Today, an estimated 3,700 Khwe speakers live in Namibia, with the vast majority residing in the western region of the [[Zambezi Region]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Moving to Survive: Kxoe Communities in Arid Lands|last = Brenzinger|first = Matthias|publisher = Institut für Afrikanistik|year = 1997|location = Universität zu Köln|pages = 321–357}}</ref> The largest known Khwe settlements are Mutc'iku, located adjacent to the [[Okavango River]], and Gudigoa in Botswana.<ref name="Brenzinger" />

Noting this, there have been major [[forced migration]]s from government pressures that have influenced the contemporary distribution of Khwe speakers.<ref name=":10" /> In 1990, 4,000 Xhu- and Khwe-speaking people,<ref>{{Cite book|title = Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Southern Africa|last1 = Hitchcock|first1 = Robert K.|publisher = International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs|year = 2004|isbn = 8791563089|location = Copenhagen, Denmark|pages = 29–32|last2 = Vindig|first2 = Diana}}</ref> including former members of the [[31 Battalion (SWATF)]] who fought under the [[South African Defence Force]] in the [[Namibian War of Independence|Namibian War]], were settled in a tent town in [[Schmidtsdrift]], South Africa. In 2003, the majority of this community relocated to Platfontein, outside [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]], following the Schmidtsdrift Community Land Claim.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title = Schmidtsdrift Community Land Claim|url = http://www.plaas.org.za/sites/default/files/publications-pdf/RR34.pdf|website = www.plaas.org.za|access-date = 4 October 2015|last = Kleinbooi|first = Karin|publisher = Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies, School of Government, University of the Western Cap|date = August 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140104205439/http://www.plaas.org.za/sites/default/files/publications-pdf/RR34.pdf|archive-date = 4 January 2014|url-status = dead}}</ref>