Khoe

The word Khoe means ‘a person’ in the Khoekhoegowab language. It is also used as the name of the whole Central Khoe-San language family. Member languages include: Khoekhoegowab, Khwedam, ||Anikhwedam, Naro, |Gui, ||Gana and others. Many Khoekhoegowab speakers come from a pastoralist sheep and cattle herding economic tradition. Other Khoekhoe speakers were or continue to be hunter-gatherers, including the Hai||om and Damara peoples. European settlers at the Cape called the Khoekhoe speakers of that area by various names including: Hottentots, Strandlopers, Ubiqua and other names. Most of these Khoe speakers were herders, but others were foragers or destitute. Frequently the Europeans had difficulty distinguishing the various languages and cultures of the indigenous peoples. Khoi and Khoe are the same word, pronounced the same way. Khoi is the English spelling; Khoe is the correct Khoekhoegowab spelling. Khoe is the biggest language family of the Khoe-San stock, spoken mostly in Botswana and Namibia.