The indigenous communities of Botswana discussed in this paper are generally
referred to as the Khoisan (Khoesan). While there are debates on the common origins
of Khoisan communities, the existence of at least fi ve language families suggests a separate
evolution that resulted in major grammatical and lexical differences between them. Due to
historical confl icts with neighboring groups, they have been pushed far into the most inhospitable
areas of the regions where they presently live. The most signifi cant victimization of
Khoisan groups by the linguistic majority has been the systematic neglect of their languages
and cultures. In fact, social and development programs have attempted to assimilate them
into so-called majority ethnic groups and into modernity, and their languages have been dif-
fi cult to conserve in contact situations. This paper provides an overview of these indigenous
communities of Botswana and contributes to ongoing research of the region. I discuss reasons
for the communities’ vulnerability by examining their demography, current localities,
and language vitality. I also analyze some adverse effects of development and the danger the
Khoisan face due to negative social and political attitudes, and formulate critical areas of intervention
for the preservation of these indigenous languages.