Recording a performative action on the grounds of the home where I grew up in Magoebaskloof, South Africa, A few common phrases captures a first practice session of the Khoe language Khoekhoegowab. Words and phrases commonly used in conversation linger in the landscape, my voice strained by exertion and the difficulty of pronouncing words unknown. Spurred on by the question ‘What if the Dutch colonists had learned to speak San and Khoe languages instead of imposing their own language upon those they encountered in South Africa?’, I set out to learn this language that was once spoken throughout Southern Africa by the Khoikhoi people.