Keiga language

Keiga
Keiga-Timero
Native to	Sudan
Region	South Kordofan
Ethnicity	Keiga
Native speakers	(6,100 cited 1984) [1]
Language family	Nilo-Saharan? Kadu Kadugli-Krongo Keiga
Dialects	Demik Aigang
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kec
Glottolog	keig1242
ELP	Keiga
Keiga is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger .

Keiga, Yega, or Deiga is a Nilo-Saharan language of the Kadu branch spoken in South Kordofan, Sudan. Dialects are Demik (Rofik) and Keiga proper (Aigang).

Keiga is a VSO language. Reh (1994) instead uses the name Deiga or Dayga, with a prefix d- instead of the place prefix k-. ^[2]

Demographics

Stevenson (1956; 1957) originally called the language Keiga, after the places where it is mainly spoken, namely Keiga Timmero, Keiga al-Kheil and Keiga Lubun. The local name for the language is sani m-aigaŋ 'speech of Keiga' (Stevenson 1956: 104). Stevenson (1956: 104) considers it to be a language cluster consisting of two dialects, Keiga proper and Demik, with a total number of approximately 7,520 speakers (with 1,504 taxpayers). ^[3]

Villages

Keiga is spoken in the following villages according to the 22nd edition of Ethnologue:

• Ambong (Àmbóŋ) area: Ambong, Ambongadi, Arungekkaadi, Bila Ndulang, Kandang, Kuluwaring, Lakkadi, Roofik, Saadhing, Taffor, and Tingiragadi villages
• Lubung (Lùbúŋ) area: Kuwaik, Miya Ndumuru, Miya Ntaarang, Miya Ntaluwa, Semalili, and Tungunungunu villages
• Tumuro (Tʊ̀mʊ̀rɔ̀) area: Jughuba, Kayide, Koolo, and Tumuro villages

Blench (2005) identified three dialects, which are Àmbóŋ, Lùbúŋ, and Tʊ̀mʊ̀rɔ̀. ^[4]

Àmbóŋ villages are as follows. Only Taffor, Kantang, Lak ka aati, and Arungek ka aati villages were reported by Blench (2005) to be inhabited. The rest were abandoned due to the Sudanese Civil War.

Orthographic	IPA	Official name
Ambong	ə̀mbɔ́ŋ
Taffor	Tə̀ffɔ́r	Jighaiba
Saadhing	Sə́ə́ɖɪ̀ŋ
Ambong ka aati	ə̀mbɔ̀ŋ kà ə̀ə̀tɪ́
Kulwaring	Kʊ̀lwə̀rɪ̀ŋ
Kantang	Kə̀ntə̀ŋ
Tinkira ka aati	Tɪ́nkɪ̀rə̀ kə́ ə́ə́tɪ̀
Lak ka aati	Lə̀k kə́ ə́ə́tɪ̀	Turlake
Arungek ka aati	ə̀rʊ́ŋɛ́k kə́ ə́ə́tɪ̀	Shihaita
Mutuju	Mʊ̀tʊ̀jʊ́

Lùbúŋ villages are as follows. Only Küwëk is inhabited. ^[4]

Orthographic	IPA	Official name
Küwëk	Kùwék	Kuwaik
Miya Ntarang	Mìyà ntáráŋ
Miya Ntaluwa
Tungunungunu
Se Malili
Miya Ntumuro

Tʊ̀mʊ̀rɔ̀ villages are as follows. Only Koolo is inhabited. ^[4]

Orthographic	IPA
Koolo	Kɔ́ɔ́lɔ̀
Kayëtë

References

1. Keiga at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Reh, Mechthild. 1994. A Grammatical Sketch of Deiga. Afrika und Übersee 77: 197-261.
3. Stevenson, Roland C. 1956; 1957. A survey of the phonetics and grammatical structure of the Nuba Mountain languages, with particular reference to Otoro, Katcha and Nyimang. In: Afrika und Übersee 40 (1956): 73-84; 93-115; 41 (1957): 27-65; 117-152; 171-196.
4. Blench, Roger. 2005. The Kayigang (Keiga, Deiga) language of the Nuba hills, Sudan. Cambridge: Kay Williamson Education Foundation.

External links

• Keiga basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database