Kenzi language

Last updated
Kenzi
Mattokki
Native to Egypt
Region Nile River
Native speakers
35,000 (2023) [1]
Coptic script (Old Nubian variant)
Latin alphabet
Arabic alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3 xnz
Glottolog kenu1243
ELP Kenuzi

Kenzi, also known as Kenuzi, Kunuz, or Mattokki, is a Nubian language of Egypt. It is spoken north of Mahas in Egypt. It is closely related to Dongolawi or Andaandi, a Nubian language of Sudan. [2] The two have historically been considered two varieties of one language. More recent research recognizes them as distinct languages without a "particularly close genetic relationship." [3] With population displacement due to the Aswan High Dam there are communities of speakers in Lower Egypt. Recent linguistic research on the Kenzi language has been conducted by Ahmed Sokarno Abdel-Hafiz. [4]

Contents

Kenzi is currently a threatened language that has about 35,000 native speakers worldwide. [5] Ethnologue reports that the use of Kenzi is decreasing as the language is spoken by adults only and that all speakers are shifting to Egyptian Arabic. [1] Most speakers of Kenzi live in the city of Kom Ombo in the Aswan Governorate of Egypt. [6]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop voicelesstck
voicedbdɟg
Nasal mnɲ
Fricative fsʃh
Rhotic ɾ
Lateral l
Approximant wj

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iːu uː
Mid e eːo oː
Open a aː

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References

  1. 1 2 Kenzi at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  2. Massenbach, Gertrud von. "Wörterbuch des nubischen Kunuzi-Dialektes," Mitteilungen des Seminars für orientalische Sprachen, Berlin, 1933, III, pp. 99–227.
  3. Bechhaus-Gerst, Marianne. The (Hi)story of Nobiin — 1000 Years of Language Change. Peter Lang, 2011, p. 22.
  4. 1 2 Abdel-Hafiz, Ahmed Sokarno (1988). A Reference Grammar of Kunuz Nubian (PDF). Buffalo: State University of New York.
  5. "Kenzi". Ethnologue. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  6. "The Nubian language". shazlyasmail.tripod.com. Retrieved 2021-02-19.