| Kipsigis | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Kenya |
| Ethnicity | Kipsigis |
Native speakers | 1.9 million (2009 census) [1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sgc |
| Glottolog | kips1239 |
Kipsigis (or Kipsikii, Kipsikiis) is part of the Kenyan Kalenjin dialect cluster, It is spoken mainly in Kericho and Bomet counties in Kenya. The Kipsigis people are the most numerous tribe of the Kalenjin in Kenya, accounting for 60% of all Kalenjin speakers. Kipsigis is closely related to Nandi, Keiyo (Keyo, Elgeyo), South Tugen (Tuken), and Cherangany.
The Kipsigis territory is bordered to the south and southeast by the Maasai. To the west, Gusii (a Bantu language) is spoken. To the north-east, other Kalenjin people are found, mainly the Nandi. East from the Kipsigis, in the Mau forests, live some Okiek speaking tribes.
The Kipsigis language has two lengths of vowel sounds. When spoken, a single vowel has a short sound of that vowel whereas the duplication of a vowel indicates an elongated sound of that vowel. Most common nouns in the Kipsigis language end with a consonant when a common noun ends with a vowel; it will either be an a or o. Proper nouns such as names of places and people can end in any vowel.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ |
| Stop | p | t | (c) | k |
| Affricate | tʃ | |||
| Fricative | s | |||
| Rhotic | r | |||
| Lateral | l | |||
| Approximant | j | w |
| +ATR | -ATR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Back | |
| Close | i iː | u uː | i̙ i̙ː | u̙ u̙ː |
| Mid | e eː | o oː | e̙ e̙ː | o̙ o̙ː |
| Open | a aː | a̙ a̙ː | ||
Usually, the pronunciation of a double vowel does not mean a repetition of that vowel sound but rather an elongation of that particular vowel sound. An exception to that generalization shows up with the double ee.
Normally, the elongated vowel sounds follow the Latin vowel sounds. A few examples are given in the table below
| Vowel | As Kipsigis | As in English |
|---|---|---|
| aa | Kaap | mama, mark, margin, sharp |
| ii | Asiis | piece, peace, freeze, sneeze |
| oo | igoondiit roopta | gone robe |
| uu | piyuut | root, boot |
The sound of the double ee may vary in pronunciation. For example:
| As in Kipsigis | As in English |
|---|---|
| akweet 'flock' | wet |
| beek 'water' | bake |
| meet 'death' | for this word, there are two sounds, as in lay-ette |
ng' has the sound of ng at the end of the English word sing.
ng, without the apostrophe, is pronounced as two separate syllables: n and g – as in the English word anger.
The Kipsigis word -aap is an integral part of the Kipsigis language with an equivocated status and usage as the English conjunction of. -aap, usually used as a cervix of a word with an hyphen implicates the subject matter with a possessive relation.
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The Lumbwa Treaty event took place on 13th October 1889, in Lumbwa in Kericho between the Kipsigis led by Menya Araap Kisiara and the British East Africa administration. It was based on a cultural practice of oath taking in Kipsigis called Mummek or Mummiat or Mumma. Mumma means "to do something impossibly disgusting". It involves two parties taking an oath and invoking a preemptive curse if the oath is to be broken by any party taking the oath. There usually would also be a performance of black magic; and on this particular event a coyote was savored in two halves with each party burying its part and making the oath never to harm each other in any way.
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