Ogiek language

Last updated
Ogiek
Okiek
Akiek
Pic 367 nessuit.JPG
Ogiek People
Native to Kenya, Tanzania
RegionKinare: Kinare, Kenya, on the eastern slope of the Rift Valley.
Sogoo: Kenya, southern Mau forest between the Amala and Ewas Ng'iro rivers.
Akiek: Tanzania, southern part of Arusha Region.
Ethnicity Okiek, Akie
Native speakers
79,000 in Kenya (2009 census) [1]
A few older speakers in Tanzania
Dialects
  • Kinare (extinct)
  • Sogoo (endangered)
  • Akie (endangered)
Language codes
ISO 639-3 oki
Glottolog okie1247   Okiek-Akie
okie1245   Okiek
ELP Okiek
Linguasphere 04-CAA-e

Ogiek (also Okiek and Akiek) [2] is a Southern Nilotic language of the Kalenjin family spoken or once spoken by the Ogiek peoples, scattered groups of hunter-gatherers in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Most Ogiek speakers have assimilated to cultures of surrounding peoples: the Akie in northern Tanzania now speak Maasai and the Ogiek of Kinare, Kenya now speak Gikuyu. Ndorobo is a term considered derogatory, occasionally used to refer to various groups of hunter-gatherers in this area, including the Ogiek.

Contents

Dialects

There are three main Ogiek varieties that have been documented, though there are several dozen named local Ogiek groups:

Media

See also

References

  1. Ogiek at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. The initial vowel varies by dialect. The first consonant is /k/, but is pronounced [ ɡ ] or [ ɣ ] between vowels.
  3. ‘Game changer': A Kenyan radio station is reviving a dying Indigenous language

Bibliography