Southern Nilotic languages

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Southern Nilotic
Geographic
distribution
western Kenya, eastern Uganda, northern Tanzania
Linguistic classification Nilo-Saharan?
Subdivisions
Glottolog sout2830

The Southern Nilotic languages are spoken mainly in western Kenya and northern Tanzania (with one of them, Kupsabiny or Sapiny, being spoken on the Ugandan side of Mount Elgon). They form a division of the larger Nilotic language family, along with the Western Nilotic languages and the Eastern Nilotic languages.

Contents

Subdivisions

The Southern Nilotic languages are generally divided into two groups, Kalenjin and Tatogoa, although there is some uncertainty as to the internal coherence of the Kalenjin branch. Southern Nilotic languages appear to have been influenced considerably by Cushitic (Afro-Asiatic) languages. [1] The Kalenjin languages are spoken by the Kalenjin people. This family spreads all around Uganda and to some of Kenya. The Tatoga languages consist of the Omotik language and of the larger Datooga language, or more fitting, Datooga dialect cluster.[ citation needed ]

Languages

Reconstruction

Proto-Kalenjin has been reconstructed by Franz Rottland (1979). [2]

Cushitic influences

Historically, Southern Nilotic has undergone extensive contact with a "missing" branch of East Cushitic that Heine (1979) refers to as Baz. [3] Proto-Baz reconstructions proposed by Heine (1979), [4] with notes about corresponding East Cushitic and Proto-East Cushitic forms from Sasse (1979): [5]

GlossProto-BazProto-East CushiticExample cognates
bat*rɛɛrɛɛʕ
bell*kor
bovine, male*aʀ*ʔawr- 'large male animal'Saho and Somali awr, Oromo ooroo
calf*maʀ
cow dung, mud*zig
curse (n.)*hab-*hab-aar- 'to curse'Saho and Oromo abaar, Somali habaar
eat, to*am
eight*siziet
ewe, virgin*subeen
feathers, fur*goro-
fifty*konom*ken- 'five'Konso ken, Oromo shani, Somali shan
fingernail, claw*ʕidd
forty*afaram*ʔafar- 'four'Afar affara, Somali afar, Oromo afur
goat, male*quar-
goat/sheep, young*maqal
grass*ʕaus*ʕawš- ~ *ʕayš-Afar qayso, Somali caws, Oromo ees
head*mɛtɛħ*matħ-Arbore mete, Somali madax, Oromo mataa
honey*malab*malab-Afar–Saho and Somali malab
hundred*boqol*bokʼl-Saho bool, Somali boqol
lake, sea*baz*baz-Afar–Saho and Somali bad, Daasanach baz
look, to*ilaal*ʔil-aal-, derivative
from *ʔil- 'eye'
Saho and Oromo ilaal
lost, to get*bod*bad-Afar–Saho, Somali and Oromo bad-
louse*insir
lover*saani
nine*sagaalAfar and Somali sagaal, Oromo sagal
pot, clay*ɖeri
rain*roob*roob-Oromo rooba, Somali roob
red*buri-
scratch, to*quut
see, to*kas
seven*tizzabaArbore tuzba
six*lVħ*liħDaasanach li, Oromo jaha, Somali lix
smoke*iʀi
spear*tor
suck, to*nug*nuug-Oromo luug, Rendille nug, Somali nuug
ten*tamman*tommanArbore tomon, Saho tamman, Somali toban
thirty*sozzom*sezħ- 'three'Arbore sezze, Oromo sadii', Somali saddex

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afroasiatic languages</span> Large language family of Africa and West Asia

The Afroasiatic languages, also known as Hamito-Semitic or Semito-Hamitic, are a language family of about 400 languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahara and Sahel. Over 500 million people are native speakers of an Afroasiatic language, constituting the fourth-largest language family after Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, and Niger–Congo. Most linguists divide the family into six branches: Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian, Semitic, and Omotic. The vast majority of Afroasiatic languages are considered indigenous to the African continent, including all those not belonging to the Semitic branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cushitic languages</span> Branch of Afroasiatic native to East Africa

The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As of 2012, the Cushitic languages with over one million speakers were Oromo, Somali, Beja, Afar, Hadiyya, Kambaata, and Sidama.

The Nilotic peoples are people indigenous to the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, the eastern border area of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. Among these are the Burun-speaking peoples, Teso people also known as Iteso or people of Teso, Karo peoples, Luo peoples, Ateker peoples, Kalenjin peoples, Karamojong people also known as the Karamojong or Karimojong, Datooga, Dinka, Nuer, Atwot, Lotuko, and the Maa-speaking peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nilotic languages</span> Small language family of East Africa

The Nilotic languages are a group of related languages spoken across a wide area between South Sudan and Tanzania by the Nilotic peoples.

Dorobo is a derogatory umbrella term for several unrelated hunter-gatherer groups of Kenya and Tanzania. They comprised client groups to the Maasai and did not practice cattle pastoralism.

The Elgon languages are languages of the Southern Nilotic Kalenjin family spoken in the Mount Elgon area in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. According to the Ethnologue, there are two main Elgon languages: Kupsabiny and Sabaot. Sabaot is a common name assumed by various related peoples, including the Kony, Pok, and Bong'om, whose respective languages are considered separate languages by Rottland (1982).

The Kalenjin languages are a family of a dozen Southern Nilotic languages spoken in Kenya, eastern Uganda and northern Tanzania. The term Kalenjin comes from an expression meaning 'I say ' or 'I have told you'. Kalenjin in this broad linguistic sense should not be confused with Kalenjin as a term for the common identity the Nandi-speaking peoples of Kenya assumed halfway through the twentieth century; see Kalenjin people and Kalenjin language.

Pökoot is a language spoken in western Kenya and eastern Uganda by the Pokot people. Pökoot is classified to the northern branch of the Kalenjin languages found in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The Pökoot are usually called "Kimukon" by the other Kalenjin peoples. A 1994 figure of SIL puts the total number of speakers at 264,000, while the only slightly more recent Schladt (1997:40) gives the more conservative estimate of 150,000 people, presumably based on the figures found in Rottland (1982:26) who puts the number at slightly more than 115,000.

Ogiek 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuliak languages</span> Family of languages

The Kuliak languages, also called the Rub languages, are a group of languages spoken by small relict communities in the mountainous Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda.

The Maa languages are a group of closely related Eastern Nilotic languages spoken in parts of Kenya and Tanzania by more than a million speakers. They are subdivided into North and South Maa. The Maa languages are related to the Lotuko languages spoken in South Sudan.

Sonjo, or Temi, is a Bantu language spoken in northern Tanzania, 30–40 miles (48–64 km) west of Lake Natron. Ethnolinguistically, it is a displaced member of Guthrie’s E50 group, most other members of which are found in Central Kenya. Within that group, it is most closely related to Gikuyu. The Sonjo people number about 30,000 ; many of them are bilingual in Swahili, the local language of education. Sonjo is largely undescribed.

The Sebei are a Southern Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting western Kenya, eastern Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo. They speak Kupsabiny, a Kalenjin language. The Sapiiny occupy three districts, namely Bukwo, Kween and Kapchorwa in Uganda, Transnzoia county, Bungoma county and West Pokot county in Kenya

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Datooga people</span> Ethnic group from Arusha Region, Tanzania

The Datooga are a Nilotic ethnic people group from Tanzania, located in Karatu District of Arusha Region and historically in areas of southwest Manyara Region and northern Singida Region. In 2000, the Datooga population was estimated to number 87,978.

El Molo is a possibly extinct language belonging to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. It was spoken by the El Molo people on the southeastern shore of Lake Turkana, in northern Kenya. Alternate names to El Molo are Dehes, Elmolo, Fura-Pawa, and Ldes. It was thought to be extinct in the middle part of the 20th century, but a few speakers were found in the later 20th century. However, it may now be truly extinct, as the eight speakers found in a survey published in 1994 were over 50. Most of the El Molo population have shifted to the neighboring Samburu language. El Molo also has no known dialects but it is similar to Daasanach.

The Aroid or Ari-Banna languages possibly belong to the Afro-Asiatic family and are spoken in Ethiopia.

Datooga is a Nilotic language or dialect cluster of the Southern Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Datooga people of the Great Rift Valley of Tanzania. The Sukuma name Taturu is also sometimes used in English; the Swahili name Mang'ati comes from Maasai, where it means "enemy". However, it is not considered offensive to the Datooga, as there is a degree of pride in being the historic enemy of the Maasai, and Mang'ati has become the standard name for the group in Swahili. In addition, numerous tribal and dialectal names may be found for the people or language as a whole.

Keiyo is a Kalenjin language spoken in western Kenya, in the southern part of the district of Elgeyo-Marakwet.

The Kalenjin people are an ethnolinguistic group indigenous to East Africa, with a presence, as dated by archaeology and linguistics, that goes back many centuries. Their history is therefore deeply interwoven with those of their neighboring communities as well as with the histories of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.

Franz Rottland was a German linguist and Africanist.

References

  1. Rottland, Franz (1982) Die Südnilotischen Sprachen: Beschreibung, Vergleichung und Rekonstruktion (Kölner Beiträge zur Afrikanistik vol. 7). Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.
  2. Rottland, Franz. 1979. The reconstruction of proto-Kalenjin. (Papers from the Inst. of African Studies (IAS), 128.) Nairobi: Institute of African Studies, University of Nairobi.
  3. Güldemann, Tom (2018). "Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa". In Güldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics series. Vol. 11. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 58–444. doi:10.1515/9783110421668-002. ISBN   978-3-11-042606-9.
  4. Heine, Bernd, Franz Rottland & Rainer Voßen. 1979. Proto-Baz: Some aspects of early Nilotic-Cushitic contacts. Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika 1. 75‒92.
  5. Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1979). "Consonant Phonemes of Proto East Cushitic". Afro-Asiatic Linguistics. 7 (1): 1–57.