Naandi language

Last updated
Nandi
Naandi
Native to Kenya
Region Rift Valley Province
Ethnicity Nandi people
Native speakers
950,000 (2009 census) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 niq
Glottolog nand1266

Nandi (Naandi), also known as Cemual, is a Kalenjin language spoken in the highlands of western Kenya, in the districts of Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Trans-Nzoia. [2]

Contents

Classification

Nandi is the language spoken by the Nandi, who are part of the Kalenjin people. These languages and dialects, classified with the Datooga language and the Omotik language, form the Southern Nilotic languages sub-group of the Nilotic languages. [2]

Phonology

The tables below present the vowels [3] and consonants [4] of Nandi.

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i [ i ]  ii [ iː ]u [ u ]  uu [ uː ]
Mid e [ e ]  ee [ eː ]o [ o ]  oo [ oː ]
Open a [ a ]  aa [ aː ]

Nandi differentiates its vowels according to their place of articulation. They are either pronounced with the root of the tongue advanced, or with the root of the tongue retracted. [5]

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m [ m ]n [ n ]ny [ ɲ ]ng [ ŋ ]
Plosive/Affricate p [ p ]t [ t ]tʃ [ t͡ʃ ]k [ k ]
Fricative s [ s ]
Liquid l [ l ]
Rhotic r [ r ]
Semivowel w [ w ]y [ j ]

Tone

Nandi is a tonal language.

Related Research Articles

The Nilotic peoples are people indigenous to the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. Among these are the Burun-speaking peoples, Karo peoples, Luo peoples, Ateker peoples, Kalenjin peoples, Datooga, Dinka, Nuer, Atwot, Lotuko, and the Maa-speaking peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalenjin people</span> Group of Southern Nilotic peoples indigenous to East Africa

The Kalenjin are a group of tribes indigenous to East Africa, residing mainly in what was formerly the Rift Valley Province in Kenya and the Eastern slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda. They number 6,358,113 individuals per the Kenyan 2019 census and an estimated 273,839 in Uganda according to the 2014 census mainly in Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nilotic languages</span> Small language family from 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.

Bukusu is a dialect of the Masaba language spoken by the Bukusu tribe of the Luhya people of western Kenya. It is one of several ethnically Luhya dialects; however, it is more closely related to the Gisu dialect of Masaaba in eastern Uganda than it is to other languages spoken by the Luhya.

The Southern Nilotic languages are spoken mainly in western Kenya and northern Tanzania. They form a division of the larger Nilotic language family, along with the Western Nilotic languages and the Eastern Nilotic languages.

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.

The Elgeyo language, or Kalenjin proper, are a dialect cluster of the Kalenjin branch of the Nilotic language family.

Kipsigis 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, South Tugen (Tuken), and Cherangany.

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.

Turkana is the language of the Turkana people of Kenya and Ethiopia. It is spoken in northwestern Kenya, primarily in Turkana County, which lies west of Lake Turkana. It is one of the Eastern Nilotic languages, and is closely related to Karamojong, Jie and Teso of Uganda, to Toposa spoken in the extreme southeast of South Sudan, and to Nyangatom in the South Sudan/Ethiopia Omo valley borderland; these languages together form the cluster of Ateker Languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Kenya</span> Languages of the country and its peoples

Kenya is a multilingual country. The two official languages of Kenya, Swahili and English are widely spoken as lingua francas; however, including second-language speakers, Swahili is more widely spoken than English. Swahili is a Bantu language native to East Africa and English is inherited from British colonial rule.

Shilluk is a language spoken by the Shilluk people of South Sudan. It is closely related to other Luo languages. The term Shilluk is a pronunciation of Arabic origin.

Naandi may refer to:

Toposa is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in South Sudan by the Toposa people. Mutually intelligible language varieties include Jiye of South Sudan, Nyangatom of Ethiopia, Karimojong, Jie and Dodos of Uganda and Turkana of Kenya. Teso is lexically more distant.

Markweta (Markweeta) is a Kalenjin language of Kenya. The regional terms Endo and Sambirir have been used for northern and southern Markweta, but they are not distinct dialects. The unmarked word order is Verb–subject–object.

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

Kupsabiny (Sabiny), or Sebei, is a Kalenjin language a Southern Nilotic language of eastern Uganda.

Lokoya is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken by an estimated 12,400 people in South Sudan. It is also referred to by various other names, including Ellyria, Koyo, Loirya, Ohoromok, Lokoiya, Lokoja, Loquia, Lowoi, Oirya, Owoi, and Oxoriok.

Dongotono is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken by an estimated 5,000 people in South Sudan.

References

  1. ↑ Nandi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 Creider 1989, p. 9.
  3. ↑ Creider 1989, p. 17.
  4. ↑ Creider 1989, p. 13.
  5. ↑ Creider 1989, p. 18.
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