Pokomo language

Last updated
Pokomo
Kipfokomo
Native to Kenya
Region Tana River District
Ethnicity Pokomo
Native speakers
95,000 (2009 census) [1]
Dialects
  • Gwano
  • Kinakomba
  • Malalulu
  • Ndera
  • Ndura
  • Zubaki
Language codes
ISO 639-3 pkb
Glottolog poko1261
E.71 [2]

Pokomo (Kipfokomo) is a Bantu language spoken primarily along the East African coast near Tana River in the Tana River District by the Pokomo people of Kenya. Kipfokomo language originated from "Kingozi" the language, which Kiswahili was built from. "Kingozi" language is the precursor of Kiswahili.[ citation needed ] Pokomos are the only tribe in the world that speak "Kingozi" and sometimes are referred to as wangozi because they used to wear skins (Ngozi). All adult speakers of Pokomo are bilingual in Swahili, parts of East Africa's lingua franca.

There is high of lexical similarity between other languages like Mvita (63%), Amu (61%), Mrima (60%), Kigiryama (59%), Chidigo (58%) or Bajun (57%).

Phonology

Consonants [3]
Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p b t d k g
Affricate ts dz
Implosive ɓ ɗ ʄ
Fricative f v ɸ β ð s z ʃ ɣ h
Nasal m n ɲ
Trill r
Approximant w l j
Vowels [3]
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Pokomo does not have phonemic tone. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swahili language</span> Bantu language spoken mainly in East Africa

Swahili, also known by its local name Kiswahili, is a Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique. The number of current Swahili speakers, be they native or second-language speakers, is estimated to be over 200 million.

The Gusii language is a Bantu language spoken in Kisii and Nyamira counties in Nyanza Kenya, whose headquarters is Kisii Town,. It is spoken natively by 2.2 million people, mostly among the Abagusii. Ekegusii has only two dialects: The Rogoro and Maate dialects. Phonologically, they differ in the articulation of /t/. Most of the variations existing between the two dialects are lexical. The two dialects can refer to the same object or thing using different terms. An example of this is the word for cat. While one dialect calls a cat ekemoni, the other calls it ekebusi. Another illustrating example can be found in the word for sandals. While the Rogoro word for sandals is chidiripasi, the Maate dialect word is chitaratara. Many more lexical differences manifest in the language. The Maate dialect is spoken in Tabaka and Bogirango. Most of the other regions use the Rogoro dialect, which is also the standard dialect of Ekegusii.

Lowland East Cushitic is a group of roughly two dozen diverse languages of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. Its largest representatives are Oromo and Somali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agaw people</span> Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa

The Agaw or Agew are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the northern highlands of Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak the Agaw languages, also known as the Central Cushitic languages, which belong to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and are therefore closely related to peoples speaking other Cushitic languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tana River County</span> County in Kenya

Tana River County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. It is named after the Tana River, the longest river in Kenya. It has an area of 38,437 km2 (14,841 sq mi) and a population of 315,943 as of the 2019 census. The county borders Kitui County to the west, Garissa County to the northeast, Isiolo County to the north, Lamu County to the southeast and Kilifi County to the south.The administrative headquarter of the county is Hola also known as Galole. The County has five (5) sub Counties; Tana Delta, Tana River, Tana North, Galedyertu and Bangal.

The Pokomo people are a Bantu ethnic group of southeastern Kenya. Their population in Kenya was 112,075 in 2019. They are a distinct ethnic group with their own sub-clans/tribes. Despite their proximity, they are not of the nearby Mijikenda people. They are predominantly agriculturalists and both freshwater and ocean fishermen living along the Tana River in Tana River County. They speak the Pokomo language, which is similar to Swahili.

Gogo is a Bantu language spoken by the Gogo people of Dodoma Region in Tanzania. The language is spoken throughout Dodoma Region and into the neighbouring district of Manyoni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orma (clan)</span>

The Orma is one of the Oromo clans in the Horn of Africa who predominantly live in Tana River County in northern Kenya and in southern Ethiopia. They share a common language and cultural heritage with Oromo clans. First and foremost they are pastoralists and almost all are Muslims. In 2019 the Orma numbered 158,993.

The Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation is a peace and development organization based in Nairobi, Kenya. It is named for Tegla Loroupe, a world-champion marathon runner from Kapenguria, Kenya.

The Segeju are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group mostly based in Tanzania's Tanga Region and Kenya's Kwale County. Most Segeju reside in the small coastal strip between the Tanzanian city of Tanga and the Kenyan-Tanzanian border. However, some Segeju have migrated to urban areas in other parts of Tanzania or Kenya, in hopes of better employment opportunities and quality of life. Segeju migration to urban areas often results in severance of community ties, leading to a lack of transmission of important cultural traditions and language.

Baraza la Kiswahili la Taifa is a Tanzanian institution responsible with regulating and promoting the Kiswahili language.

Danson Buya Mungatana is a Kenyan lawyer and a politician, currently The Senator Tana River County. He is popularly known as "the crocodile eater." He belonged to NARC-Kenya and was elected to represent the Garsen Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya between 2002 and 2013. He also served as Assistant Minister in different state Ministries in Kenya. The 2002 and 2007 Kenyan parliamentary election. He is currently a member of United Democratic Alliance.

Ngao is a settlement in Kenya's Coast Province.

Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa is a Kenyan institution founded in 1998 responsible for the promotion of the Swahili language in Kenya. The Founding Chair is Prof. Kimani Njogu, a graduate of Yale University's department of Linguistics.

Mbothe is a traditional mancala game played by the Pokomo people that live along the Tana River, in Kenya. Pokomo do not traditionally build gameboards; they dig pits in the ground and use small stones as counters.

<i>Cordia sinensis</i> Species of tree

Cordia sinensis is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae. The species’ range extend from South Africa, through East Africa, Madagascar, West Africa and the Middle East to the Indian Subcontinent and Eastern Indochina. There is also a disjunct native population in Senegal. The species has become naturalised in Eastern Australia. Common names include grey-leaved saucer berry, grey-leaved cordia, marer, mnya mate, mkamasi and tadana.

In August 2012, a series of ethnic clashes between the Orma and Pokomo peoples of Kenya's Tana River District resulted in the deaths of at least fifty-two people. The violence was the worst of its kind in Kenya since the country's 2007–08 crisis, which left 118 people dead and more than 13,500 displaced – over 50% of the 13,500 were children, women and the elderly.

On the night of 5–6 July 2014, heavily armed men attacked the Kenyan villages of Hindi in Lamu County and Gamba in Tana River County. At least 29 people were killed in the attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egypt–Kenya relations</span> Bilateral relations

Egypt–Kenya relations are bilateral relations between Egypt and Kenya. The two nations primarily maintain trade ties.

UN Swahili Language Day is observed annually on 7 July. This began when the United Nations declared 7 July as Swahili Language Day in 2022. On 7 July 1954, Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) leader Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the eventual first President of Tanzania, adopted the Swahili Language as a unifying language for African independence struggles. Jomo Kenyatta, the first President of Kenya, followed suit and also used the Swahili language to mobilize and unify the people of Kenya in the struggle against colonialism through the use of the popular “Harambee” slogan.

References

  1. Pokomo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. 1 2 3 Ipu, Hyslop P. (1982). A phonological description of the sounds of Lower Kipfokomo (MA thesis). University of Nairobi.