Kalenjin languages - Misplaced Pages

Southern Nilotic language family

Kalenjin
Geographic distribution	western Kenya, eastern Uganda, northern Tanzania
Linguistic classification	Nilo-Saharan? Eastern Sudanic Southern Eastern Nilotic Southern Kalenjin
Subdivisions	Elgon Nandi–Markweta Okiek–Akie Pökoot
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`kln`
Glottolog	`kale1246`

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 (to you)' or 'I have told you' (present participle tense). 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.

Branches

The Kalenjin languages are classified within the Glottolog database as follows:

Kalenjin
- Central Kalenjin
  - Kipsigis
  - Plateau Central Kalenjin
    - Tugen
    - Western Plateau Central Kalenjin
      - Keiyo
      - Nandi
      - Terik
- Elgon–Mau Kalenjin
  - Kupsabiny
  - Sabaot
- Northern Kalenjin
  - Markweeta
  - Pökoot
- Okiek–Akie
  - Akie
  - Okiek

Comparative vocabulary

Sample basic vocabulary of Kalenjin languages from van Otterloo (1979), and Proto-Southern Nilotic from Rottland (1982):

Language	eye	ear	nose	tooth	tongue	mouth	blood	bone	tree	water	to eat	name
Proto-Southern Nilotic	kɔːŋ, kɔŋ	*iːt	*ser	*keːL-ɑt	*ŋɛLyɛp	*kʊːt		*kaːw	*kɛːt	*peR		*kɑːRɪn
Nandi	ko̱ːnda̱	iːtit	seruːt	ke̱ːlde̱t	ŋe̱lye̱pta̱	ku̱ːti̱t	korotiːk	kaːweːt	keːtit	beːk	keam	ka̱ːyne̱ːt
Kipsigis	ko̱ːnda̱	iːtit	seruːt	ke̱ːlde̱t	ŋe̱lye̱pta̱	ku̱ːti̱t	korotiːk	kaːweːt	keːtit	beːk	keam	ka̱ːyne̱ːt
Terik	ko̱ːŋda̱	iːtit	seruːt	ke̱ːnde̱t	ŋe̱nye̱pta̱	ku̱ːti̱t	korotiːk	kaːweːt	keːtit	beːk	keam	ka̱ːyne̱ːt
Keiyo	ko̱ːnda̱	iːtit	seruːt	ke̱ːlde̱t	ŋe̱lye̱pta̱	ku̱ːti̱t	korotiːk	kaːweːt	keːtit	beːk	keam	ka̱ːyne̱ːt
South Tugen	ko̱ːŋda̱	iːtit	seruː(t)	ke̱ːlde̱(t)	ŋe̱lye̱pta̱	ku̱ːti̱	korotiːk	kaːweː	keːt(it)	beːk	keam	ka̱ːyne̱ːt
North Tugen	ko̱ːŋ	iːt	ser̃	ke̱ːla̱t	ŋe̱lye̱p	ku̱ːt	koroti	kaːwe	keːt	beːy	keam	ka̱ːyne̱
Kony-Sabaot	ko̱ːŋda̱	iːtit	serwut	ke̱ːlde̱t	ŋe̱lye̱pta̱	ku̱ːti̱t	korotiːk	kaːweːt	keːtit	peːgo	keam	ka̱ːyne̱ːt
Cherang'any	ko̱ːnda̱/ko̱ːŋ	iːtit	seruːt	ke̱ːla̱t	ŋe̱lye̱p	ku̱ːt(i̱t)	korotiːk	kaːwe	keːt	beːy	keam	ka̱ːyne̱
Talai	ko̱ːŋ	iːt	ser̃	ke̱ːla̱t	ŋa̱lya̱p	ku̱ːt	koroti	kaːwa	keːt	pʰeːy	keam	ka̱ːyne̱
Endo	ko̱ːŋ	iːt	ser̃	ke̱ːla̱t	ŋa̱lya̱p	ku̱ːt	koroti/kisun	kaːwa	keːt	bu̱r̃	keam	ka̱r̃e̱n
East Pokot	koːŋ	yiːt	sa̱r̃	ke̱ːla̱t	ŋa̱lya̱p	ku̱ːt	kisʉn	kaːwaʔ	keːt	pʉːɣ	keam	ka̱ːyne̱ːt

Footnotes

Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (2024-03-11). "Glottolog 5.0 - Lwoo". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7398962. Archived from the original on 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
van Otterloo, Roger. 1979. A Kalenjin dialect study. (Language Data Africa Series, 18.) Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Rottland, Franz. 1982. Die Südnilotischen Sprachen: Beschreibung, Vergleichung und Rekonstruktion (Kölner Beiträge zur Afrikanistik vol. 7). Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.

References

https://www.amazon.de/Kalenjin-Grammar-Beginners-Complete-Textbook-ebook/dp/B09VLL15M7
Distefano, John Albert. 1985. The precolonial history of the Kalenjin of Kenya: a methodological comparison of linguistic and oral traditional evidence. Doctoral dissertation, University of California at Los Angeles.
Rottland, Franz (1982) Die Südnilotischen Sprachen: Beschreibung, Vergleichung und Rekonstruktion (Kölner Beiträge zur Afrikanistik vol. 7). Berlin: Dietrich Reimer. (See esp. map 1 on p. 31, and the 'Sprachbeschreibung' of the Kalenjin languages on pp. 69–143.)
van Otterloo, Roger. 1979. A Kalenjin dialect study. (Language Data Africa Series, 18.) Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

External links

Eastern Sudanic languages

Part of the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family

Northern k languages

Nubian

Birgid Dongolawi Kenzi Midob Nobiin Old Nubian
Hill Nubian	Dair Dilling El Hugeirat Ghulfan Haraza Kadaru Karko Wali

Nara

Nara

North	Majang
Southeast	Kwegu Meʼen Mursi Suri
Southwest	Baale Didinga Murle Laarim Tennet

Eastern Jebel

Temein

Daju

Eastern	Logorik Shatt
Western	Beigo Daju Mongo Nyolge Nyala Sila

Nilotic

Large group listed below

Nilotic languages

Eastern

Bari	Bari Kuku Mandari
Teso–Turkana	Karamojong Teso Toposa Turkana Nyangatom
Lotuko	Dongotono Lango (South Sudan) Lokoya Lopit Otuho
Ongamo–Maa	Maasai Ngasa Samburu Camus

Western

Dinka–Nuer

Luo

Northern	Anuak Belanda Bor Jur Päri Shilluk Thuri
Southern	Southern Luo Acholi Adhola Alur Dholuo Kumam Lango (Uganda)

Burun

Southern

Kalenjin

Elgon	Kupsabiny Sabaot
Nandi–Markweta	Keiyo Kipsigis Markwet Naandi Terik Tugen
Okiek–Mosiro	Ogiek
Pökoot	Pökoot

Omotik–Datooga

Italics indicate extinct languages

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