| Kuliak | |
|---|---|
| Rub | |
| Geographic distribution: |
northeast Uganda |
| Linguistic classification: | Nilo-Saharan?
|
| Subdivisions: |
—
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The Kuliak languages—Ik, Soo, and Nyang'i—are spoken by small relict communities in the mountains of northeastern Uganda. Bender (1989) had classified them within the Eastern Sudanic languages, but by Bender (2000) he had separated them out as a peripheral isolate within Nilo-Saharan. Significant influence from Cushitic languages, and more recently Nilotic languages, is observable in the vocabulary and phonology. Bernd Heine and Christopher Ehret have both proposed reconstructions of Proto-Kuliak, which Ehret calls "Rub". Soo and Nyang'i form a subgroup, Western Kuliak, against Ik. Blench notes that Kuliak appears to retain a core of non-Nilo-Saharan vocabulary, suggesting language shift from an indigenous language like that seen in Dahalo.
Nyang'i is likely extinct, and Soo is moribund. However, Ik is vigorous, and growing.
| Kuliak |
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