Eastern Nilotic languages

The Eastern Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages, themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic subfamily of Nilo-Saharan; they are believed to have begun to diverge about 3,000 years ago, and have spread southwards from an original home in Equatoria in South Sudan. They are spoken across a large area in East Africa, ranging from Equatoria to the highlands of Tanzania. Their speakers are mostly cattle herders living in semi-arid or arid plains.

Classification

According to Vossen (1982), the Eastern Nilotic languages are basically classified as follows by the comparative method.

• Bari languages
• Teso–Lotuko–Maa:
  • Teso–Turkana (or Ateker; incl. Karimojong)
  • Lotuko–Maa:
    • Lotuko languages
      • Lango language
      • Lopit language
      • Lokoya language
      • Lotuko language
    • Ongamo–Maa
      • Ongamo language
      • Maa languages
        • Maasai language (see also Mukogodo-Maasai)
        • Camus language
        • Samburu language (see also Elmolo-Samburu)

It is generally agreed upon that Bari forms a primary branch, but lower-level splits are less clear.

Swadesh approach (Vossen 1982)

Vossen's classification using the Swadesh approach is as follows (Vossen 1982:114).

Eastern Nilotic

• Bari languages
  • Mondari
    • Kakwa
      • Nyanggwara
        • Kuku
          • Pöjulu
            • Ngyepu
              • Bari
• Lotuko–Maa languages
  • Lotuko languages
    • Lopit, Dongotono
    • Lotuko, Lokoya
  • Ongamo–Maa languages
    • Ongamo
      • Maasai
        • Camus, Samburu
• Teso–Turkana languages
  • Teso
    • Nyangatom
      • Turkana, Karimojong

Gleason approach (Vossen 1982)

Vossen's classification using the Gleason approach is as follows (Vossen 1982:119).

Eastern Nilotic

• Bari languages
  • Kuku, Ngyepu
  • Pöjulu
  • Kakwa
  • Bari
  • Nyanggwara, Mondari
• Lotuko languages
  • Lopit, Dongotono
  • Lotuko, Lokoya
• Teso–Turkana languages
  • Nyangatom
    • Teso
      • Turkana, Karimojong
  • Ongamo–Maa languages
    • Ongamo
      • Maasai
        • Camus, Samburu

See also

• Western Nilotic languages
• Southern Nilotic languages

Bibliography

• Rainer Vossen. 1982. The Eastern Nilotes: Linguistic and Historical Reconstructions. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag. ISBN 3-496-00698-6.

External links

• A Classified Vocabulary of the Turkana in Northwestern Kenya, by Itaru Ohta, 1989.
• Vowel Harmony and Cyclicity in Eastern Nilotic, Eric Bakovic
• The Consequences of Microvariation in Eastern Nilotic, Eric Bakovic