Luo languages

"Luo language" redirects here. For language of Kenya and Tanzania known as Luo, see Dholuo language. For unclassified language of Atta in Cameroon, see Luo language (Atta).

Luo
Lwo, Lwoian
Ethnicity:	Luo peoples
Geographic distribution:	southwestern Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, northeastern Congo (DRC), northern Uganda, southwestern Kenya, northern Tanzania
Linguistic classification:	Nilo-Saharan? Eastern Sudanic Nilotic Western Luo
Subdivisions:	Northern Southern

The Nilotic Luo languages, or Lwoian, are a dozen languages spoken by the Luo peoples in an area ranging from southern Sudan via Uganda to southern Kenya, with Dholuo extending into northern Tanzania and Alur into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They form one of the two branches of Western Nilotic, the other being Dinka–Nuer. The Southern Luo varieties are mutually intelligible, as is Mabaan–Burun, and apart from ethnic identity these might be considered single languages.

The following subclassification of the Luo languages is based on SIL's Ethnologue, with the exception of Bodho:

• Northern
  • Shilluk (South Sudan)
  • Anuak (South Sudan, Ethiopia) [Southern Luo?]
  • Belanda Bor (South Sudan)
  • Thuri (South Sudan)
  • Jur languages
    • Luwo (South Sudan)
    • Bodho (South Sudan)^{[citation needed]}
  • Mabaan–Burun
    • Burun (Sudan)
    • Mabaan languages* (South Sudan, Sudan)
      • Mabaan (Sudan – South Sudan border)
      • Jumjum (South Sudan)
  • ? Päri (classification unsure) (South Sudan)
• Southern (Uganda and neighboring countries)

* Distinguish Maban languages.

Bibliography

• Gilley, Leoma G. 2004. "The Lwoian family." Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages, 9, 165–174.

External links

• The Luo branch of Western Nilotic on Ethnologue