Eastern Nilotic languages

Eastern Nilotic
Geographic distribution	southwestern Ethiopia, eastern South Sudan, northeastern Uganda, western Kenya, northern Tanzania
Linguistic classification	Nilo-Saharan? Eastern Sudanic Kir–Abbaian Nilotic Eastern Nilotic
Subdivisions	Bari Teso–Lotuko–Maa
Glottolog	east2418

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
      • Dongotono 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
• Nilotic languages
• Languages of Tanzania
• Languages of South Sudan

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