Eastern Nilotic languages

Eastern Nilotic
Geographic
distribution		 southwestern Ethiopia, eastern South Sudan, northeastern Uganda, western Kenya, northern Tanzania
Linguistic classification Nilo-Saharan?
Subdivisions
  • Bari
  • Teso–Lotuko–Maa
Glottolog east2418[1]

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.

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

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Eastern Nilotic". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

Bibliography

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


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