Naandi language
Nandi (Naandi), also known as Cemual, is a Kalenjin language spoken in the highlands of western Kenya, in the districts of Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Trans-Nzoia.[2]
| Nandi | |
|---|---|
| Naandi | |
| Native to | Kenya |
| Region | Rift Valley Province |
| Ethnicity | Nandi people |
Native speakers | 950,000 (2009 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | niq |
| Glottolog | nand1266 |
Classification
Nandi is the language spoken by the Nandi, who are part of the Kalenjin people. These languages and dialects, classified with the Datooga language and the Omotik language, form the Southern Nilotic languages sub-group of the Nilotic languages.[2]
Phonology
The tables below present the vowels[3] and consonants[4] of Nandi.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i [i] ii [iː] | u [u] uu [uː] | |
| Mid | e [e] ee [eː] | o [o] oo [oː] | |
| Open | a [a] aa [aː] |
Nandi differentiates its vowels according to their place of articulation. They are either pronounced with the root of the tongue advanced, or with the root of the tongue retracted.[5]
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m [m] | n [n] | ny [ɲ] | ng [ŋ] |
| Plosive/Affricate | p [p] | t [t] | tʃ [t͡ʃ] | k [k] |
| Fricative | s [s] | |||
| Liquid | l [l] | |||
| Rhotic | r [r] | |||
| Semivowel | w [w] | y [j] |
Tone
Nandi is a tonal language.
References
- Nandi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- Creider 1989, p. 9.
- Creider 1989, p. 17.
- Creider 1989, p. 13.
- Creider 1989, p. 18.
- Creider, Chet A. (1989). A grammar of Nandi. Jane Tapsubei Creider. Hamburg: H. Buske. ISBN 3-87118-944-8. OCLC 22603638.
External links
- Bukuitab Saet, Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Nandi (1962) digitized by Richard Mammana
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