Keiyo language
| Keiyo | |
|---|---|
| Elgeyo | |
| Native to | Kenya |
| Region | Rift Valley Province |
Native speakers | 250,000 (2019 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | eyo |
| Glottolog | keiy1238 |
| ELP | Lua error in Module:Endangered_Languages_Project at line 21: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
Keiyo (Elgeyo) is a Kalenjin language spoken in western Kenya, in the southern part of the district of Elgeyo-Marakwet.[2]
The Elgeyo
[edit | edit source]The Elgeyo refer to themselves by the name /kéyaːt/ or /kéyêːk/, or in the singular, /kéyo/ or /kéyaː/. The term /kéyo/ also applies to the language.[2]
Classification
[edit | edit source]Keiyo is one of the languages spoken by the Kalenjin people, and is part of a sub-group that also includes Nandi, Markweta and Kipsigis. These languages and dialects form, along with Datooga and Omotik, the Southern Nilotic languages sub-group of the Nilotic languages.[3]
Phonology
[edit | edit source]The tables below present the vowels[4] and consonants[5] of Keiyo.
Vowels
[edit | edit source]| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i [i] ɪ [ɪ] | ʊ [ʊ] u [u] | |
| Mid | e [e] [ɛ] | ɔ [ɔ] o [o] | |
| Open | a [a] ɑ [ɑ] |
There are, additionally, ten long counterparts of each vowel.
Keiyo 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.[6] The vowels with the root of the tongue advanced are [i], [e], [o], [a], [u], as well as their long counterparts. The vowels with the root of the tongue contracted are [ɪ], [ɛ], [ɔ], [ɑ], [ʊ], as well as their long counterparts.
Consonants
[edit | edit source]| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m [m] | n [n] | ny [ɲ] | ng [ŋ] |
| Plosive/Affricate | p [p] | t [t] | c [t͡ʃ] | k [k] |
| Fricative | s [s] | |||
| Liquid | l [l] | |||
| Rhotic | r [r] | |||
| Semivowel | w [w] | y [j] |
Tone
[edit | edit source]Keiyo is a tonal language.
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Keiyo at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
- ^ a b Rottland 1982, p. 21.
- ^ Rottland 1982, pp. 19–20.
- ^ Rottland 1982, pp. 73, 76.
- ^ Rottland 1982, pp. 69–70.
- ^ Rottland 1982, p. 74.
- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).