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The Eastern Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages
Nilotic languages

The Nilotic languages are a group of Eastern Sudanic languages spoken across a wide area between southern Sudan and Tanzania by the Nilotic peoples, particularly associated with cattle-herding....
, themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic
Eastern Sudanic languages

The Eastern Sudanic languages form a family of languages spoken from Northern Sudan to northern Tanzania, usually considered a subfamily of Nilo-Saharan languages, following Joseph Greenberg....
 subfamily of Nilo-Saharan
Nilo-Saharan languages

The Nilo-Saharan languages are a hypothetical group of African languages spoken mainly in the upper parts of the Chari River and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet....
; they are believed to have begun to diverge about 3,000 years ago, and have spread southwards from an original home in Equatoria
Equatoria

Equatoria began as a province of Egypt, located in the extreme south of present-day Sudan along the upper reaches of the White Nile. It also contained most of Northern part of present day Uganda including Albert Lake....
 in the far south of Sudan
Sudan

Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest in the African continent and the Arab World, and List of countries and outlying territories by total area by area....
. They are spoken across a large area in East Africa
East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN subregion, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, ranging from Equatoria to the highlands of Tanzania
Tanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa that is bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south....
. Their speakers are mostly cattle herders
Pastoralism

File:Nomadic Camping .jpgPastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, sheep, and so forth....
 living in semi-arid or arid plains.

According to Vossen, they are 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.








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The Eastern Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages
Nilotic languages

The Nilotic languages are a group of Eastern Sudanic languages spoken across a wide area between southern Sudan and Tanzania by the Nilotic peoples, particularly associated with cattle-herding....
, themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic
Eastern Sudanic languages

The Eastern Sudanic languages form a family of languages spoken from Northern Sudan to northern Tanzania, usually considered a subfamily of Nilo-Saharan languages, following Joseph Greenberg....
 subfamily of Nilo-Saharan
Nilo-Saharan languages

The Nilo-Saharan languages are a hypothetical group of African languages spoken mainly in the upper parts of the Chari River and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet....
; they are believed to have begun to diverge about 3,000 years ago, and have spread southwards from an original home in Equatoria
Equatoria

Equatoria began as a province of Egypt, located in the extreme south of present-day Sudan along the upper reaches of the White Nile. It also contained most of Northern part of present day Uganda including Albert Lake....
 in the far south of Sudan
Sudan

Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest in the African continent and the Arab World, and List of countries and outlying territories by total area by area....
. They are spoken across a large area in East Africa
East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN subregion, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, ranging from Equatoria to the highlands of Tanzania
Tanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa that is bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south....
. Their speakers are mostly cattle herders
Pastoralism

File:Nomadic Camping .jpgPastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, sheep, and so forth....
 living in semi-arid or arid plains.

According to Vossen, they are classified as follows by the comparative method:

  • Bari languages
    Bari languages

    Ethnologue only identifies three of the languages in the Bari family. Kuku and the other were members of the family are sometimes classified as a Bari dialect....
  • Teso-Lotuko-Maa:
    • Teso-Turkana languages
      Teso-Turkana languages

      The Teso-Turkana languages are a cluster of Eastern Nilotic languages, spoken in northwest Kenya, northern Uganda, and southeastern Sudan. In effect they form a dialect cluster....
       (or Ateker languages)
      • Teso language
      • Turkana language
        Turkana language

        Turkana is the language of the Turkana people of Kenya, numbering about 340,000.It is one of the Eastern Nilotic languages, and is closely related to Karamojong language, Jie and Teso language of Uganda, to Toposa language spoken in the extreme southeast of Sudan, and to Nyangatom in the Sudan/Ethiopia Omo valley borderland; these languages...
      • Karimojong language
    • Lotuko-Maa:
      • Lotuko languages
        • Lotuko language
        • Lango language
          Lango language (Sudan)

          Lango is an Eastern Nilotic languages language spoken by the Lango of Sudan people, who live in the south of Sudan, in Equatoria Province, Torit District....
        • Lopit language
        • Lokoya language
        • Dongotono language
      • Ongamo-Maa languages
        • Ongamo language
          Ongamo language

          Ongamo is an endangered or extinct Eastern Nilotic languages language of Tanzania. It is related to the Maa languages, but it is more distantly related to them than the Maa languages are to each other....
        • Maa languages
          Maa languages

          The Maa languages are a group of closely related Eastern Nilotic languages spoken in parts of Kenya and Tanzania by more than a million speakers altogether....
          • Maasai language
            Maasai language

            The Maasai language is an Eastern Nilotic languages language spoken in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania by the Maasai people, numbering about 800,000....
             (see also Mukogodo-Maasai)
          • Camus language
          • Samburu language
            Samburu language

            Samburu is the Eastern Nilotic languages, North Maa languages language spoken by the Samburu in the highlands of northern Kenya. The Samburu number about 128,000 ....
             (see also Elmolo-Samburu)


It is generally agreed upon that Bari forms a primary branch, but lower-level splits are less clear.

See also

  • Western Nilotic languages
    Western Nilotic languages

    The Western Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages, themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic languages subfamily of Nilo-Saharan languages....
  • Southern Nilotic languages
    Southern Nilotic languages

    The Southern Nilotic languages are spoken mainly in western Kenya and northern Tanzania . They are generally divided into two groups, Kalenjin languages and Omotik-Datooga languages, although there is some uncertainty as to the internal coherence of the Kalenjin branch....


Bibliography

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


External links

  • , by Itaru Ohta, 1989.
  • , Eric Bakovic
  • , Eric Bakovic