Terik language
Encyclopedia
Terik is a Kalenjin language
of Kenya.
The language of the Terik is closely related to the Elgon languages
Pok and especially Bong'om. Part of the vocabulary is related exclusively to the Elgon languages, for example words like murwaket 'snail', puntet 'nail', and musempet 'sheep tail'. Another trait distinguishing Terik together with Bong'om and Pok from other Kalenjin
languages is the replacement of l-V-l by r-V-n in these three dialects. Also, together with the Elgon languages, Terik shows a sound change
*l > n which is not shared by other Kalenjin varieties.
The Terik and Nandi languages are mutually intelligible. The ongoing assimilation to Nandi ways of life has led to a decline in the use of the Terik language in favour of Nandi. Among the Terik, migration into Nandiland tends to be viewed as a change in neighbourhood which may require, among other things, that one adapts one's pronunciation to that of the neighbours. About 50,000 Terik (less than half of the total population) still speak Terik, but all are middle aged or older. Most children grow up using Nandi. Terik has therefore been classified as an endangered language
.
Kalenjin language
The Nandi languages, or Kalenjin proper, are a dialect cluster of the Kalenjin branch of the Nilotic language family.In Kenya, where speakers make up 18% of the population, the name Kalenjin, a Nandi expression meaning "I say ", gained prominence in the late 1940s and the early 1950s, when several...
of Kenya.
The language of the Terik is closely related to the Elgon languages
Elgon languages
The Elgon languages are languages of the Southern Nilotic Kalenjin family spoken in the Mount Elgon area in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. According to the Ethnologue, there are two main Elgon languages: Kupsabiny and Sabaot...
Pok and especially Bong'om. Part of the vocabulary is related exclusively to the Elgon languages, for example words like murwaket 'snail', puntet 'nail', and musempet 'sheep tail'. Another trait distinguishing Terik together with Bong'om and Pok from other Kalenjin
Kalenjin languages
The Kalenjin languages are a group of twelve related Southern Nilotic languages spoken in Kenya, eastern Uganda and northern Tanzania. The term Kalenjin comes from a Nandi expression meaning 'I say '...
languages is the replacement of l-V-l by r-V-n in these three dialects. Also, together with the Elgon languages, Terik shows a sound change
Sound change
Sound change includes any processes of language change that affect pronunciation or sound system structures...
*l > n which is not shared by other Kalenjin varieties.
The Terik and Nandi languages are mutually intelligible. The ongoing assimilation to Nandi ways of life has led to a decline in the use of the Terik language in favour of Nandi. Among the Terik, migration into Nandiland tends to be viewed as a change in neighbourhood which may require, among other things, that one adapts one's pronunciation to that of the neighbours. About 50,000 Terik (less than half of the total population) still speak Terik, but all are middle aged or older. Most children grow up using Nandi. Terik has therefore been classified as an endangered language
Endangered language
An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native speakers, it becomes a dead language. If eventually no one speaks the language at all it becomes an "extinct language"....
.