Masai language

Learn about this topic in these articles:

Hamitic languages

  • Distribution of the Nilo-Saharan languages.
    In Nilo-Saharan languages: Gender

    …this so-called “Hamitic component” in Masai and other Nilotic languages was to become a major taxonomic issue at the beginning of the 20th century. The concept of language mixture (as an alternative to a uniform genetic classification into distinct language families) was defended most vigorously by the Africanist Carl Meinhof,…

    Read More
Britannica Chatbot logo

Britannica Chatbot

Chatbot answers are created from Britannica articles using AI. This is a beta feature. AI answers may contain errors. Please verify important information using Britannica articles. About Britannica AI.
Also called:
Great Lakes languages

Nilotic languages, group of related languages spoken in a relatively contiguous area from northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and western Ethiopia southward across Uganda and Kenya into northern Tanzania. Nilotic languages are part of the Eastern Sudanic subbranch of Nilo-Saharan languages.

The Nilotic languages are usually divided into a Western group (containing such languages as Acholi, Burun, Dinka, Lango, Luo, Mabaan, Nuer, and Shilluk), an Eastern group (including Bari, Karimojong, Lotuxo, Maa [the language of the Maasai people], Teso, Toposa, and Turkana), and a Southern group (including Omotik, Datooga [Tatoga], and Kalenjin). This follows a proposal made by the Africanist Oswin Köhler, who also suggested extending the use of the term Nilotic to this group of languages as a whole. Eastern and Southern Nilotic languages have also been referred to as Nilo-Hamitic or Para-Nilotic languages.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy McKenna.
Britannica Chatbot logo

Britannica Chatbot

Chatbot answers are created from Britannica articles using AI. This is a beta feature. AI answers may contain errors. Please verify important information using Britannica articles. About Britannica AI.