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Sonjo Language
Sonjo, or Temi, is a Bantu language spoken in northern Tanzania, west of Lake Natron. Ethnolinguistically, it is a displaced member of Guthrie’s E50 group, most other members of which are found in Central Kenya. Within that group, it is most closely related to Gikuyu. The Sonjo people number about 30,000 (2002 SIL); many of them are bilingual in Swahili, the local language of education. Sonjo is largely undescribed. The Sonjo have lived for centuries as an isolated enclave in Maasai territory. They are known for their use of irrigation systems in agriculture, a rare trait which causes some historians to link them to the hitherto unexplained ruined irrigation systems of Engaruka, to the southeast. The term ''Sonjo'' is the name given to the people by the Maasai; they call themselves ''batɛmi'' (sg. ''motɛmi'') and their language ''ketɛmi''. Apart from inevitable Maasai (Eastern Nilotic) influence, Sonjo shows influence from Chaga The Chaga or Chagga (Swahili la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. According to the United Nations, Tanzania has a population of million, making it the most populous country located entirely south of the equator. Many important hominid fossils have been found in Tanzania, such as 6-million-year-old Pliocene hominid fossils. The genus Australopithecus ranged across Africa between 4 and 2 million years ago, and the oldest remains of the genus ''Homo'' are found near Lake Olduvai. Following the rise of '' Homo erectus'' 1.8 million years ago, humanity spread ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gikuyu Language
Kikuyu or Gikuyu ( ki, Gĩkũyũ, link=no ) is a Bantu language spoken by the Gĩkũyũ (''Agĩkũyũ'') of Kenya. Kikuyu is mainly spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi. The Kikuyu people usually identify their lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in Central Kenya which they call ''Kĩrĩnyaga''. The Gikuyu language is intelligibly similar to its surrounding neighbors, the Meru and Embu. Dialects Kikuyu has four main mutually intelligible dialects. The Central Province districts are divided along the traditional boundaries of these dialects, which are Kĩrĩnyaga, Mũrang'a, Nyeri and Kiambu. The Kikuyu from Kĩrĩnyaga are composed of two main sub-dialects – the Ndia and Gichugu who speak the dialects ''Kĩndia'' and ''Gĩgĩcũgũ''. The Gicugus and the Ndias do not have the "ch" or "sh" sound, and will use the "s" sound instead, hence the pronunciation of "Gĩcũgũ" as opposed to "Gĩchũgũ". To hear Ndia being spoken, one needs to be in Kerugoya, the lar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Datooga Language
Datooga (also Datog, Datoga, Taturu, Mang'ati, Tatoga or Tatog'')'' is a Nilotic language or dialect cluster of the Southern Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Datooga people of the Great Rift Valley of Tanzania. The Sukuma name ''Taturu'' is also sometimes used in English; the Swahili name ''Mang'ati'' comes from Maasai, where it means "enemy". However, it is not considered offensive to the Datooga, as there is a degree of pride in being the historic enemy of the Maasai, and ''Mang'ati'' has become the standard name for the group in Swahili. In addition, numerous tribal and dialectal names may be found for the people or language as a whole. The Datooga have been claimed to be one of the least educated peoples in Tanzania, and there is almost no literacy in the language; literacy in Swahili has been reported to be very low in some communities. However, the Barabaiga and Gisamjanga dialects have been written, and some work is being done on Asimjeeg. Varieties Dialect diversity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Cushitic Languages
The South Cushitic or Rift languages of Tanzania are a branch of the Cushitic languages. The most numerous is Iraqw, with half a million speakers. These languages are believed to have been originally spoken by Southern Cushitic agro-pastoralists from Ethiopia, who in the third millennium BC began migrating southward into the Great Rift Valley. Urheimat The original homeland of Proto-South Cushitic was in Southwest Ethiopia. South cushitic speakers then migrated south to lake Turkana and further south, entering Tanzania in 2000BC. Classification The Rift languages are named after the Great Rift Valley of Tanzania, where they are found. Hetzron (1980:70ff) suggested that the Rift languages (South Cushitic) are a part of Lowland East Cushitic. Kießling & Mous (2003) have proposed more specifically that they be linked to a Southern Lowland branch, together with Oromo, Somali, and Yaaku–Dullay. It is possible that the great lexical divergence of Rift from East Cushitic is due to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaga Language
Chaga, also ''Kichaga'' or ''Kichagga'', is a Bantu dialect continuum spoken by the Chaga people of northern Tanzania, south of Mount Kilimanjaro. They also speak 9 dialects: Kivunjo, Kimarangu, Kirombo, Kimachame, Kisiha, Kikibosho, Kiuru, Kioldimoshi and Kingassa. The Chaga languages are:Maho (2009) * West Kilimanjaro (West Chaga), including Meru and Machame * Central Kilimanjaro (Central Chaga), including Mochi (Old Moshi) and Wunjo * Rombo * Rusha (Arusha-Chini) * Kahe Kahe may refer to: Places * Kahe, Tanzania, a group of wards in northeastern Tanzania ** Battle of Kahe, fought during the East African Campaign of World War I * Kahe Mashariki, a town and ward in northeastern Tanzania * Kahak, Razavi Khorasan, ... * Gweno References Languages of Tanzania {{Tanzania-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Nilotic Languages
The Eastern Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages, themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic subfamily of Nilo-Saharan; they are believed to have begun to diverge about 3,000 years ago, and have spread southwards from an original home in Equatoria in South Sudan. They are spoken across a large area in East Africa, ranging from Equatoria to the highlands of Tanzania. Their speakers are mostly cattle herders living in semi-arid or arid plains. Classification According to Vossen (1982), the Eastern Nilotic languages are basically classified as follows by the comparative method. Vossen (1982) also provides a reconstruction of Proto-Eastern Nilotic. ;Eastern Nilotic * Bari languages * Teso–Lotuko–Maa: ** Teso–Turkana (or Ateker; incl. Karimojong) **Lotuko–Maa: ***Lotuko languages ****Lango language ****Lopit language ****Lokoya language **** Lotuko language ****Dongotono language ***Ongamo–Maa **** Ongamo language **** Maa la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Engaruka
Engaruka is an abandoned system of ruins located in northwest Monduli District in central Arusha Region. The site is in geographical range of the Great Rift Valley of northern Tanzania. Situated in the Monduli District, it is famed for its irrigation and cultivation structures. It is considered one of the most important Iron Age archaeological sites in Tanzania. The site is located in the ward of Engaruka. The site is registered as one of the National Historic Sites of Tanzania. The site Sometime in the 15th century, an Iron Age farming community built a large continuous village area on the footslopes of the Rift Valley escarpment, housing several thousand people. They developed an intricate irrigation and cultivation system, involving a stone-block canal channeling water from the Crater Highlands rift escarpment to stone-lined cultivation terraces. Measures were taken to prevent soil erosion and the fertility of the plots was increased by using the manure of stall fed cattle. Fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maasai People
The Maasai (; sw, Wamasai) are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting northern, central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best-known local populations internationally due to their residence near the many game parks of the African Great Lakes and their distinctive customs and dress.Maasai - Introduction Jens Fincke, 2000–2003 The Maasai speak the Maa language (ɔl Maa), a member of the Nilotic language family that is related to the , |
Swahili Language
Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili has borrowed a number of words from foreign languages, particularly Arabic, but also words from Portuguese, English and German. Around forty percent of Swahili vocabulary consists of Arabic loanwords, including the name of the language ( , a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning 'of the coast'). The loanwords date from the era of contact between Arab slave traders and the Bantu inhabitants of the east coast of Africa, which was also the time period when Swahili emerged as a lingua franca in the region. The number of Swahili speakers, be they native or second-language speakers, is estimated to be approximately 200 million. Due to concerted efforts by the government of Tanzania, Swahili is one of three official languages (th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malcolm Guthrie
Malcolm Guthrie (10 February 1903 – 22 November 1972) was an English linguist who specialized in Bantu languages. Guthrie was a foremost professor of Bantu languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. He is known primarily for his classification of Bantu languages, Guthrie 1971. The classification, though based more on geography than linguistic relatedness, is nonetheless the most widely used. Together with the Belgian linguist Achille Émile Meeussen (1912–1978), he is regarded as one of the two leading Bantu specialists of the second half of the 20th century. Schadeberg, Thilo C., in Nurse & Philippson (eds.) (2003), p. 144. Early life and career Malcolm Guthrie was born in Hove, Sussex, England, the son of a Scottish father and a mother of Dutch extraction. After schooling at Ipswich, he took a degree in metallurgy at Imperial College, London. Shortly afterwards, however, he felt called to the Baptist ministry. He served for two yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonjo People
The Sonjo (native name Batemi) (''Wasonjo'' in Swahili) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting some west of Lake Natron in Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region, Tanzania. Overview In 2002, the Sonjo population was estimated to number around 30,000 individuals (Ethnologue). The term ''Sonjo'' is the name given to the people by the Maasai. Group members prefer to call themselves the ''Batemi'' people. The Sonjo people speak Sonjo, a Bantu language. They refer to it as ''Kitemi'' or ''Gitemi''. The Sonjo are known for their use of irrigation systems in agriculture. They have consequently been linked by some historians with the Engaruka complex, situated some 60 miles to the southeast. The Sonjo also maintain terraced village sites, albeit of considerably more rudimentary form than what is found at Engaruka. Notes References * Gray, Robert F. 1963. ''The Sonjo People of Tanganyika: An Anthropological Study of an Irrigation-based Society''. London: Oxford University Press. * Nurse, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Natron
Lake Natron is a salt or alkaline lake located in north Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region in Tanzania. It is in the Gregory Rift, which is the eastern branch of the East African Rift. The lake is within the Lake Natron Basin, a Ramsar Site wetland of international significance. The lake is fed principally by the Southern Ewaso Ng'iro River, which rises in central Kenya, and by mineral-rich hot springs. It is quite shallow, less than deep, and varies in width depending on its water level. The lake is a maximum of long and wide. The surrounding area receives irregular seasonal rainfall, mainly between December and May totalling per year. Temperatures at the lake are frequently above . High levels of evaporation have left behind natron (sodium carbonate decahydrate) and trona (sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate). The alkalinity of the lake can reach a pH of greater than 12. The surrounding bedrock is composed of alkaline, sodium-dominated trachyte lavas that were laid down ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
