The dozen Luo, Lwo or Lwoian languages are spoken by the

Luo peoples The Luo, (also spelled Lwo) are several ethnically and linguistically related Nilo-Semitic ethnic groups that inhabit an area ranging from Egypt and Sudan to South Sudan and Ethiopia, through Northern Uganda and eastern Congo (DRC), into we ...

in an area ranging from southern

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

to western Ethiopia to southern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, with

Dholuo The Dholuo dialect (pronounced ) or ''Nilotic Kavirondo'', is a dialect of the Luo group of Nilotic languages, spoken by about 4.2 million Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania, who occupy parts of the eastern shore of Lake Victoria and areas to the ...

extending into northern

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 ...

and Alur into the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. They form one of the two branches of the

Western Nilotic The Western Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages, along with the Eastern Nilotic languages and Southern Nilotic languages; Themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic subfamily of Nilo-Saharan. The abo ...

family, the other being the

Dinka The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotes, Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, South Sudan, Renk, in the region of Bahr el Gh ...

–

Nuer Nuer may refer to: * Nuer people * Nuer language The Nuer language (Thok Naath) ("people's language") is a Nilotic language of the Western Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia (region of Gamb ...

. The Southern Luo varieties are

mutually intelligible In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...

, and apart from ethnic identity they might be considered a single language. The time depth of the division of the Luo languages is moderate, perhaps close to two millennia. The division within the

Southern Luo language Southern Luo is a dialect cluster of Uganda and neighboring countries. Although Southern Luo dialects are mutually intelligible, there are six ethnically and culturally distinct varieties which are considered to be separate languages socially. P ...

dialect cluster is considerably shallower, perhaps five to eight centuries, reflecting migrations due to the impact of the

Islamization of the Sudan region The Islamization of the Sudan region ( Sahel) encompasses a prolonged period of religious conversion, through military conquest and trade relations, spanning the 8th to 16th centuries. Following the 7th century Muslim conquest of Egypt and ...

. * Southern (Uganda and neighboring countries) **

Adhola The Adhola people, also known as Jopadhola, are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples that live in Tororo District of Eastern Uganda and comprise about eight percent of the country's total population. They speak Dhopadhola, (a Luo language), ...

(Uganda) ** Luo–Acholi ***

(Kavirondo Luo) (Kenya, Tanzania) *** Alur–Acholi **** Alur (Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo) ***** Acholi (Uganda, South Sudan) *Northern ** Shilluk-collo (South Sudan) ** Belanda Bor (South Sudan) ** Thuri (South Sudan) **Jur languagesReh, Mechthild (1996): ''Anywa Language: Description and Internal Reconstructions''. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe, p. 5. *** Jur (South Sudan) *** Anuak (South Sudan, Ethiopia) *** Päri (South Sudan)

Bibliography

* Gilley, Leoma G. 2004. "The Lwoian family." ''Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages'', 9, 165–174.

References

{{Eastern Sudanic languages Languages of Ethiopia Languages of South Sudan Languages of Sudan Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Languages of Uganda Languages of Kenya Languages of Tanzania