Terik (Nyang’ori) is a
Kalenjin language Kalenjin may refer to:
* Kalenjin people of Kenya
** keiyo people
** Kipsigis people
** Marakwet people
** Nandi people
** Pokot people
** Terik people
** Tugen people
** Sebei people
* Kalenjin language
* Kalenjin languages
The Kalenjin ...
of Kenya.
The language of the Terik is closely related to the
Elgon languages Pok
POK, PoK, or Pok may refer to:
* Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the name used by India for the portion of Kashmir under Pakistani administration
* Pantoate kinase or PoK, an enzyme
* P.O.K. (''Podosfairikes Omades Kentrou''), a former coalition of foot ...
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 may refer to:
* Kalenjin people
The Kalenjin are a group of tribes designated as Highland Nilotes and are descended from Maliri people ''(thus related to Daasanach of Ethiopia.)'' The Kalenjin are cousins with Datooga people of Tan ...
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
Nandi may refer to:
People
* Nandy (surname), Indian surname
* Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe
* Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi
* Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afr ...
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. "Increasing infiltration of their western Luyia neighbours into Terikland is responsible for the Terik settling in the less densely populated Nandiland to the east. There they are exposed to a different but closely related culture, which they gradually adopt.
" 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
An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a "dead langu ...
.
References
Kalenjin languages
{{ns-lang-stub