Kipsigis (or Kipsikii, Kipsikiis) is part of the
Kenyan Kalenjin dialect cluster, It is spoken mainly in Kericho and Bomet counties in
Kenya
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. The
Kipsigis people are the most numerous tribe of the
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 ...
in Kenya, accounting for 60% of all Kalenjin speakers. Kipsigis is closely related to Nandi, Keiyo (Keyo,
Elgeyo
:''Keiyo may also refer to Keiyo, a district in Kenya, ''Keiyo Line'' a railway line in Japan or Elgeyo escarpment''
The Elgeyo (also known as Keiyo) are an ethnic group who are part of the larger Kalenjin ethnic group of Nilotic origin. They ...
), South Tugen (Tuken), and Cherangany.
The Kipsigis territory is bordered to the south and southeast by the
Maasai. To the west,
Gusii (a
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
* Black Association for Nationa ...
language) is spoken. To the north-east, other Kalenjin people are found, mainly the Nandi. East from the Kipsigis, in the Mau forests, live some
Okiek Okiek or Ogiek may refer to:
*the Okiek people
*the Ogiek language
Ogiek (also Okiek and Akiek)The initial vowel varies by dialect. The first consonant is , but is pronounced or between vowels. is a Southern Nilotic language of the Kalenjin fa ...
speaking tribes.
The Kipsigis language has two lengths of vowel sounds. When spoken, a single vowel has a short sound of that vowel whereas the duplication of a vowel indicates an elongated sound of that vowel. Most common nouns in the Kipsigis language end with a consonant when a common noun ends with a vowel, it will either be an ''
'a or an ''
'o'.'' Proper nouns like name of places and people can end in any vowel.
Double vowels
Usually, the pronunciation of a double vowel does not mean a repetition of that vowel sound but rather an elongation of that particular vowel sound. An exception to that generalization shows up with the double ''
'ee'.''
Normally, the elongated vowel sounds follow the Latin vowel sounds. A few examples are given in the table below
The sound of the double ''
'ee may vary in pronunciation. For example:
Pronunciation of ng' and ng
ng' has the sound of ''ng'' at the end of the English word
Sing.
ng, without the apostrophe, is pronounced as two separate syllables: n and g - as in the English word
anger.
Aap
The Kipsigis word '-aap' is an integral part of the Kipsigis language with an equivocated status and usage as the English conjunction 'of'. '-aap', usually used as a cervix of a word with an hyphen implicates the subject matter with a possessive relation.
See also
Notes
# See
Kalenjin languages
The Kalenjin languages are a family of a dozen Southern Nilotic languages spoken in Kenya, eastern Uganda and northern Tanzania. The term Kalenjin comes from an expression meaning "I say (to you)" or "I have told you" (present participle tense). ...
and
Nandi–Markweta languages
The Nandi language, 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 (to you)", gaine ...
for a clarification of the Nandi/Kalenjin nomenclature.
References
Kalenjin languages
Languages of Kenya
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