Maasai language
E50220
Maasai language is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken primarily by the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania, known for its rich oral tradition and distinctive phonology.
Aliases (2)
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Eastern Nilotic language
→
Nilotic language → natural language → |
| branchOf |
Nilo-Saharan languages
→
|
| closelyRelatedTo |
Camus language
→
Samburu language → |
| endangermentStatus |
vulnerable
→
|
| ethnicGroup |
Maasai people
→
|
| hasAlternativeName |
Maa
→
|
| hasCulturalRole |
marker of Maasai identity
→
medium of oral history → medium of transmission of Maasai traditions → |
| hasDialect |
Kenyan Maasai
→
Tanzanian Maasai → |
| hasDomain |
traditional pastoralist culture
→
|
| hasFeature |
advanced tongue root vowel harmony
→
complex consonant system → distinctive phonology → rich oral tradition → tone → vowel length contrast → |
| hasLearningResource |
Maasai Bible translations
→
Maasai dictionaries → Maasai language primers → |
| hasMorphologicalType |
agglutinative
→
|
| hasPhonologicalFeature |
consonant length contrast
→
long and short vowels → phonemic tone → |
| ISO639-3 |
mas
→
|
| languageFamily |
Nilotic languages
→
|
| primaryWordOrder |
VOS
→
VSO → |
| region |
Rift Valley region
→
northern Tanzania → southern Kenya → |
| regulatedBy |
local community elders
→
|
| spokenIn |
Kenya
→
Tanzania → |
| status |
regional language
→
|
| subfamily |
Eastern Nilotic languages
→
|
| usedAlongside |
English
→
Swahili → |
| usedFor |
daily communication among Maasai people
→
oral literature → rituals and ceremonies → songs and chants → storytelling → |
| writingSystem |
Latin script
→
|
Referenced by (5)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Maasai language
("Samburu language")
→
Teso language ("Karamojong language") → |
closelyRelatedTo |
|
Nilo-Saharan languages
→
Nilo-Saharan phylum → |
includesLanguage |
|
Eastern Sudanic languages
→
|
hasNotableLanguage |