Masaba language explained

Masaba
Nativename:Lumasaba
States:Uganda
Region:Eastern Uganda, south of the Kupsabiny, Bugisu Province
Ethnicity:Masaba, Luhya
Speakers: million
Date:2002 & 2009 censuses
Ref:e18
Familycolor:Niger-Congo
Fam2:Atlantic–Congo
Fam3:Volta-Congo
Fam4:Benue–Congo
Fam5:Bantoid
Fam6:Southern Bantoid
Fam7:Bantu
Fam8:Northeast Bantu
Fam9:Great Lakes Bantu
Fam10:Masaba–Luhya (J.30)
Dia1:Gisu
Dia2:Kisu
Dia3:Bukusu
Dia4:Syan
Dia5:Tachoni
Dia6:Dadiri
Dia7:Buya
Lc1:myx
Ld1:Masaba (Gisu, Kisu, Dadiri, Buya)
Lc2:bxk
Ld2:Bukusu (Tachoni)
Lc3:lts
Ld3:Tachoni
Guthrie:JE.31
Glotto:masa1299
Glottoname:Masaaba
Glotto2:buku1249
Glottoname2:Bukusu
Glotto3:tach1242
Glottoname3:Tachoni

Masaba (Lumasaaba), sometimes known as Gisu (Lugisu) after one of its dialects, is a Bantu language spoken by more than two million people in East Africa. The Gisu dialect in eastern Uganda is mutually intelligible with Bukusu, spoken by ethnic Luhya in western Kenya. Masaba is the local name of Mount Elgon and the name of the son of the ancestor of the Gisu tribe. Like other Bantu languages, Lumasaba nouns are divided into several sets of noun classes. These are similar to the genders in Germanic and Romance languages, except that instead of the usual two or three, there are around eighteen different noun classes. The language has a quite complex verb morphology.

Varieties

Varieties of Masaba are as follows:[1]

Dadiri is spoken in the north, Gisu in the center, and Buya in the center and south of Masaba territory in Uganda. Bukusu is spoken in Kenya, separated from ethnic Masaba by Nilotic languages on the border.

Phonology

See Bukusu dialect for details of one variety of Masaba.

Consonants

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelar
Nasalpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Plosivevoicelesspronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
voicedpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Fricativevoicelesspronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
voicedpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Approximantpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/

Vowels

Masaba has a basic 5-vowel system consisting of /i, e, a, o, u/.

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Maho (2009)