oki ISO 639
Okiek
Visualizations
A language of Kenya
- ISO 639
- oki
- Alternate Names
- Akie, Akiek, Kinare, Ogiek, “Ndorobo” (pej.)
- Population
- 50 L1 speakers in Kenya and Tanzania (Austin 2008). Spoken by a small number of people (Dimmendaal and Voeltz 2007). Ethnic population: 52,600 (2019 census). Total users in all countries: 250.
- Location
- Nakuru county: east Mau escarpment. Mau forest between Amala and Ewas Ng’iro rivers near Nosogami stream (Sogoo dialect).
- Language Maps
- Kenya, Tanzania
- Language Status
- 8b (Nearly extinct).
- Classification
- Nilo-Saharan, Satellite-Core, Core, Eastern Sudanic, Southern (n languages), Nilotic, Southern, Kalenjin, Okiek
- Dialects
- Okiek, Suiei, Sogoo (Sokoo). A member of macrolanguage Kalenjin [kln].
- Typology
- VSO; case-marking on nouns and adjectives (2 cases: nominative and accusative); verb affixes mark person and number of subject and object; aspect and tense affixes on verbs; 17 consonants and 10 vowels; tonal (3 - high, mid, low).
- Language Use
- Some languages associated with Okiek have few remaining speakers. Akiek in northern Tanzania now speak Maasai [mas]. Those of Kinare in Kenya now speak Gikuyu [kik]. Those in Tanzania and Kenya are not in contact with each other. Sogoo dialect may be extinct. Home, social gatherings. Many shifted to Maasai [mas] (Sommer 1992). Many shifted to Swahili [swh] (Sommer 1992). Also use English [eng].
- Writing
- Unwritten [Qaax].
- Other Comments
- “Ndorobo” is a pejorative term for several hunter or forest groups that are not linguistically related (El Molo, Yaaku, Okiek, Omotik, Aasáx). Christian.
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Okiek
Also Spoken in
- Location
- Manyara, Simiyu, and Tanga regions.
- Language Status
- 7 (Shifting)
- Language Use
- Larger parts of the Akie ethnic community do no longer speak Akie, but speak Maasai [mas] or a Bantu language, such as Ngulu [ngp]. Adults only. Many shifting to Maasai [mas] (Sommer 1992). Many shifting to Swahili [swh] (Sommer 1992).
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. Speakers in Tanzania and Kenya are not in touch with each other. View other languages of Tanzania
Language Name
Akie
User Population
250 in Tanzania (2016 K. Legere). Another 250 semi-speakers.
