# 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). Kalenjin in this broad linguistic sense should not be confused with Kalenjin as a term for the common identity the Nandi-speaking peoples of Kenya assumed halfway through the twentieth century; see Kalenjin people and Kalenjin language.

## Branches

The Kalenjin languages are classified within the Glottolog database as follows:
* Kalenjin
** Central Kalenjin
*** Kipsigis
*** Plateau Central Kalenjin
**** Tugen
**** Western Plateau Central Kalenjin
***** Keiyo
***** Nandi
***** Terik
** Elgon–Mau Kalenjin
*** Kupsabiny
*** Sabaot
** Northern Kalenjin
*** Markweeta
*** Pökoot
** Okiek–Akie
*** Akie
*** Okiek

## Comparative vocabulary

Sample basic vocabulary of Kalenjin languages from van Otterloo (1979), and Proto-Southern Nilotic from Rottland (1982):
| Language | eye | ear | nose | tooth | tongue | mouth | blood | bone | tree | water | to eat | name |
| Proto-Southern Nilotic | *kɔːŋ, *kɔŋ | *iːt | *ser | *keːL-ɑt | *ŋɛLyɛp | *kʊːt | | *kaːw | *kɛːt | *peR | | *kɑːRɪn |
| Nandi | ko̱ːnda̱ | iːtit | seruːt | ke̱ːlde̱t | ŋe̱lye̱pta̱ | ku̱ːti̱t | korotiːk | kaːweːt | keːtit | beːk | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ːt |
| Kipsigis | ko̱ːnda̱ | iːtit | seruːt | ke̱ːlde̱t | ŋe̱lye̱pta̱ | ku̱ːti̱t | korotiːk | kaːweːt | keːtit | beːk | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ːt |
| Terik | ko̱ːŋda̱ | iːtit | seruːt | ke̱ːnde̱t | ŋe̱nye̱pta̱ | ku̱ːti̱t | korotiːk | kaːweːt | keːtit | beːk | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ːt |
| Keiyo | ko̱ːnda̱ | iːtit | seruːt | ke̱ːlde̱t | ŋe̱lye̱pta̱ | ku̱ːti̱t | korotiːk | kaːweːt | keːtit | beːk | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ːt |
| South Tugen | ko̱ːŋda̱ | iːtit | seruː(t) | ke̱ːlde̱(t) | ŋe̱lye̱pta̱ | ku̱ːti̱ | korotiːk | kaːweː | keːt(it) | beːk | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ːt |
| North Tugen | ko̱ːŋ | iːt | ser̃ | ke̱ːla̱t | ŋe̱lye̱p | ku̱ːt | koroti | kaːwe | keːt | beːy | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ |
| Kony-Sabaot | ko̱ːŋda̱ | iːtit | serwut | ke̱ːlde̱t | ŋe̱lye̱pta̱ | ku̱ːti̱t | korotiːk | kaːweːt | keːtit | peːgo | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ːt |
| Cherang'any | ko̱ːnda̱/ko̱ːŋ | iːtit | seruːt | ke̱ːla̱t | ŋe̱lye̱p | ku̱ːt(i̱t) | korotiːk | kaːwe | keːt | beːy | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ |
| Talai | ko̱ːŋ | iːt | ser̃ | ke̱ːla̱t | ŋa̱lya̱p | ku̱ːt | koroti | kaːwa | keːt | pʰeːy | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ |
| Endo | ko̱ːŋ | iːt | ser̃ | ke̱ːla̱t | ŋa̱lya̱p | ku̱ːt | koroti/kisun | kaːwa | keːt | bu̱r̃ | keam | ka̱r̃e̱n |
| East Pokot | koːŋ | yiːt | sa̱r̃ | ke̱ːla̱t | ŋa̱lya̱p | ku̱ːt | kisʉn | kaːwaʔ | keːt | pʉːɣ | keam | ka̱ːyne̱ːt |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (2024-03-11). "Glottolog 5.0 - Lwoo". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7398962. Archived from the original on 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
* ↑ van Otterloo, Roger. 1979. A Kalenjin dialect study. (Language Data Africa Series, 18.) Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
* ↑ Rottland, Franz. 1982. Die Südnilotischen Sprachen: Beschreibung, Vergleichung und Rekonstruktion (Kölner Beiträge zur Afrikanistik vol. 7). Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.