Sabaot (Sebei) is a Kalenjin language of Kenya. The Sabaot people live around Mount Elgon in both Kenya and Uganda. The hills of their homeland gradually rise from an elevation of 5,000 to 14,000 feet. The Kenya–Uganda border goes straight through the mountain-top, cutting the Sabaot homeland into two halves.[2]
Sabaot | |
---|---|
Sebei | |
Native to | Kenya/Uganda |
Region | Mount Elgon |
Ethnicity | Sabaot people/Sebei people |
Native speakers | 240,000 (2009 census)[1] |
Language family | Nilo-Saharan?
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Dialects |
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Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | spy |
Glottolog | saba1262 |
Typical of Nilotic languages, Sabaot uses advanced tongue root (ATR) to express some morphological operations:
ka-
PAST-
a-
1SG-
mnyaan
be.sick
-aa
-STAT
-tɛ
-DIR
-ATR
-IMPERF
ka- a- mnyaan -aa -tɛ -ATR
PAST- 1SG- be.sick -STAT -DIR -IMPERF
"I went being sick (but I am not sick now)." Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
ka-
PAST-
a-
1SG-
mnyaan
be.sick
-aa
-STAT
-tɛ
-DIR
ka- a- mnyaan -aa -tɛ
PAST- 1SG- be.sick -STAT -DIR
"I became sick while going away (and I'm still sick).[3] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
Sabaot SIDO Website:[4]
Eastern Sudanic languages | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Part of the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Italics indicate extinct languages |