| Dinka Language |
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Information AboutDinka Language |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT DINKA LANGUAGE | |
| nilo-saharan languages | |
| languages of sudan | |
| tonal languages | |
The Dinka language, or '''' as it is known in the language itself, is a Nilo-Saharan Language spoken by the Dinka , one of the largest and most powerful ethnic groups in Southern Sudan . With 2-3 million speakers, it exists in five major dialect divisions. ''Jaang'' is also used as a general term to cover all Dinka languages. The dialect of the Rek of Tonj is considered the "standard" or prestige variety. It is further classified as part of the Dinka- Nuer subfamily, which is part of Western Nilotic, which in turn is part of Eastern Sudanic, the Nilo-Saharan subfamily with the largest number of member languages (95). Most closely related is Nuer , the language of the Dinka's traditional rivals. Other major languages closely related within Western Nilotic are Shilluk , Luo/Dholuo and Acholi . (SIL ''Ethnologue'', 2005 data) "Nilotic" indicates that its speakers are found mainly along the Nile , specifically the west bank of the White Nile , a major tributary flowing northwards from Uganda. The Dinka live north and south of the marshy Sudd area in southwestern and south central Sudan in three provinces: Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and Southern Kordofan. (See the Gurtong Peace Trust's Dinka ethnic distribution map .) LINGUISTIC FEATURES See Also: Dinka alphabet Phonology Dinka has a rich vowel system, with 13 phonemically contrastive vowels. The underdots (<>) indicate "breathy" vowels. (represented in Dinka orthography by diaereses <¨>): There are 20 consonant phonemes: Morphology This language practices vowel Ablaut or Apophony , the change of internal vowels (compare English ''goose/geese''): : (Bauer 2003:35) TONES Dinka is a Tonal Language . DIALECTS OF DINKA Linguists divide Dinka into five main dialects corresponding to their geographic location with respect to each other:
(See Ethnologue online map of Sudan for locations of dialects EXTERNAL LINKS
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