Markwet language
 | This article needs more citations. (November 2024) |
| Markwet | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Kenya |
| Ethnicity | Marakwet |
Native speakers | 180,000 (2009 census)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | enb |
| Glottolog | mark1255 |
Markwet (Markweeta) is a Kalenjin language of Kenya. The regional terms Endo and Sambirir (or the clan name Talai) have been used for northern and southern Markweta, but they are not distinct dialects. The unmarked word order is Verb–subject–object.
Phonology
[edit]Vowels
[edit]Markweta has five basic vowels: /a, e, i, o, u/. All vowels have variants based on tongue root position and length, for a total of 20 distinct vowel phonemes.
The vowels /o:/ and /a:/ are both pronounced like /ɔ:/, and can only be distinguished by looking at affixes.[2]
Consonants
[edit]Markweta has 13 consonants:
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ |
| Plosive | p | t | c | k |
| Fricative | s | |||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |
| Trill | r |
Morphology
[edit]Markweta has gender. Gender is realized as a prefix added primarily for person nouns and animal names, but sometimes inanimate objects.
The prefixes kaa- and kii- are used to indicate nominalization.
Bible
[edit]On 1 August 2026, at the Tot Primary School in Elgeyo Marakwet County, the complete Bible in the Markweta language is due to be released.[3] The New Testament was released in February 2009, and the Jesus Film in 2012.[4][5]
References
[edit]- ↑ Markwet at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Zwarts, Joost. (2004). The phonology of Endo : a southern Nilotic language of Kenya. LINCOM EUROPA. ISBN 3895868205. OCLC 249588881.
- ↑ "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐰𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞!". Facebook: Bible Translation and Literacy. 14 July 2026. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Marakwet" (PDF). wycliffe.org.
- ↑ "Marakwet translation". BTL East Africa. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
