Maasai
Sign in to saveAlso known as Masai, Maasai, Masai, Maasai language, Maa language, Maa, mas
Eastern Nilotic language
Key facts
- Native to
- Kenya , Tanzania
- Region
- Central and Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania
- Ethnicity
- Maasai
- Native speakers
- 1.5 million (2009 census – 2016)
- Language family
- Nilo-Saharan ? Eastern Sudanic Southern Eastern Nilotic Eastern Nilotic Ateker – Lotuko – Maa Lotuko – Maa Maa Maasai
- Iso 639 2
- mas
- Iso 639 3
- mas
- Glottolog
- masa1300
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- Masai language
- P10369
- Google+
Sources (9)
via Wikidata · CC0
~12 min read
Article
Maasai (previously spelled Masai) or Maa ( English: /ˈmɑːsaɪ/ MAH-sye; autonym: ɔl Maa) is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania by the Maasai people, numbering about 1.5 million. It is closely related to the other Maa varieties: Samburu (or Sampur), the language of the Samburu people of central Kenya, Chamus, spoken south and southeast of Lake Baringo (sometimes regarded as a dialect of Samburu); and Parakuyu of Tanzania. The Maasai, Samburu, il-Chamus and Parakuyu peoples are historically related and all refer to their language as ɔl Maa. Properly speaking, "Maa" refers to the language and the culture and "Maasai" refers to the people "who speak Maa".
Phonology