Keiyo language

Keiyo (Elgeyo) is a Kalenjin language spoken in western Kenya, in the southern part of the district of Elgeyo-Marakwet.^[2]

Keiyo
Elgeyo
Native to	Kenya
Region	Rift Valley Province
Native speakers	250,000 (2019 census)[1]
Language family	Nilo-Saharan? Eastern Sudanic Nilotic Southern Nilotic Kalenjin Nandi–Markweta Nandi Keiyo
Language codes
ISO 639-3	eyo
Glottolog	keiy1238

The Elgeyo

The Elgeyo refer to themselves by the name /kéyaːt/ or /kéyêːk/, or in the singular, /kéyo/ or /kéyaː/. The term /kéyo/ also applies to the language.^[2]

Classification

Keiyo is one of the languages spoken by the Kalenjin people, and is part of a sub-group that also includes Nandi, Markweta and Kipsigis. These languages and dialects form, along with Datooga and Omotik, the Southern Nilotic languages sub-group of the Nilotic languages.^[3]

Phonology

The tables below present the vowels^[4] and consonants^[5] of Keiyo.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i [i] ɪ [ɪ]		ʊ [ʊ] u [u]
Mid	e [e] [ɛ]		ɔ [ɔ] o [o]
Open		a [a] ɑ [ɑ]

There are, additionally, ten long counterparts of each vowel.

Keiyo differentiates its vowels according to their place of articulation. They are either pronounced with the root of the tongue advanced, or with the root of the tongue retracted.^[6] The vowels with the root of the tongue advanced are [i], [e], [o], [a], [u], as well as their long counterparts. The vowels with the root of the tongue contracted are [ɪ], [ɛ], [ɔ], [ɑ], [ʊ], as well as their long counterparts.

Consonants

	Bilabial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Nasal	m [m]	n [n]	ny [ɲ]	ng [ŋ]
Plosive/Affricate	p [p]	t [t]	c [t͡ʃ]	k [k]
Fricative		s [s]
Liquid		l [l]
Rhotic		r [r]
Semivowel	w [w]		y [j]

Tone

Keiyo is a tonal language.