Luo languages

Not to be confused with Luo dialect or Luwo language.

For the language of Kenya and Tanzania known as Luo, see Dholuo. For the unclassified language of Atta in Cameroon, see Luo language (Cameroon).

The dozen Luo, Lwo or Lwoian languages are spoken by the Luo peoples in an area ranging from southern Sudan to western Ethiopia to southern Kenya, with Dholuo extending into northern Tanzania and Alur into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They form one of the two branches of the Western Nilotic family, the other being the Dinka–Nuer. The Southern Luo varieties are mutually intelligible, and apart from ethnic identity they might be considered a single language.^{[citation needed]}

Luo
Lwo, Lwoo, Luwoian
Geographic distribution	southwestern Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, northeastern Congo (DRC), northern Uganda, southwestern Kenya, northern Tanzania
Ethnicity	Luo peoples
Linguistic classification	Nilo-Saharan? Eastern Sudanic Southern Eastern Nilotic Western Nilotic Luo
Subdivisions	Northern Luo Southern Luo
Language codes
Glottolog	lwoo1234

Classification

The time depth of the division of the Luo languages is moderate, perhaps close to two millennia. The division within the Southern Luo language dialect cluster is considerably shallower, perhaps five to eight centuries, reflecting migrations due to the impact of the Islamization of the Sudan region.^[1]

The Luo languages are classified within the Glottolog database as follows:^[2]

• Lwoo
  • Northern Lwoo
    • Anuak
    • Belanda Bor
    • Luwo–Thuri
      • Luwo
      • Thuri
    • Päri
    • Shilluk
  • Southern Lwoo
    • Acoli
    • Adhola–Alur–Luo
      • Adhola–Luo
        • Adhola
        • Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)
      • Alur
    • Lango–Kumam
      • Kumam
      • Lango (Uganda)

According to Mechthild Reh, the Northern Luo languages are classified as follows:^[3]

• Northern
  • Shilluk
  • Belanda Bor
  • • Bodho
    • Col
    • Manangeer
    • Thuri
  • • Jur
    • Anuak
    • Päri

Bibliography

• Gilley, Leoma G. 2004. "The Lwoian family." Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages, 9, 165–174.