Kenzi language
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Kenzi, also known as Kenuzi, Kunuz, or Mattokki, is a
Nubian language The Nubian languages ( ar, لُغَات نُوبِيّة, lughāt nūbiyyah) are a group of related languages spoken by the Nubians. They form a branch of the Eastern Sudanic languages, which is part of the wider Nilo-Saharan phylum. Initially, ...
of
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
. It is spoken north of Mahas in Egypt. It is closely related to Dongolawi or Andaandi, a Nubian Language of
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
. The two have historically been considered two varieties of one language. More recent research recognizes them as distinct languages without a "particularly close genetic relationship." With population displacement due to the
Aswan High Dam The Aswan Dam, or more specifically since the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. Its significance largely eclipsed the previous Aswan Lo ...
there are communities of speakers in
Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, ...
. Recent linguistic research on the Kenzi language has been conducted by Ahmed Sokarno Abdel-Hafiz. Kenzi is currently a threatened language that has about 50,000 native speakers worldwide. Most of the Kenzi speaking people live in the city of Kom Ombo in the Aswan Governorate of Egypt.


Phonology


Consonants

* /s/ can be heard as voiced when preceding voiced stops. * /n/ is heard as velar when before velar stops. /l/ is heard as velarized when in the same position.


Vowels


External links


Learning the Nubian Language (Mattokki) Series on Youtube - Lesson 1 (in Arabic).


References

Nubian languages Languages of Egypt {{Egypt-stub