Suba language
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Kisuba, also known as Olusuba, is a
Bantu language The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. The t ...
spoken by the Suba people of
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
. The language features an extensive noun-classification system using prefixes that address gender and number. Suba clans are located on the eastern shore and islands of
Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
and
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
. They have formed alliances with neighboring clans, such as the
Luo Luo may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. *** Luoland, th ...
people, via intermarriages, and as a result a majority of Suba people are bilingual in
Dholuo The Dholuo dialect (pronounced ) or ''Nilotic Kavirondo'', is a dialect of the Luo group of Nilotic languages, spoken by about 4.2 million Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania, who occupy parts of the eastern shore of Lake Victoria and areas to the ...
. The Suba religion has an ancient polytheistic history that includes writings of diverse, ancestral spirits. A recent revival of the Suba language and its culture has influenced the increasing number of native speakers each year.


History

Suba is an African language spoken by the
Sub-Saharan Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African co ...
people on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria. Trade dependence was established in the mid-19th century between the Suba people and the Luo, a larger neighboring clan. After a period of interaction, both clans became accustomed to each other's traditions and practices. Eventually, through factors such as intermarriage, education, and religion, both clans would combine and become known as the Luo-Suba. With Luo being the larger population, the alliance would decrease the demand for people to speak Suba, and in consequence, decreasing the number of native Suban speakers. Most Suban speakers became bilingual in both Suba and Luo. In the mid-1990s, a revival of the Suba language occurred after the
Kenyan government , image = , caption = Coat of arms of Kenya , date = 1963 , jurisdiction = Republic of Kenya , url = http://www.mygov.go.ke/ , legislature = Parliament of Kenya , meeting_place = ...
initiated the Suba language project, where Suba was introduced as a subject in Kenyan primary schools. In addition, many written examples of the Suban language have been studied through ancient Suban religious texts. These texts depict a detailed polytheistic religion that describes spirits of ancient ancestors as protectors of family and land. Presently, Christianity is the major religion practiced by the Suban people, where in 2010, the New Testament was translated into Suba.


Geographical distribution

The Suba language and its native speakers are located on the African eastern shores of Lake Victoria, populating both Kenya and Tanzania. Additionally, Suban natives are located on various islands within Lake Victoria.


Grammar

Suban grammar and its characteristics are similar to other Bantu languages.


Phonology

Suba, being a Bantu language, consists of a Bantu phonology typical of other Bantu languages. In general, Suba consists of 11 consonants and 7 vowels. Constants only occur at the beginning of syllables, creating a syllable structure of V or CV. Syllables can begin with vowels but always need to end in them. Suban syllables also consist of two different tones, low and high. A high tone is marked with an
acute accent The acute accent (), , is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts. For the most commonly encountered uses of the accent in the Latin and Greek alphabets, precomposed ch ...
(´), and a low is marked with a
grave accent The grave accent () ( or ) is a diacritical mark used to varying degrees in French, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian and many other western European languages, as well as for a few unusual uses in English. It is also used in other languages using t ...
(`) or not marked at all. Low tones are more common in the Suban language.


Morphology/syntax

Its extensive noun classification system uses prefixing to mark gender and number, in turn determining whether the noun is singular or plural. An important characteristic of Suban word structure is its ability to change number and meanings of words through minor changes to their words' prefixes. The prefix of a noun denotes the noun class and number to a noun, making a noun without a prefix meaningless. Most Bantu noun classification systems contain 22 noun classes, accommodating singular and plural forms as two separate noun classes. Instead, Suba contains ten noun classes by combining singular and plural forms into the same noun classes. Similarities in
nominal Nominal may refer to: Linguistics and grammar * Nominal (linguistics), one of the parts of speech * Nominal, the adjectival form of "noun", as in "nominal agreement" (= "noun agreement") * Nominal sentence, a sentence without a finite verb * Nou ...
and
pronominal In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (abbreviated ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not c ...
prefixes determine what noun belongs to what noun class. By establishing a smaller noun class, the Suba language can use a less extensive prefixing system to change the meaning and plurality of words. In addition, the meaning of the root noun can fluctuate depending on the prefix used, specifically seen in pronouns. The usual word order for the Suba language is SVO, similar to English and other Bantu languages. Adjectives and number roots must agree in noun class and number with the nouns they act on.


Samples 1


Sample 2


Writing system

The Suba
writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable form ...
is based on the
Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...
.(2017) Suba sxb. ''Script Source''. Retrieved at http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=language_detail&key=sxb. The use of Latin script has made it easier for Suban people to practice Christianity and translate verses of biblical texts. The Suba
numeral system A numeral system (or system of numeration) is a writing system for expressing numbers; that is, a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using Numerical digit, digits or other symbols in a consistent manner. The same s ...
also has Latin descent as it uses lower order to establish higher order. With Suba being one of the marginalized Bantu languages of Kenya, much more description of the language still needs to be studied.


Samples 1


Sample 2


References

{{Narrow Bantu languages, J-M Languages of Kenya Endangered languages of Africa Great Lakes Bantu languages