Nyoro or Runyoro (, ) is a
Bantu language spoken by the
Nyoro people of
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
. It has two dialects: ''Runyoro'' proper and ''Rutagwenda''. A standardized orthography was established in 1947. It's most closely related to
Rutooro.
Samples
Language Contact
The Nyoro language acquired
Central Sudanic
Central Sudanic is a family of about sixty languages that have been included in the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family. Central Sudanic languages are spoken in the Central African Republic, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Congo (DRC), Nige ...
loanwowrds from the
Ma'di language
Multichannel Audio Digital Interface (MADI) standardized as AES10 by the Audio Engineering Society (AES) defines the data format and electrical characteristics of an interface that carries multiple channels of digital audio. The AES first docu ...
in the 13-15th centuries during the Bachwezi era, when the early expanding Banyoro community absorbed
Madi people
The Madi or Màdí are a Central Sudanic languages, Central Sudanic speaking people that live in Magwi County in Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan and the districts of Adjumani and Moyo District, Moyo in Uganda. From south to north, the area runs f ...
whose previous territory extended south of the Nile into what is now northern Bunyoro. Runyoro burrowed various
Madi
Multichannel Audio Digital Interface (MADI) standardized
Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties ...
words, such as the word for
bellows
A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtig ...
, ostrich, sugarcane and donkey.
The Nyoro language later received
Nilotic
The Nilotic peoples are peoples Indigenous people of Africa, indigenous to South Sudan and the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan and the Gambela Region of Ethiopia, while also being a large minority in Kenya, Uga ...
loanwords from the
Luo languages
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. ...
after the migration of the Babiito and Palwo into Bunyoro.
See also
*
Runyakitara language
References
Languages of Uganda
Nyoro-Ganda languages
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