Kenzi language

Kenzi, also known as Kenuzi, Kunuz, or Mattokki, is a Nubian language of Egypt. It is spoken north of Mahas in Egypt. It is closely related to Dongolawi or Andaandi, a Nubian Language of Sudan.[2] 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."[3] With population displacement due to the Aswan High Dam there are communities of speakers in Lower Egypt. Recent linguistic research on the Kenzi language has been conducted by Ahmed Sokarno Abdel-Hafiz.[4]

Kenzi
Mattokki
Native toEgypt
RegionNile River
Native speakers
50,000 (2014)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3xnz
Glottologkenu1243
ELPKenuzi

Kenzi is currently a threatened language that has about 50,000 native speakers worldwide.[5] Most of the Kenzi speaking people live in the city of Kom Ombo in the Aswan Governorate of Egypt.[6]

Phonology

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop voiceless t c k
voiced b d ɟ g
Nasal m n ɲ
Fricative f s ʃ h
Rhotic ɾ
Lateral l
Approximant w j
  • /s/ can be heard as voiced [z] when preceding voiced stops.
  • /n/ is heard as velar [ŋ] when before velar stops. /l/ is heard as velarized [ɫ] when in the same position.[4]

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i iː u uː
Mid e eː o oː
Open a aː

References
  1. Kenzi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Massenbach, Gertrud von. "Wörterbuch des nubischen Kunuzi-Dialektes," Mitteilungen des Seminars für orientalische Sprachen, Berlin, 1933, III, pp. 99-227.
  3. Bechhaus-Gerst, Marianne. The (Hi)story of Nobiin — 1000 Years of Language Change. Peter Lang, 2011, p. 22.
  4. Abdel-Hafiz, Ahmed Sokarno (1988). A Reference Grammar of Kunuz Nubian (PDF). Buffalo: State University of New York.
  5. "Did you know Kenuzi is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  6. "The Nubian language". shazlyasmail.tripod.com. Retrieved 2021-02-19.


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