Maasai language is a member of the East Nilotic branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family spoken by about 1.5 million people in mainly in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. There are also some Maasai speakers in central Kenya.
Maasai is also known as Masai or Maa, and the people who speak it call it ɔl Maa. The term Maasai refers to "one who speaks the Maa language". It is closely related to Samburu, Chamus and Parakuyu, which are also spoken in Kenya and Tanzania, and are collectively known as Maa languages, along with Maasai.
Maasai is written with the Latin script. It is taught in schools to some extent, though the languages of instruction are Swahili and English. There is a Maasai dictionary, a Maasai translation of the Bible, and a few other publications, but generally the language is not used in writing very much. The alphabet shown below is used in the Maa (Maasai) Dictionary by Doris L. Payne and Leonard Ole-Kotikash, which was published in 2005.
In some texts, sh may be written ch, ŋ as ng, b as mb, d as nd, wu as ww, and yi as yy. Tones are not always indicated in writing.
Download an alphabet chart for Maasai (Excel)
Iyiolo iltung’anak pooki naa ketoiwuoki naa kenare enkishui o sipat. Naa kenare nikiyanyit irkulikae enaa ilalashera.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Source: https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/maa
Ɛshɔmɔ́ ɨlmʉ́rrân áàsòtù ɨmbáà tè wúéjî nɛ́taararɛ̂ ɔ́ lmaŋáti ŋolé.
The warriors have gone to collect arrows from where they fought with the enemies yesterday.
Source: https://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~dlpayne/Maa Lexicon/lexicon/main.htm
Information about Maasai | Numbers
Information about Maasai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai_language
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maa_(langue)
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/マサイ語
https://www.langcen.cam.ac.uk/resources/langm/maasai.html
http://www.uoregon.edu/~maasai
https://africageographic.com/stories/an-introduction-to-maa-language-maasai-samburu-people/
Maasai courses
https://www.livelingua.com/courses/Maasai
Online Maa (Maasai) dictionary
https://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~dlpayne/Maa%20Lexicon/lexicon/main.htm
Acholi, Adhola, Alur, Anuak, Ateso, Bari, Belanda Bor, Datooga, Dholuo, Dinka, Dongotono, Kakwa, Karamojong, Keiyo, Kipsigis, Kuku, Kupsabiny, Lango (South Sudan), Lango (Uganda), Lopit, Lotuko, Maasai, Mandari, Markwet, Nandi, Nuer, Nyangatom, Nyepu, Terik, Toposa, Tugen, Turkana
Page last modified: 09.12.24
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