View source for Maasai language

{{Short description|Eastern Nilotic language}}
{{redirect|Maa language|the Southeast Asian language|Maa language (Vietnam)|the mixed language|Maʼa language}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Maasai
|nativename=''ɔl Maa''
|states=[[Kenya]], [[Tanzania]]
|region=Central and Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania
|ethnicity=[[Maasai people|Maasai]]
|speakers={{sigfig|1.524|2}} million
|date=2009 census – 2016
|ref=e21
|familycolor=Nilo-Saharan
|fam2=[[Eastern Sudanic languages|Eastern Sudanic]]
|fam3=[[Southern Eastern Sudanic languages|Southern Eastern]]
|fam4=[[Nilotic languages|Nilotic]]
|fam5=[[Eastern Nilotic languages|Eastern Nilotic]]
|fam6=[[Teso–Turkana languages|Ateker]]–[[Otuho language|Lotuko]]–[[Maa languages|Maa]]
|fam7=[[Otuho language|Lotuko]]–[[Maa languages|Maa]]
|fam8=[[Maa languages|Maa]]
|dia4=Purko
|dia5=[[Kwavi dialect|Kwavi (Baraguyu)]]
|dia6=Kaputiei
|dia7=Keekonyokie
|dia8=Matapato
|dia9=Laitokitok
|dia10=Iloodokilani
|dia11=Damat
|dia12=Loitai
|dia13=Siria
|dia14=Moitanik (Wuasinkishu)
|dia15=Kore
|dia16=Arusha
|dia17=Kisonko
dia18≠Salei
dia19≠Lmasagara(Ariaal)
|iso2=mas
|iso3=mas
|glotto=masa1300
|glottorefname=Masai
}}
[[File:Maasai woman with stretched ears.jpg|thumb|Maasai woman]]

'''Maasai''' (previously spelled ''Masai'') or '''Maa''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|pron|ˈ|m|ɑː|s|aɪ}} {{respell|MAH|sy}};<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh</ref> <small>[[Endonym|autonym]]:</small> ''ɔl Maa'') is an [[Eastern Nilotic languages|Eastern Nilotic]] language spoken in Southern [[Kenya]] and Northern [[Tanzania]] by the [[Maasai people]], numbering about 1.5 million. It is closely related to the other [[Maa languages|Maa varieties]]: [[Samburu language|Samburu]] (or Sampur), the language of the [[Samburu people]] of central Kenya, [[Chamus language|Chamus]], spoken south and southeast of [[Lake Baringo]] (sometimes regarded as a dialect of Samburu); and [[Kwavi people|Parakuyu]] of Tanzania. The Maasai, Samburu, il-Chamus and Parakuyu peoples are historically related and all refer to their language as {{lang|mas|ɔl Maa}}.  Properly speaking, "Maa" refers to the language and the culture and "Maasai" refers to the people "who speak Maa".

== Phonology ==
The Maasai variety of {{lang|mas|ɔl Maa}} as spoken in southern [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]] has 30 contrasting phonemes, including a series of [[Implosive consonant|implosive consonants]]. In Maasai, [[Tone (linguistics)|tone]] has a very productive role, conveying a wide range of grammatical and [[Semantics|semantic]] functions.

=== Consonants ===
In the table of consonant phonemes below, phonemes are represented with IPA symbols. When IPA conventions differ from symbols normally used in practical writing, the latter are given in angle brackets.

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
! colspan="2"|
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Alveopalatal consonant|Alveopalatal]]<br/>/ [[Palatal consonant|palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
| {{IPAlink|ɲ}} {{angbr|ny}}
| {{IPAlink|ŋ}} {{angbr|ŋ ~ ng}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[Plosive]]
! {{small|pulmonic}}
| {{IPAlink|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}}
|
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|ʔ}} {{angbr|' ~ ʔ}}
|-
! {{small|[[Implosive consonant|implosive]]}}
| {{IPAlink|ɓ}} ⟨b⟩
| {{IPAlink|ɗ}} ⟨d⟩
| {{IPAlink|ʄ}} ⟨j⟩
| {{IPAlink|ɠ}} {{angbr|g}}
|
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Fricative]]
|
| {{IPAlink|s}}
| {{IPAlink|ʃ}} ⟨sh⟩
|
| {{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! rowspan="2"| [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
! {{small|[[Tap consonant|tap]]}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ɾ}} {{angbr|r}}
|
|
|
|-
! {{small|[[Trilled consonant|trill]]}}
|
| {{IPAlink|r}} {{angbr|rr}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2"| [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
| {{IPAlink|l}}
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[Glide consonant|Glide]]
! {{small|[[Lenis consonant|lenis]]}}
| {{IPAlink|w}}
|
| {{IPAlink|j}} {{angbr|y}}
|
|
|-
! {{small|[[Fortis consonant|fortis]]}}
| {{IPA|wː}} {{angbr|wu}}
|
| {{IPA|jː}} {{angbr|yi}}
|
|
|}
For some speakers, implosive consonants are not [[Ingressive sound|ingressive]] (e.g. IlKeekonyokie Maa), but for others, they are lightly implosive or have a glottalic feature (e.g. Parakuyo Maa). {{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} In Arusha Maa, {{IPA|/p/}} is typically realized as a voiceless fricative {{IPAblink|ɸ}}, but in some words, it can be a voiced trill {{IPAblink|ʙ}}.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} The sounds and occur in [[complementary distribution]], with {{IPAblink|tʃ}} occurring following a consonant, and {{IPAblink|ʃ}} elsewhere.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

=== Vowels ===
There are nine vowel phoneme qualities in Maasai

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[High vowel|High]]
|{{IPA link|i}}
|
|{{IPA link|u}}
|-
|{{IPA link|ɪ}} {{Angbr|ɨ}}
|
|{{IPA link|ʊ}} {{Angbr|ʉ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}}
|-
|{{IPA link|ɛ}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɔ}}
|-
![[Low vowel|Low]]
|
|{{IPA link|a}}
|
|}

==== Vowel harmony ====
A feature that Maasai shares with the other Maa languages is [[Advanced and retracted tongue root|advanced tongue root]] [[vowel harmony]]. In Maasai words, only certain combinations of vowels co-occur in the same word (i.e. vowel harmony), with the vowel {{IPAslink|a}} being "neutral" in this system.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Payne |first=Doris L. |date=2008 |title=The Maasai (Maa) Language |url=http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~maasai//Maa%20Language/maling.htm |access-date=2017-08-02}}</ref> In Maasai, advanced tongue vowels only co-occur with other advanced tongue vowels (i.e. /i e o u/) and /a/, whereas non-advanced tongue vowels (i.e. /ɪ ɛ ʊ ɔ/) only co-occur with each other and with /a/. Note that tones play no role in the harmony system.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Tongue root position
!Phonemes
!Phonology<ref name=":4" />
!Spelling
!English
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[Advanced and retracted tongue root|'''Advanced tongue root''']]
| rowspan="3" |/ i e o u /
|/ éɓúl /
|''ébúl''
|“S/he will pierce it”
|-
|/ ōlmōsōrî /
|''ol-mosorrî''
|“Egg”
|-
|/ ēnkītōʄó /
|''en-kitojó''
|“Rabbit”
|-
| rowspan="3" |'''Retracted tongue root'''
| rowspan="3" |/ ɪ ɛ ʊ ɔ /
|/ ɛ́ɓʊ́l /
|''ɛ́bʉ́l''
|“S/he will prosper”
|-
|/ ɛ̄nkʊ́tʊ́k /
|''ɛn-kʉ́tʉ́k''
|“Mouth”
|-
|/ kɪ̄ʊ́tɪ̄ʃɔ̄ /
|''kɨʉ́tɨshɔ''
|“Index finger”
|-
| rowspan="2" |'''Neutral'''
| rowspan="2" |/ a /
|/ ātūmōkî /
|''atumokî''
|“To have a good opportunity”
|-
|/ ātʊ̄mʊ́k /
|''atʉmʉ́k''
|“To brew”
|}

=== Writing system ===
Maasai is written using the [[Latin script]] with additional letters taken from the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]], namely ⟨ɛ ɨ ŋ ɔ ʉ⟩, where the barred letters represent the near-close vowels. The [[orthography]] uses a few [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] (e.g. ⟨rr⟩ for /r/, ⟨sh⟩ for /ʃ), and [[Diacritic|diacritics]] on vowels to represent tones. In this system, level tones are not represented, so that /ā ē ū/ etc. are represented as ⟨a e u⟩ and so forth.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Tone representation in Maasai orthography
!
!/i/
!/ɪ/
!/e/
!/ɛ/
!/a/
!/ɔ/
!/o/
!/ʊ/
!/u/
|-
|[[Tone contour|'''Rising''']]
|í
|ɨ́ 
|é
|ɛ́
|á
|ɔ́
|ó
|ʉ́
|ú
|-
|'''[[Tone (linguistics)|Level]]'''
|i
|ɨ
|e
|ɛ
|a
|ɔ
|o
|ʉ
|u
|-
|'''Low'''
|ì
|ɨ̀
|è
|ɛ̀
|à
|ɔ̀
|ò
|ʉ̀
|ù
|-
|'''[[Tone contour|Falling]]'''
|î
|ɨ̂
|ê
|ɛ̂
|â
|ɔ̂
|ô
|ʉ̂
|û
|}

== Morphosyntax ==
Word order is usually [[verb–subject–object]], but it can vary because tone is the most salient indicator of the distinction between subject and object roles. What determines the order in a clause is topicality since the order, in the simplest clauses, can be predicted according to the information structure pattern: [Verb – Most.Topical – Less.Topical]. Thus, if the object is highly topical in the discourse (e.g. a first-person pronoun), and the subject is less topical, the object occurs right after the verb and before the subject.

The Maasai language has only two fully grammatical [[prepositions]] but can use "relational nouns", along with a most general preposition, to designate specific locative ideas. [[Noun phrase]]s begin with a [[demonstrative]] prefix or a gender-number prefix, followed by a quantifying noun or other head noun. Other modifiers follow the head noun, including [[possessive]] phrases.

In Maasai, many morphemes are tone patterns. The tone pattern affects the case, voice and aspect of words, as in the example below:

{{interlinear|lang=mas|indent=3|glossing3=yes
|ɛ́yɛ́tá ɛmʊtí|c1=(Surface Form)
|ɛ̀-ɛ́t-á ɛn-mʊtí(LH)|c2=(Morphemes)
|3P-remove.one.by.one-PFV.SG DEF.FEM.SG-pot(ACC)
|"She removed (meat) from the pot."
}}

{{interlinear|lang=mas|indent=3|glossing3=yes
|ɛyɛ́ta ɛmʊ́ti|c1=(Surface Form)
|ɛ̀-ɛ́t-a ɛn-mʊ́ti(HL)|c2=(Morphemes)
|3P-remove.one.by.one-IPFV.MID DEF.FEM.SG-pot(NOM)
|"The pot is ''de-meated''."<ref>Payne, Thomas E. (1997). [https://books.google.com/books?id=LC3DfjWfCiwC Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 20–21</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~maasai/Maa%20Lexicon/index-english/main.htm|title=English - Maa|website=darkwing.uoregon.edu|access-date=2020-03-26}}</ref>
}}

=== Noun classes ===
There are three [[Noun class|noun classes]] in Maasai: feminine, masculine, and place. Noun classes are often indexed via prefixes on nouns (''ol-/ɔl-'' for masculine, ''e[n]/ɛ[n]-'' for feminine), although other word classes such as demonstratives may also index gender. Although words belong to a given class (e.g. '''''ɔl'''-aláshɛ̀'' “brother”; '''''ɛn'''-kái'' “God”), some roots can also occur with both prefixes (e.g. '''''ol'''-ŋatúny'' “lion” vs. '''''e'''-ŋatúny “''lion-ness”).<ref name=":0" />

"Who has come?" would be asked if the gender of the visitor were known. The noun would be preceded by a gendered prefix. If the gender of the visitor were unknown, "It is who that has come?" would be the literal [English translation] question.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=http://journals.linguisticsociety.org/elanguage/sal/article/download/1327/1327-2126-1-PB.pdf|title=Maasai gender in typological perspective|last=Payne|first=Doris|publisher=University of Oregon and Summer Institute of Linguistics|year=1998|pages=160–163|via=Studies in African Linguistics Volume 27, Number 2}}</ref>

Adjectives in Maa serve only to describe the noun, and they change tenses depending on the noun that they describe. 

Pronouns in Maa usually assign gender (male, female, or place); if gender is unknown, the meaning of the noun in context usually refers to a gender. For example, the context of a female might include working in the house, and a male gender would be implied if the action referred to work outside the home. Maasai uses place as a personal pronoun because place can help identify male or female (i.e. an action occurring in the house will almost always be done by a female).<ref name=":0" />

=== Tense-aspect-mood ===
Present tense in Maasai includes habitual actions, such as "I wake up" or "I cook breakfast". Past tense refers only to a past action, not to a specific time or place.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=The Maasai Language: an Introduction |last=Munke |first=David |publisher=Bloomington |year=2015 |location=IN |pages=1–15}}</ref>

==Oral literature==
In 1905, [[Alfred Claud Hollis]] published ''The Masai: Their Language and Folklore'',<ref>Hollis, Alfred C. (1905). ''[https://archive.org/details/masaitheirlangua00holluoft/ The Masai: Their Language and Folklore.]''</ref> which contains a grammar of the Maasai language, along with texts in Maasai and English translation. The texts include stories,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/masaitheirlangua00holluoft/page/n140/mode/1up?view=theater Hollis 1905], pp. 103-237</ref> myths,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/masaitheirlangua00holluoft/page/264/mode/1up?view=theater Hollis 1905], pp. 264-281</ref>  proverbs,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/masaitheirlangua00holluoft/page/238/mode/1up?view=theater Hollis 1905], pp. 238-251</ref> riddles,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/masaitheirlangua00holluoft/page/253/mode/1up?view=theater Hollis 1905], pp. 252-259</ref> and songs<ref>[https://archive.org/details/masaitheirlangua00holluoft/page/345/mode/1up?view=theater Hollis 1905], pp. 345-356</ref> (lyrics but no music), along with customs and beliefs<ref>[https://archive.org/details/masaitheirlangua00holluoft/page/n335/mode/1up?view=theater Hollis 1905], pp. 282-345</ref> explained in Maasai. Here are some of the proverbs:
*"''Eata en-gewarie 'n-giyaa.''" "The night has ears (cf. "walls have ears")." (#3)
*"''Eitu-kidol ti-oreren en-gerr sambu.''" "There is not such a thing in the world as a sheep of many colours (i.e. a sheep of two or even three colours is common enough, but one of more than three colors is unknown; this saying is used to express incredulity at an improbable story)." (#5)
*"''Ekwenikye 'n-guk in-guruon.''" "Coals laugh at the ashes (not knowing that the same fate which has befallen them will befall it)." Also: *"''Ekwenikye ol-chata otii ol-tiren ol-otii en-gima.''" "The firewood which has been cut ready for burning laughs at that which is beign consumed." (#6)
*"''Etejo ol-ngojine: Mme ake amunyak, keju nemaagol.''" "The hyena said: It is not only that I have luck, but my leg is strong (i.e. I have luck, it is true, but I have had to work)." (#20)
Here are some of the riddles:
*"''Aata 'l-muran lainei kumok, naa obo oipungoki 'n-gishu. Il-loom le-'ng-aji.''" "What are my warriors like? I have many of them, and one goes out to look after the cattle. The rafters of the hut (in Masai huts all the rafters are hidden except one which protrudes beyond the door; it is said to be watching the cattle)." (#2)
*"''Aata 'n-dapan ainei are naarisyo. Eng-ai o en-gap.''" "I have two skins, one to lie on and the other to cover myself with. The bare ground and the sky." (#5)
*"''Anake eado ngutunyi nemebaiki e-nyawa e-'n-gerr? Eng-oitoi.''" "What does your mother resemble? She is long and yet she does not reach up to a sheep's udder. The road." (#8)

==Usage==
The Maasai have resisted the expansion of European languages as well as that of [[Swahili language|Swahili]] in [[East Africa]]. Maasai speakers engage in frequent trade using their language. However, close contact with other ethnic groups in East Africa and the rise of [[English language|English]] as a [[lingua franca]] has led to a reduction in the speakers of Maasai. In Tanzania, former President [[Julius Nyerere|Nyerere]] encouraged the adoption of Swahili as an official language to unite the many different ethnic groups in Tanzania, as well as English to compete on a global scale.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=McCabe |first=T. |date=Summer 2003 |title=Sustainability and Livelihood Diversification among the Maasai of Northern Tanzania |journal=Human Organization |volume=62 |issue=2}}</ref> Although the Maasai language, often referred to as Maa, has survived despite the mass influx of English and Swahili education systems, economic plans, and more, the socioeconomic climate that the Maasai people face in East Africa keeps them, and their language, as an under-represented minority.<ref name=":3" />

The Maasai way of life is embedded in their language. Specifically, the economic systems of trade that the Maasai rely on to maintain their nomadic way of life, rely on the survival of the Maasai language, even in its minority status. With language endangerment, the Maasai people would continue to be threatened and their cultural integrity threatened.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Nicholson |first=N. |title=Meeting the Maasai |journal=Journal of Management Inquiry |year=2005 |volume=14 |issue=3}}</ref> The minority status that the language currently faces has already threatened traditional Maasai practices. Fewer and fewer groups of Maasai continue to be nomadic in the region, choosing to settle instead in close-knit communities to keep their language and other aspects of their culture alive.<ref name=":2" />

==See also==
*[[Kwavi dialect]]
*[[Sonjo language]], the language of a Bantu enclave in Maasai territory
*[[Yaaku people|Yaaku]], people who almost completely abandoned their language in favour of Maasai
*[[Asa people|Asa]], people who completely abandoned their language in favour of Maasai

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*Andrason, A. and Karani, M. 2019. Dative applicative elements in Arusa (Maa) – A canonical approach to the argument-adjunct distinction. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus. Vol. 58, 177-204. {{doi|10.5842/58-0-842}}.
*Andrason, A. and Karani, M. 2017. The perfective form in Arusa – A cognitive-grammaticalization model. Asian and African Studies, 26:1, pp. 69-101.
*Andrason, A. and Karani, M. 2017. Radial Categories in Syntax: Non-Resumptive Left Dislocation in Arusa. Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 134(2), pp. 205-218. https://doi.org/10.4467/20834624sl.17.014.7088.
*Karani, M. Kotikash, L. and Sentero, P. 2014. A Unified Standard Orthography for Maa Languages, Kenya and Tanzania: Arusa, Ilchamus, Maasai/Kisongo, Parakuyu, Samburu, Monograph series No. 257. Cape Town, CASAS.
*Karani, M. (2018) "Syntactic categories and the verb-argument complex in Parakuyo Maasai". PhD Thesis, Stellenbosch University.
*Mol, Frans (1995) ''Lessons in Maa: a grammar of Maasai language''. Lemek: Maasai Center.
*Mol, Frans (1996) ''Maasai dictionary: language & culture'' (Maasai Centre Lemek). Narok: Mill Hill Missionary.
*Tucker, Archibald N. & Mpaayei, J. Tompo Ole (1955) ''A Maasai grammar with vocabulary''. London/New York/Toronto: Longmans, Green & Co.
*Vossen, Rainer (1982) ''The Eastern Nilotes. Linguistic and historical reconstructions'' (Kölner Beiträge zur Afrikanistik 9). Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://pages.uoregon.edu/maasai/ Maa language project]
*[http://pages.uoregon.edu/maasai/Maa%20Lexicon/index-english/main.htm Doris L. Payne & Leonard Ole-Kotikash: English-Maasai and Maasai-English dictionary]

{{Languages of Kenya}}
{{Languages of Tanzania}}
{{Eastern Sudanic languages}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Languages of Tanzania]]
[[Category:Languages of Kenya]]
[[Category:Maa languages]]
[[Category:Maasai]]
[[Category:Verb–subject–object languages]]
[[Category:Tonal languages]]
[[Category:Vowel-harmony languages]]