LANGUAGES 887 



to the west and south-west of Mount Elgon, also in some })articulars oflFers 

 a resemblance to the [Masai. Turkana and Kaiamojo come next in their 

 affinities. Turkana has a few more words in it betraying Hamitic 

 {Somali) affinities than the other languages of the same group. On the 

 ■other hand, the Karamojo peojJe in their physical type are closely related 

 to the Bantu, and in the dialects they s})eak they use a few words whicli 

 are obyiously surviyals of some totally different language spoken by them 

 before they were conquered by the Masai race that imposed on them a 

 yariant of the Turkana dialect. The Suk people, as might be imagined 

 from their geographical position, speak a language which is closely allied 

 to Turkana on the one hand and on the other to Xandi. The sub-grouit 

 of Nandi languages (all of which are merely dialectal yariations of one 

 common speech) is a yery well marked one, but is sufficiently nenr to 

 3Iasai in its grammar and yocabulary to be classed as a sub-grouj) and riot 

 as an independent stock. Besides marked affinities in numerals (which may 

 be due to direct borrowing) and in some pronouns, most of the Masai languages 

 share with the Hamitic the same negatiye prefix "Ma-." There are two 

 ■exceptions to this rule — -Turkana, where the negatiye prefix is "Nye-," 

 and Bari, which uses the negatiye suffix "-ti" that is also characteristic 

 of Makarka, and of some of the Bantu tongues. One Nilotic lanaruage, 

 the Lango, would appear to haye borrowed from the [Masai or Hamitic 

 families both the negatiye particle "Ma-"' and also some of its numerals, 

 such as the word for '• ten'' ('• tomon '"). This word for "ten" (''tomon." 

 " tama," "toban," " taman '") is widespread amongst all, or nearly all, 

 the Hamitic languages and the tongues of the [Masai group, Bari, it is 

 true, departs from its allies and retains an old word for ten (" pu5k "). 

 which no doubt comes from the Negro tongues to the west. There is an 

 obyious relationship between the Masai and the Nilotic tongues — Dinka,* 

 Shiluk (Shivolo), Dyur. Shangala, Ackoli, Aluru (or Aluo), Lango, and 

 Ja-liio. This resemblance can be seen by consulting my yocabularies. It 

 is particularly noticeable in some of the numerals, such as the word for 

 " four," a numeral not as likely to haye been borrowed as ten. The 

 ^eogi'aphical range of the Nilotic family is considerable (as has been 

 described in Chapter XVni.), but the different languages or dialects do 

 not yary as widely one from the other as is the case with the component 

 members of the Masai group. There is a constant preyalence, too, of 

 "Luo" as a tribal name. The Dyur, far up in the direction of the Bahr- 

 al-G-hazal, call themselves "Luo," The Aluru of the Albert Nyanza more 

 often pronounce their name "A-luo," and this form appears again in the 

 north of Unyoro and among the Ja-luo of Kavirondo. Acholi is also related 

 iis a tribal name to Slm'oii (Shiluk). A marked phonetic peculiarity shared 

 * The real itronunciation of the tribal nanie of this iieople is "Dyaiige." 

 yoL. II. 27 



