The Kalenjin languages are a group of twelve related Southern Nilotic languages

Southern Nilotic languages

The Southern Nilotic languages are spoken mainly in western Kenya and northern Tanzania . They are generally divided into two groups, Kalenjin and Omotik–Datooga, although there is some uncertainty as to the internal coherence of the Kalenjin branch...

 spoken in Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, eastern Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 and northern Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

. The term Kalenjin comes from a Nandi expression meaning 'I say (to you)'. Kalenjin in this broad linguistic sense should not be confused with Kalenjin as a term for the common identity the Nandi-speaking peoples of Kenya assumed halfway the twentieth century; see Kalenjin

Kalenjin

Kalenjin is an ethnic group of Nilotic origin living in the Great Rift Valley in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. The Kalenjin population is estimated at roughly 4.4 million. There are several smaller tribal groupings within the Kalenjin: Elgeyo, Endorois, Kipsigis, Marakwet, Nandi, Pokot,...

 and Kalenjin language

Kalenjin language

The Nandi languages, or Kalenjin proper, are a dialect cluster of the Kalenjin branch of the Nilotic language family.In Kenya, where speakers make up 18% of the population, the name Kalenjin, a Nandi expression meaning "I say ", gained prominence in the late 1940s and the early 1950s, when several...

.

The Kalenjin languages are generally distinguished into four branches. There is less certainty regarding internal relationships within these.

• Elgon
  Elgon languages
  The Elgon languages are languages of the Southern Nilotic Kalenjin family spoken in the Mount Elgon area in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. According to the Ethnologue, there are two main Elgon languages: Kupsabiny and Sabaot...
  
   (Sebei)
• Nandi–Markweta (Kalenjin)
• Okiek
• Pökoot
  Pökoot language
  Pökoot is a language spoken in western Kenya and eastern Uganda by the Pokot people. Pökoot is classified as the Northern branch of the Kalenjin languages found in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The Pökoot are usually called Kimukon by the other Kalenjin peoples...
  
  

External links

• Kalenjin–English Dictionary
• A Kalenjin website
• Kalenjin branch on the Ethnologue.
• Endo phonology