Dinka Language
This article is about the language, for the ethnic group see Dinka.
Not to be confused with Mandinka language.| Dinka | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thuɔŋjäŋ | ||||
| Pronunciation | /t̪uɔŋ.ɟa̤ŋ/ | |||
| Spoken natively in | South Sudan and neighboring areas | |||
| Ethnicity | Dinka people | |||
| Native speakers | 2–3 million (date missing) | |||
| Language family |
Nilo-Saharan?
|
|||
| Writing system | Latin alphabet | |||
| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-2 | din | |||
| ISO 639-3 | din – inclusive code Individual codes: dip – Northeastern Dinka (Padang) diw – Northwestern Dinka (Ruweng) dib – South Central Dinka (Agar) dks – Southeastern Dinka (Bor, Twic / Twi, Nyarweng & Hol) dik – Southwestern Dinka (Rek & Twic/Twi) |
|||
|
|
||||
Dinka, or Thuɔŋjäŋ, is a Nilotic dialect cluster spoken by the Dinka people, the major ethnic group of South Sudan. There are five main varieties, Ngok, Rek, Agaar, Twic/Twi East, and Bor, which are distinct enough to require separate literary standards and thus to be considered separate languages. Jaang or Jieng is used as a general term to cover all Dinka languages. The Rek Dialect is said to be the standard and prestige dialect.
The closest non-Dinka language is Nuer, the language of the Dinka's traditional rivals. The Luo languages are also closely related.
The Dinka are found mainly along the Nile, specifically the west bank of the White Nile, a major tributary flowing north from Uganda, north and south of the Sudd marsh in southwestern and south central Sudan in three provinces: Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and Southern Kurdufan.
Read more about Dinka Language: Tones, Dialects of Dinka, Writing Dinka
Famous quotes containing the word language:
“My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn’t just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you’ve got to duck for your life and aim to kill! Words aren’t only bombs and bullets—no, they’re little gifts, containing meanings!”
—Philip Roth (b. 1933)