Soo language
| Soo | |
|---|---|
| Tepes | |
| Region | Uganda |
| Ethnicity | 5,000 (2007)[1] |
Native speakers | 50 (2012)[1] |
Nilo-Saharan?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | teu |
| Glottolog | sooo1256 |
| ELP | Soo |
 | |
Soo is the Kuliak language of the Tepes people of northeastern Uganda. It is also spelled So and Tepeth. The language is moribund, with most of the population of 5,000 having shifted to Karamojong, and only a few elders still speaking Soo. Soo is divided into three major dialects, Tepes, Kadam (Katam) and Napak (Yog toŋi).
Dialects
Soo dialects are spoken on the slopes of the following three mountains in east-central Uganda just to the north of Mount Elgon.[2]
- Tepes dialect (also called Tepeth), on the slopes of Mount Moroto in Moroto District, Uganda. The dominant language in the area is Karimojong. Most Tepes people have assimilated both linguistically and culturally with the Karimojong people.[3] Villages include Akeme, Nabuin, and Mokora.[4]
- Kadam dialect, on the slopes of Mount Kadam in Nakapiripirit District, Uganda. Villages include Nakapeliethe and Nakaapiripirit.[5] Kadam data is primarily available in Heine (m.s.).[6] The dominant language in the area is Pokot (Carlin 1993: 6).
- Napak dialect, on the slopes of Mount Napak in Napak District, Uganda (no speakers found as of 1993).
Carlin (1993: 2-3) notes that there are only minor differences between the Tepes and Kadam dialects, which are mutually intelligible.
References
- ^ a b Soo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Carlin, Eithne. 1993. The So Language. (Afrikanistische Monografien (AMO), 2.) Institut für Afrikanistik, Universität zu Köln.
- ^ Carlin (1993: 6)
- ^ Carlin (1993: 7-8)
- ^ Carlin (1993: 8)
- ^ Heine, Bernd. m.s. The So Language of Eastern Uganda.