The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: OKI
ISO 639-2: ssa
| Population | A few speakers out of an ethnic group of 20,000 in Kenya (1980 Heine and Möhlig). |
| Region | On East Mau Escarpment, Nakuru District, Rift Valley Province. Possibly in Tanzania. |
| Alternate names | AKIEK, 'NDOROBO' |
| Dialects | SUIEI, SOGOO. |
| Classification | Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic, Nilotic, Southern, Kalenjin, Okiek. |
| Comments | People may be bilingual Nandi. Most or all 'Ndorobo' are highly bilingual in an adopted language. 'The language is remembered by a few old men married to Kikuyu women and living in Kikuyu communities' (Dimmendaal 1989). Some 'Ndorobo' languages are nearly extinct. The Akiek in northern Tanzania now speak Maasai. The Akiek of Kinare in Kenya now speak Kikuyu. Those in Tanzania and Kenya are not in contact with each other. 'Ndorobo' is a derogatory cover term for several small hunter or forest groups, not linguistically related (El Molo, Yaaku, Okiek, Omotik). Forest, mountain slope. Hunter-gatherers (formerly), beekeepers. Some Christian. |
