Ongamo, or Ngas, is a probably extinct Eastern Nilotic language of Tanzania. It is closely related to the Maa languages, but more distantly than they are to each other. Ongamo has 60% of lexical similarity with Maasai, Samburu, and Camus. Speakers have shifted to Chagga, a dominant regional Bantu language.
An expansion of Ngasa speakers onto the plains north of Mount Kilimanjaro occurred in the 12th century. The language was mutually intelligible with Proto-Maasai during that period. Vocabulary retention from this time attests to the cultivation of sorghum and elusine by the Ngas. Subsequent immigration of Bantu-speaking Chagga over the next five centuries considerably reduced the extent and viability of the Ngasa language.[2]
References
^Ngas at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^Leeman, Bernard and informants. (1994). 'Ongamoi (KiNgassa): a Nilotic remnant of Kilimanjaro'. Cymru UK: Cyhoeddwr Joseph Biddulph Publisher. 20pp.
Further reading
Sommer, Gabriele (1992) 'A Survey on Language Death in Africa', in Brenzinger, Matthias (ed.) Language Death: Factual and Theoretical Explorations with Special Reference to East Africa. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 301–417.
ngasa, language, ongamo, ngas, probably, extinct, eastern, nilotic, language, tanzania, closely, related, languages, more, distantly, than, they, each, other, ongamo, lexical, similarity, with, maasai, samburu, camus, speakers, have, shifted, chagga, dominant,. Ongamo or Ngas is a probably extinct Eastern Nilotic language of Tanzania It is closely related to the Maa languages but more distantly than they are to each other Ongamo has 60 of lexical similarity with Maasai Samburu and Camus Speakers have shifted to Chagga a dominant regional Bantu language NgasOngamoNative toTanzaniaEthnicityNgasa peopleNative speakersprobably extinct 2012 1 Language familyNilo Saharan Eastern SaharanEastern NiloticAteker Lotuko MaaLotuko MaaOngamo MaaNgasLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code nsg class extiw title iso639 3 nsg nsg a Glottologngas1238ELPNgasa Contents 1 History 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External linksHistory EditAn expansion of Ngasa speakers onto the plains north of Mount Kilimanjaro occurred in the 12th century The language was mutually intelligible with Proto Maasai during that period Vocabulary retention from this time attests to the cultivation of sorghum and elusine by the Ngas Subsequent immigration of Bantu speaking Chagga over the next five centuries considerably reduced the extent and viability of the Ngasa language 2 References Edit Ngas at Ethnologue 18th ed 2015 subscription required Leeman Bernard and informants 1994 Ongamoi KiNgassa a Nilotic remnant of Kilimanjaro Cymru UK Cyhoeddwr Joseph Biddulph Publisher 20pp Further reading EditSommer Gabriele 1992 A Survey on Language Death in Africa in Brenzinger Matthias ed Language Death Factual and Theoretical Explorations with Special Reference to East Africa Berlin New York Mouton de Gruyter pp 301 417 External links EditNgasa profile on the Endangered Languages Project This Nilo Saharan languages related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ngasa language amp oldid 1092647516, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
