Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Akiek, Akie, Ogiek, "Ndorobo", Kinare
CLASSIFICATION		Nilotic, Southern Nilotic
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		oki
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Sogoo Suiei Okiek
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost” . Peter Austin (2008) University of California

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
50
Native speakers worldwide

PLACES: Tanzania, Kenya

MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"A small number"

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "The so-called Akiek of Kinare in Kenya now speak Kikuyu as a first language; there may still be a few rememberers left."

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
100-999
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Various sources cited by Sommer (1992) suggest anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand speakers, and that, especially among the villages, younger people are more fluent in Maasai or Swahili than Akie.

TRANSMISSION
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "Probably dying out, i.e. Akie is being replaced by Maasai (accompanied by the process of changing their subsistence base from hunting-gathering to agriculture)."

PLACES: Arusha Region, Tanzania

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Makami, Kibaya to Ruvu River... [and] the southern part of the Maasai Steppe, exact extent unknown, roughly (east) Handeni/Ruvu River across to around Makami, then somewhat further west, then south to somehwere south of Kibaya." (Roderic Hall Blackburn. n.d. East African Hunter-Gatherers: a survey. [Unpublished material.])

SEMI SPEAKERS
Yes
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Sie sebst benutzten die Sprache ihrer Eltern nicht mehr, konnten aber auf Verlangen ein Vokabular und einige Sätze aus der Erinnerung hervorholen."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "Indem ich den Hinweisen von Lambert (1950) folgte, fand ich...einige Männer, die mit Kikuyu-Frauen verheiratet waren, in Kikuyu-Gemeinschaften lebten und generall als Kikuyu galten."

PLACES: Tanzania

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

"Indem ich den Hinweisen von Lambertt (1950) folgte, fand ich 1976 bei der Ortschaft Kinare am Osthang des Rift Valleys" (24)

"Die Akie leben in kleinen Gruppen in der Steppe südlich von Arusha...ich habe eine Gruppe im Jahre 1976 in der Nähe des Ortes Kijungu an der Straße Handeni-Kondoa angetroffen. A.N. Tucker fand eine andere im Jahre 1965 in der Nähe des Ortes Mkomazi, etwa 100km nordöstlich von Kijungu". (25)

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
42,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
42,000 in Kenya (2006)

DATE OF INFO: 2006

PLACES: Kenya; Tanzania;

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
<20,000
Native speakers worldwide

MORE ON VITALITY

"The overall population of Ogiek is below 20,000 of which, 75%% live in Mau Complex of Nakuru District. The Akie language is on the verge of deterioration after the only ancestral land for this community was invaded and demarcated by other communities including the Kipsigis, Tugen and Nandi. Daily trading has also caused the gradual loss of culture and language."

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"The minority languages of Kenya are under severe pressure from the influx of outsiders into traditional regions."

		16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis		SIL International	Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	42,000	2006	10000-99999	42,000 in Kenya (2006)				Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Kenya; Tanzania;
			2003	ELF Grant Abstract: Working to Save Ogiek and Sengwer of Kenya				Endangered Language Fund grant abstract				http://www.endangeredlanguagefund.org/ll_projects_2003.php	Cheruiyot Kiplangat	Kiplangat, Cheruiyot. 2003. "ELF Grant Abstract: Working To Save Ogiek and Sengwer of Kenya." Online: http://www.endangeredlanguagefund.org/ll_projects_2003.php.		<20,000		10000-99999				"The minority languages of Kenya are under severe pressure from the influx of outsiders into traditional regions."	Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		"The overall population of Ogiek is below 20,000 of which, 75%% live in Mau Complex of Nakuru District. The Akie language is on the verge of deterioration after the only ancestral land for this community was invaded and demarcated by other communities including the Kipsigis, Tugen and Nandi. Daily trading has also caused the gradual loss of culture and language."
9780520255609			2008	One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost					University of California				Peter Austin	Austin, Peter. 2008. "One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost." University of California.		50		10-99					Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Tanzania, Kenya
	Kölner Beiträge zur Afrikanistik, #7		1982	Die südnilotischen Sprachen: Beschreibung, Vergleichung und Rekonstruktion		563			Dietrich Reimer Verlag	Berlin			Rottland, Franz	Rottland, Franz. 1982. "Die Südnilotischen Sprachen: Beschreibung, Vergleichung Und Rekonstruktion." 563. Dietrich Reimer Verlag.	EBALL				"Sie sebst benutzten die Sprache ihrer Eltern nicht mehr, konnten aber auf Verlangen ein Vokabular und einige Sätze aus der Erinnerung hervorholen."	Yes	Maasi, Kikuyu	"Indem ich den Hinweisen von Lambert (1950) folgte, fand ich...einige Männer, die mit Kikuyu-Frauen verheiratet waren, in Kikuyu-Gemeinschaften lebten und generall als Kikuyu galten."				"Indem ich den Hinweisen von Lambertt (1950) folgte, fand ich 1976 bei der Ortschaft Kinare am Osthang des Rift Valleys" (24) "Die Akie leben in kleinen Gruppen in der Steppe südlich von Arusha...ich habe eine Gruppe im Jahre 1976 in der Nähe des Ortes Kijungu an der Straße Handeni-Kondoa angetroffen. A.N. Tucker fand eine andere im Jahre 1965 in der Nähe des Ortes Mkomazi, etwa 100km nordöstlich von Kijungu". (25)	Tanzania
		3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger					UNESCO Publishing	Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub														-1.0435,36.6006
	Contributions to the sociology of language, #64		1992	A survey on language death in Africa	Language death: factual and theoretical explorations with special reference to East Africa	402	Brenzinger, Matthias		Mouton de Gruyter	Berlin & New York			Sommer, Gabriele	Gabriele Sommer. 1992. "A Survey On Language Death in Africa." In Language death: factual and theoretical explorations with special reference to East Africa, edited by Matthias Brenzinger. 402. Mouton de Gruyter.	EBALL			100-999	Various sources cited by Sommer (1992) suggest anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand speakers, and that, especially among the villages, younger people are more fluent in Maasai or Swahili than Akie.		Maasai	"Probably dying out, i.e. Akie is being replaced by Maasai (accompanied by the process of changing their subsistence base from hunting-gathering to agriculture)."	Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	12			Arusha Region, Tanzania	"Makami, Kibaya to Ruvu River... [and] the southern part of the Maasai Steppe, exact extent unknown, roughly (east) Handeni/Ruvu River across to around Makami, then somewhat further west, then south to somehwere south of Kibaya." (Roderic Hall Blackburn. n.d. East African Hunter-Gatherers: a survey. [Unpublished material.])
9780700711970			2007	Africa	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages		Christopher Moseley		Routledge		7		Gerrit J. Dimmendaal and F. K. Erhard Voeltz	Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. and F. K. Erhard Voeltz. 2007. "Africa." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by Christopher Moseley. Routledge.					"A small number"		Kikuyu, Maasai	"The so-called Akiek of Kinare in Kenya now speak Kikuyu as a first language; there may still be a few rememberers left."

Okiek

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100-999

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

42,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<20,000

Discussion

Okiek

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

50

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100-999

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

42,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<20,000

Discussion

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Sources of information

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