LSAL 59: The Phonology of Endo

The Phonology of Endo

A Southern Nilotic Language of Kenya

Joost Zwarts
Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht

Endo is a southern Nilotic (Kalenjin) language spoken in the west of Kenya by about 50,000 people that has not been previously described in the literature. In this book the segmental phonology of Endo is covered in great detail, based on the personal field work of the author. After an overview of the consonant and vowel inventories the structure of syllables is described. There are chapters on phonological processes involving consonants and processes involving vowels. Special attention is paid to the vowel harmony phenomena in this language and there is a chapter on some aspects of the tonal system. An appendix gives an extensive overview of the rich morphology of Endo. The book is relevant for linguists and anthropologists interested in African languages as well as for phonologists and morphologists interested in sound processes and word structure phenomena. The description is theory-independent, which guarantees a wide and long-term accessibility to the unique features of this language.

ISBN 9783895868207. LINCOM Studies in African Linguistics 59. 140pp. 2004.