Samburu

Samburu is a language spoken in northern Kenya by the Samburu people. It is a member of the Southern Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. Samburu is closely related to Borana-Oromo, Somali and Rendille. The Samburu language has three dialects: Central, Eastern and Western. Central Samburu is the most widely spoken and is the dialect used in the literature. Samburu is written in a Latin alphabet with 21 letters. Samburu is a tonal language with two levels of tone: high and low. Samburu has a complex system of noun classes and gender. There are 12 noun classes, each with its own set of concords (agreement markers), which are used in various combinations with verbs, adjectives and other words in a sentence. Samburu has a rich oral tradition and is used in both everyday conversation and in ceremonial contexts. Samburu is spoken by about 400,000 people in Kenya. It is also spoken in Ethiopia and Somalia.