Dinka - Thuɔŋjäŋ
< Dagaare | Major Languages | Ebira >
Categories: Languages, South Sudan
On this page... (hide)
- 1. Classification / Classification
- 2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
- 3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
- 4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
- 5. Usage / Utilisation
- 6. Orthography / Orthographe
- 7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
- 8. Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation
- 9. Comments / Remarques
- 10. References / Références
1. Classification / Classification
Dinka is a generic name for a group of dialects in the Dinka Group of Western Nilotic languages. (Webbook?)
Ethnologue? lists the classification as: Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic, Nilotic, Western, Dinka-Nuer, Dinka.
"Jaang" is a cover term for all Dinka languages. (Ethnologue)
2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
It is spoken by the Jieng (Dinka) along the White Nile in South Sudan. (Webbook, updated)
3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
According to information compiled from Ethnologue:
- Northeastern Dinka: 320,000 (1986 UBS)
- Northwestern Dinka: 80,000 (1986)
- South Central Dinka: 250,000
- Southeastern Dinka: 250,000
- Southwestern Dinka: 450,000 (1982 UBS)
- Total: 1,350,000
4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
There are four major dialects in Dinka: Padang, Agar, Rek, and Bor. All have a "high level of mutual intelligibility" (Duerksen, personal communication, 1983). A study of Dinka dialects has been produced by Roettger and Roettger (1981). No one dialect is the accepted standard at present. (Webbook)
SIL International calls Dinka a "macrolanguage" under which five Dinka languages are listed. According to information compiled from Ethnologue on these five, the dialects are:
- Dinka, Northeastern (Padang, White Nile Dinka) - Lexical similarity 92% with NW Dinka, 88% with SW Dinka, 88% with SE Dinka, 86% with SC Dinka.
- Abiliang (Dinka Ibrahim, Akoon, Bawom, Bowom)
- Dongjol
- Luac (Luaic) - diff. from Luac dialect in SW Dinka
- Ngok-Sobat (Ngork, Jok)
- Ageer (Ager, Ageir, Abuya, Beer, Niel, Nyel, Paloc, Paloic)
- Rut
- Thoi
- Dinka, Northwestern (Ruweng) - Lexical similarity 88% with SW Dinka and SE Dinka, 84% with SC Dinka.
- Alor
- Ngok-Kordofan
- Pan Aru
- Pawany
- Dinka, South Central (Agar, Central Dinka) - Lexical similarity 90% with SE Dinka
- Aliap (Aliab, Thany, Aker)
- Ciec (Ciem, Cic, Chiech, Kwac, Ajak, Ador)
- Gok (Gauk, Cok) - influenced by SW Dinka & has some Arabic loans.
- Agar - becoming accepted as the educational standard for South Central Dinka
- Dinka, Southeastern (Bor, Eastern Dinka)
- Bor (Bor Gok)
- Athoc (Athoic, Atoc, Borathoi, Bor Athoic)
- Ghol, Nyarweng (Nyarueng, Narreweng)
- Tuic (Twi)
- Dinka, Southwestern (Rek, Western Dinka) - Lexical similarity 89% with South Central Dinka, 90% with Southeastern Dinka.
- Rek (Raik)
- Abiem (Ajong Dit, Ajong Thi, Akany Kok, Akern Jok, Apuoth, Apwoth, Anei)
- Aguok (Agwok)
- Apuk
- Awan
- Lau
- Luac - diff. from Luac in NE Dinka
- Malual (Malwal, Atoktou, Duliit, Korok, Makem, Peth)
- Paliet (Baliet, Ajak, Buoncwai, Bon Shwai, Bwoncwai, Kongder, Kondair, Thany Bur, Tainbour)
- Palioupiny (Palioping, Akjuet, Akwang, Ayat, Cimel, Gomjuer)
- Tuic (Twic, Twich, Twij, Adhiang, Amiol, Nyang, Thon)
5. Usage / Utilisation
Dinka has great regional importance in South Sudan. (Webbook, updated)
6. Orthography / Orthographe
6.1 Status / Statut
Dinka has a Romanized orthography developed from the 1928 Rejaf language conference; some modifications have been suggested from the work of the Institute of Regional Language's Literacy Project. There is no Arabic script for Dinka. (Webbook)
"A number of methods for writing Dinka using the Latin alphabet were developed by missionaries during the 19th and 20th centuries. Information about the language first appeared in Die Dinka-Sprache in Central-Afrika by Johannes Chrysostomus Mitterrutzner, which was publised in 1866. The current Latin orthography is derived from the alphabet developed for the southern Sudanese languages at the Rejaf language conference in 1928." (Omniglot)
Current Latin-based orthography uses extended characters and diacritics. There may be more than one system. [need more info!]
6.2 Sample Alphabet / Alphabet exemple
Alphabets:
- OpenRoad? - http://www.openroad.net.au/languages/african/dinka/
- Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinka_alphabet
- Omniglot - http://www.omniglot.com/writing/dinka.php
- Geonames "Unicode test page...: Dinka alphabet - kït ë Thuɔŋjäŋ" http://www.geonames.de/alphce.html#din
The extended characters in the alphabet are summarized at http://www.openroad.net.au/languages/african/dinka/characters.html
"Language Museum" sample texts (NB- these may not be standard or official orthographies):
- Dinka http://www.language-museum.com/d/dinka.htm
- Dinka (Northeastern) http://www.language-museum.com/d/dinka-northeastern.htm
- Dinka (Southeastern) http://www.language-museum.com/d/dinka-southeastern.htm
7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
7.1 Fonts / Polices
Unicode fonts with the following character ranges should have the necessary characters:
A set of legacy 8-bit fonts were developed by SIL Sudan using the SIL Encore 3 font system. Available fonts include: Dinka Charis, Dinka Doulos, Dinka Manuscript and Dinka Sophia. Unicode mapping tables are available at http://www.openroad.net.au/languages/african/dinka/mapping.html (These are to be avoided in favor of Unicode fonts)
7.2 Keyboard layouts / Dispositions de clavier
Two Tavultesoft Keyman layouts at the OpenRoad "Unicode keyboard layouts" page, http://www.openroad.net.au/languages/files/
- DLIA Dinka Unicode layout (Keyman 5)
- Southern Sudan (v. 2.1) Unicode layout (Keyman 6)
An updated Dinka Tavultesoft Keyman layout is available from http://www.openroad.net.au/languages/african/dinka/keyboards.html
7.3 Content on computers & internet / Contenu en informatique et sur l'Internet
No information on use in South Sudan. There has been some use online for literacy purposes in immigrant communities in Australia.
Web content includes a page with Dinka poetry at: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~agamlong/poetry/index.html
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Dinka Padang : http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/dinka.htm
About Dinka in Dinka :
- Agamlöŋ Online http://home.vicnet.net.au/~agamlong/language/
- Rumbek Online Hall http://members3.boardhost.com/Adminstrator/msg/1163682815.html
- Lɔ̈k ë Jëëŋ http://dinka.blogs.mylanguage.gov.au/
7.4 Localized software / Logiciels localisés
None known of.
7.5 Language codes / Codes de langue
Dinka:
- ISO 639-1: -
- ISO 639-2: din
- ISO 639-3: din
Northeastern Dinka:
- ISO 639-3: dip
Northwestern Dinka:
- ISO 639-3: diw
South Central Dinka:
- ISO 639-3: dib
Southeastern Dinka:
- ISO 639-3: dks
Southwestern Dinka
- ISO 639-3: dik
7.6 Other / Autre
8. Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation
8.1 Individuals (experts) / Individuelles (experts)
Andrew Cunningham, Victoria State Library, Melbourne, Australia
8.2 Institutions / Institutions
8.3 On the internet / Sur la toile
For Dinka:
- OpenRoad page on "Dinka (Thuɔŋjäŋ)" has a number of resources: http://www.openroad.net.au/languages/african/dinka/
- MyLanguage.gov.au http://www.mylanguage.gov.au/din/9
General
- Latin & diacritic character picker http://people.w3.org/rishida/scripts/pickers/latin/
9. Comments / Remarques
Which dialect(s) to use for localisation?
Conditions in South Sudan (the result of conflict) and the active work of some emigrant communities may mean that localisation may be based among the latter for a time?
10. References / Références
Dwyer, David (1997), Webbook of African Languages, http://africa.isp.msu.edu/afrlang/hiermenu.html (page on "Dinka," http://africa.isp.msu.edu/afrlang/Dinka-root.html )
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Northeastern Dinka," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/dip
______, "Northwestern Dinka," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/diw
______, "South Central Dinka," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/dib
______, "Southeastern Dinka," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/dks
______, "Southwestern Dinka," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/dik
SIL International, "ISO 639 Code Tables," http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp
______, "ISO 639-3 Macrolangauge Mappings," http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/macrolanguages.asp
U.S. Library of Congress, "ISO 639.2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages: Alpha-3 codes arranged alphabetically by the English name of language," http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php
Wikipedia, "Dinka language," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinka_language
< Dagaare | Major Languages | Ebira >
Categories: Languages, South Sudan