Thuɔŋjäŋ
Dinka
Nilo-Saharan (Western Nilotic)
Dinka (Thuɔŋjäŋ) is the largest Nilo-Saharan language, with ~4M speakers and the language of the Dinka people of South Sudan, the country's largest ethnic group. Closely related to Nuer (the two together forming the Dinka-Nuer cluster), but with substantial linguistic differences. Dinka has an unusually complex vowel system with breathy and creaky voice qualities marking morphological distinctions (e.g. between singular and plural), three vowel-length contrasts (short, long, overlong), and three tones. Major dialect groups include Padang (Northeastern), Rek (Central), Agar (Bahr el-Ghazal). Standard orthography uses Latin with diacritics (ä ë ï ö ɛ ɔ ɣ).
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Dinka
Water
piu
/piu/
Fire
mac
/matʃ/
Sun
akɔ̈l
/akɔl/
Moon
pɛɛi
/pɛːi/
Mother
man
/man/
Father
wun
/wun/
Eat
cam
/tʃam/
Drink
dek
/dek/
Love
nhiär
/n̪iar/
Heart
piöu
/piɔu/
Tree
tim
/tim/
House
ɣöt
/ɣɔt/
Dog
jɔ̈ŋ
/dʒɔŋ/
Cat
gec
/ɡetʃ/
Hand
cin
/tʃin/
Eye
nyin
/ɲin/
Hello
ke yïn
/ke jin/
Thank you
alanyiek
/alaɲiek/
One
tök
/tɔk/
Good
piath
/piat̪/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Nilo-Saharan (Western Nilotic) languages
| Meaning | Dinka | Anuak | Nuer | Acholi | Lango | Arpitan | Berom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | piu /piu/ | pii /piː/ | pi /pi/ | pii /piː/ | pii /piː/ | égoua /eɡwɔ/ | bí /bi/ |
| Fire | mac /matʃ/ | mac /matʃ/ | mäc /mɛtʃ/ | mac /matʃ/ | mac /matʃ/ | fuè /fwɛ/ | cá /tʃa/ |
| Sun | akɔ̈l /akɔl/ | ceeŋ /tʃeːŋ/ | caŋ /tʃaŋ/ | ceng /tʃeŋ/ | ceŋ /tʃeŋ/ | solely /sɔlɛj/ | kọs /kɔs/ |
| Moon | pɛɛi /pɛːi/ | dwee /dweː/ | pay /paj/ | dwe /dwe/ | dwe /dwe/ | lena /lənə/ | cwèl /tʃwel/ |
| Mother | man /man/ | min /min/ | maar /maːr/ | mego /meɡo/ | mego /meɡo/ | mâre /mar/ | ne /ne/ |
| Father | wun /wun/ | waad /waːd/ | gwaar /ɡwaːr/ | baba /baba/ | papo /papo/ | pâre /par/ | da /da/ |
| Eat | cam /tʃam/ | cam /tʃam/ | cam /tʃam/ | cam /tʃam/ | camo /tʃamo/ | mengiér /mendʒje/ | rì /ɾi/ |
| Drink | dek /dek/ | maath /maːt̪/ | math /mat̪/ | mat /mat/ | matho /matʰo/ | bêre /beːr/ | nyaŋ /ɲaŋ/ |
| Love | nhiär /n̪iar/ | mar /mar/ | nhok /nok/ | mar /mar/ | amara /amara/ | amor /amur/ | shìr /ʃiɾ/ |
| Heart | piöu /piɔu/ | cuny /tʃuɲ/ | lëŋ /lɛŋ/ | cwiny /tʃwiɲ/ | cwiny /tʃwiɲ/ | côr /kɔr/ | kúgú /kuɡu/ |
| Tree | tim /tim/ | yat /jat/ | jïath /dʒiat̪/ | yat /jat/ | yat /jat/ | âbro /abru/ | kàn /kan/ |
| House | ɣöt /ɣɔt/ | ot /ot/ | dööl /dɔːl/ | ot /ot/ | ot /ot/ | mêson /meːzɔ̃/ | wùm /wum/ |
| Dog | jɔ̈ŋ /dʒɔŋ/ | guok /ɡuok/ | jiek /dʒiek/ | gwok /ɡʷok/ | gwok /ɡwok/ | chen /tʃɛ̃/ | cà /tʃa/ |
| Cat | gec /ɡetʃ/ | nyamur /ɲamur/ | gec /ɡetʃ/ | ngabu /ŋabu/ | mbweko /mbweko/ | chat /tʃa/ | mìshí /miʃi/ |
| Hand | cin /tʃin/ | cing /tʃiŋ/ | tet /tet/ | cing /tʃiŋ/ | cing /tʃiŋ/ | man /mã/ | kpàá /kpaː/ |
| Eye | nyin /ɲin/ | waang /waːŋ/ | wäk /wɛk/ | wang /waŋ/ | waŋ /waŋ/ | uely /œj/ | nyíí /ɲiː/ |
| Hello | ke yïn /ke jin/ | mali /mali/ | malɛ /malɛ/ | itye nining /itje niniŋ/ | itye nining /itje niniŋ/ | adiô /adjo/ | kèèlé /keːle/ |
| Thank you | alanyiek /alaɲiek/ | apwoyo /apwojo/ | lɛrnyä /lɛɾɲa/ | apwoyo /apwojo/ | apwoyo /apwojo/ | mèrci /mɛrsi/ | gèyak /ɡejak/ |
| One | tök /tɔk/ | acel /atʃel/ | kɛl /kɛl/ | acel /atʃel/ | acel /atʃel/ | yon /jɔ̃/ | kòp /kop/ |
| Good | piath /piat̪/ | ber /ber/ | gɔaa /ɡɔaː/ | ber /ber/ | ber /ber/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | mwa /mwa/ |
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