Lumasaaba
Masaaba
Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Masaba-Luhya)
Masaaba (Lumasaaba; ISO 639-3: myx), also known as Gisu or Lugisu, is a Bantu language spoken by Bamasaaba or Bagisu communities around the western and southern slopes of Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda and neighboring Kenya. It is closely related to Bukusu and languages grouped as Luhya, but Masaaba is separately identified and should not simply be relabeled with the Luhya macrolanguage code. Like other Bantu languages, it has a noun-class system whose agreement appears on modifiers and grammatical elements. It is tonal and agglutinative, generally uses subject–verb–object order, and builds complex verb forms that mark participants, tense, aspect, and related categories. Masaaba is written in a Latin-based orthography and is used in broadcasting, churches, local literature, and some education; it has no nationwide official status, while multilingual speakers also use English, Swahili, Luganda, or neighboring languages according to setting.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Masaaba
Water
kamaatsi
/kamaːtsi/
Fire
kamulilo
/kamulilo/
Sun
suuba
/suːba/
Moon
umweesi
/umweːsi/
Star
kumunyeenye
/kumuɲeːɲe/
Mother
mayi
/maji/
Father
papa
/papa/
I
ise
/ise/
You
iwe
/iwe/
Name
lisiina
/lisiːna/
Eye
liiso
/liːso/
Hand
kumukhono
/kumukʰono/
Heart
umwoyo
/umwojo/
Love
khusima
/kʰusima/
Tree
kumusaala
/kumusaːla/
House
nzu
/nzu/
Dog
imbwa
/imbwa/
Cat
paka
/paka/
Eat
khulya
/kʰuʎa/
Drink
khunywa
/kʰuɲwa/
One
mulala
/mulala/
Two
babili
/βaβili/
Hello
mulembe
/mulembe/
Thank you
ole nise
/ole nise/
Good
kalayi
/kalaji/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Masaba-Luhya) languages
| Meaning | Masaaba | Bukusu | Luhya | Nyaturu | Runyankole | Tonga (Zambia) | Sangu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | kamaatsi /kamaːtsi/ | kamatsi /kamatsi/ | amatsi /amatsi/ | maazi /maːzi/ | amaizi /amaizi/ | meenda /meːnda/ | ameenzi /ameːnzi/ |
| Fire | kamulilo /kamulilo/ | kamulilo /kamulilo/ | omuliro /omuliro/ | moto /moto/ | omuriro /omuriro/ | mulilo /mulilo/ | umoto /umoto/ |
| Sun | suuba /suːba/ | liuba /liuba/ | liuba /liuba/ | nzua /nzua/ | izooba /izoːba/ | zuba /zuba/ | liluga /liluɡa/ |
| Moon | umweesi /umweːsi/ | kumwesi /kumwesi/ | omwesi /omwesi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ | omwezi /omwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umwesi /umwesi/ |
| Star | kumunyeenye /kumuɲeːɲe/ | kumunyeenye /kumuɲeːɲe/ | eng'ining'ini /eŋiniŋini/ | nyeenyeeri /ɲeːɲeːri/ | enyonyoozi /eɲoɲoːzi/ | nyenyezi /ɲeˈɲezi/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ |
| Mother | mayi /maji/ | mayi /maji/ | mayi /maji/ | mama /mama/ | maawe /maːwe/ | bama /bama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | bataata /bataːta/ | baba /baba/ |
| I | ise /ise/ | ese /ese/ | ese /ese/ | une /une/ | nyowe /ɲowe/ | ime /ime/ | une /une/ |
| You | iwe /iwe/ | ewe /ewe/ | ewe /ewe/ | uwe /uwe/ | iwe /iwe/ | iwe /iwe/ | uwe /uwe/ |
| Name | lisiina /lisiːna/ | lisina /lisiːna/ | elira /elira/ | izina /izina/ | eiziina /eiziːna/ | izina /iˈziːna/ | litawa /litawa/ |
| Eye | liiso /liːso/ | liiso /liːso/ | liiso /liːso/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ | eriiso /eriːso/ | liso /liso/ | iliho /iliho/ |
| Hand | kumukhono /kumukʰono/ | kumukhono /kumukʰono/ | omukhono /omukʰono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | omukono /omukono/ | kuboko /kuboko/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ |
| Heart | umwoyo /umwojo/ | kumwoyo /kumwojo/ | omwoyo /omwojo/ | umutima /umutima/ | omutima /omutima/ | moyo /mojo/ | umutima /umutima/ |
| Love | khusima /kʰusima/ | busiani /busiani/ | obuyanzi /obujanzi/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | rukundo /rukundo/ | luyando /lujando/ | ulungu /uluŋɡu/ |
| Tree | kumusaala /kumusaːla/ | kumusaala /kumusaːla/ | omusala /omusala/ | umuti /umuti/ | omuti /omuti/ | cisamu /tʃisamu/ | umuti /umuti/ |
| House | nzu /nzu/ | enju /endʒu/ | enzu /enzu/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | enju /endʒu/ | ng'anda /ŋanda/ | inyumba /iɲumba/ |
| Dog | imbwa /imbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | embwa /embwa/ | muvwa /muvwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ |
| Cat | paka /paka/ | enyawu /eɲawu/ | lipusi /lipusi/ | paka /paka/ | kapa /kapa/ | kaaze /kaːze/ | paka /paka/ |
| Eat | khulya /kʰuʎa/ | khulya /kʰuʎa/ | khulia /kʰulia/ | kuria /kuɾia/ | kurya /kurja/ | kulya /kulja/ | kulya /kuʎa/ |
| Drink | khunywa /kʰuɲwa/ | khunywa /kʰuɲwa/ | khunywa /kʰuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ |
| One | mulala /mulala/ | ndala /ndala/ | ndala /ndala/ | umwe /umwe/ | emwe /emwe/ | -mwi /mwi/ | imo /imo/ |
| Two | babili /βaβili/ | babili /βaβili/ | tsibili /tsiβili/ | aviri /aβiri/ | ibiri /iβiri/ | -bili /bili/ | avili /aβili/ |
| Hello | mulembe /mulembe/ | mulembe /mulembe/ | mulembe /mulembe/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ | agandi /aɡandi/ | mwabuka buti /mwabuka buti/ | mbasala /mbasala/ |
| Thank you | ole nise /ole nise/ | orio /orio/ | orio /orio/ | asante /aˈsante/ | webare /webare/ | twalumba /twalumba/ | nashukulu /naʃukulu/ |
| Good | kalayi /kalaji/ | kalayi /kalaji/ | malayi /malaji/ | kihi /kihi/ | kirungi /kiruŋɡi/ | kabotu /kabotu/ | kwifwa /kwifwa/ |
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