Not to be confused with Luo dialect or Luwo language.
For the language of Kenya and Tanzania known as Luo, see Dholuo. For the unclassified language of Atta in Cameroon, see Luo language (Cameroon).
Luo
Lwo
Ethnicity
Luo peoples
Geographic distribution
southwestern Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, northeastern Congo (DRC), northern Uganda, southwestern Kenya, northern Tanzania
Linguistic classification
Nilo-Saharan?
Eastern Sudanic?
Kir–Abbaian?
Nilotic
Western Nilotic
Luo
Subdivisions
Northern
Southern
Glottolog
lwoo1234
The dozen Luo, Lwo or Lwoian languages are spoken by the Luo peoples in an area ranging from southern Sudan to western Ethiopia to southern Kenya, with Dholuo extending into northern Tanzania and Alur into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They form one of the two branches of the Western Nilotic family, the other being the Dinka–Nuer. The Southern Luo varieties are mutually intelligible, and apart from ethnic identity they might be considered a single language.[citation needed]
The time depth of the division of the Luo languages is moderate, perhaps close to two millennia. The division within the Southern Luo language dialect cluster is considerably shallower, perhaps five to eight centuries, reflecting migrations due to the impact of the Islamization of the Sudan region.[1]
The Luo languages are classified within the Glottolog database as follows:[2]
Lwoo
Northern Lwoo
Anuak
Belanda Bor
Luwo–Thuri
Luwo
Thuri
Päri
Shilluk
Southern Lwoo
Acoli
Adhola–Alur–Luo
Adhola–Luo
Adhola
Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)
Alur
Lango–Kumam
Kumam
Lango (Uganda)
According to Mechthild Reh, the Northern Luo languages are classified as follows:[3]
Northern
Shilluk
Belanda Bor
Bodho
Col
Manangeer
Thuri
Jur
Anuak
Päri
^Bethwell Allan Ogot, History of the Southern Luo: Volume 1, Migration and Settlement.
^Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (2023-07-10). "Glottolog 4.8 - Southern Lwoo". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7398962. Archived from the original on 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
^Reh, Mechthild (1996): Anywa Language: Description and Internal Reconstructions. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe, p. 5.
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