Nata

Language name and locationː Nata, Mara Region, Tanzania [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 纳塔语, 坦桑尼亚北部马拉区塞伦盖蒂地区

1. ímwe	21. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére na ímwe
2. iβére	22. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére na iβére
3. isáto	23. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére na isáto
4. íɲɛ	24. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére na íɲɛ
5. isáanɔ	25. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére na isáanɔ
6. isaasáβe	26. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére na isaasáβe
7. mohuuŋɡáte	27. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére na mohuuŋɡáte
8. iɲaaɲɛ́	28. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére na iɲaaɲɛ
9. kɛɛndɛ́	29. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére na kɛɛndɛ́
10. ikómi	30. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ etáto [mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡwéétato]
11. ikómi na ímwe [ikómi níímwe]	40. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ ɛ́ɲɛ [mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡwɛːnɛ]
12. ikómi na iβére [ikómi nííβere]	50. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ ɛtáanɔ
13. ikómi na isáto [ikómi níísato]	60. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ esaasáβe
14. ikómi na íɲɛ [ikómi nííɲɛ]	70. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ mohuuŋɡeate
15. ikómi na isáanɔ [ikómi níísaanɔ]	80. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ ɛnaaɲɛ́
16. ikómi na isaasáβe	90. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ kɛandɛ́
17. ikómi na mohuuŋɡáte	100. rííɣana (rímwe)
18. ikómi na iɲaaɲɛ́ [ikómi niiɲaaɲɛ́]	200. máɣana aβére
19. ikómi na kɛɛndɛ́ [ikómi na kɛːndɛ́]	1000. eɣekwé (kímwe)
20. mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ eβére [mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡweeβére]	2000. eβekwé βíβere

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Joash G. Johannes, Department of Linguistics, University of Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, July 16 , 2013.

提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Joash G. Johannes, 2013 年 7 月 16 日.

Other comments: Ki-Nata is classified as Bantu E 45, spoken by approximately 6000 people. The Ki-Nata language is spoken by βa-Nata1, who inhabit parts of two Tanzanian districts, namely Serengeti and Bunda in Mara Region. In Serengeti District, Ki-Nata is spoken in such areas as Isenye, Nata-Motukeri, Nata-Mbiso, Makondose, Nyichoka and Burunga. In Bunda District it is spoken in Mogeta and Kyandege. In the mentioned districts the βa-Nata interact with other speech communities. In Serengeti, they interact with Kuria, Ikoma and Isenye while in Bunda they interact with Kuria, Ikizo and Zanake.

Other higher numeralsː 10,000 eβekwé ikómi, 50,000 eβekwé mirɔ́ɔ́ŋɡɔ ɛtáanɔ,

1,000,000 = eβírara na eβírara (ton of hundred thousand).

According to Greenberg (1963), Ki-Nata belongs to the Bantu family of languages,

which falls under the Benue-Congo group. The latter falls under a major group known as Niger-Congo. Within the Bantu family, Ki-Nata belongs to the subgroup of Eastern

Bantu languages, in which some languages have not been seriously studied while some

are hardly known. Ki-Nata is among the languages that have been scantly studied.

According to Guthrie (1948), Ki-Nata falls under Zone E, Group 40, Index 5. Ki-Nata is

placed along with Ke-Ragoli (E41), Ke-Gusii (42), γi-Kuria (43), Ke-Zanake (E44), γi-

Isenye (E44b), Ci-Ndali (E44c), γi-Siora (E44g) and γi-Sweta (E44e). Others include γi-

Kiroβa (E44f), γi-Ikizo (E44g), Ki-γirango (E44h), γi-Sembete (E44k) and Ki-Sonjo

(E46). In his classification Guthrie treats Ki-Nata and γi-Ikoma as one and the same

language.

Bryan (1959) is another scholar who attempted a classification of the language under

description. In her classification, Bryan followed closely Guthrie’s classification of Ki-

Nata. The only thing she added was that Ki-Nata was spoken around Ikoma2, south of

River Mara; and that, to the east it borders Sonjo, Sukuma to the South, Ikizo to the

West, and Ngoreme to the North.

2 Ikoma, Sonjo, Sukuma, Ikizu and Ngoreme as cited here by Bryan are place names of the respective

languages.

Heine (1976: 51), focusing on vernacular languages of Tanzania spoken in Mara Region

gives a classification that places Ki-Nata in the γi-Ikoma subgroup under the Ke-Zanake

group. The subgroup has the following languages: γi-Isenye, Ki-Nata, and γi-Ikoma.

Other sister languages to Ki-Nata like γi-Kuria and Ke-Ngoreme form different groups.

Heine adds, however, that his classification is not based on objective analytic

procedures, but rather on people’s subjective views based on degrees of mutual

intelligibility.

Nurse (1977: 71) places Ki-Nata in the Eastern Nyanza subgroup. Within this subgroup

he includes such languages as Ke-Gusii, γi-Kuria, Ke-Zanake, Ki-Nata, Ke-Ngoreme

and Ki-Shashi. This treatment is also maintained in the classification of Nurse and

Philipson (1980).

In the above classifications, we have the following reservations: Bryan (1959) and

Guthrie (1967-71) treat Ki-Nata and γi-Ikoma as one and the same language. We tend to agree with Mekacha (1985) that a convenient Ki-Nata classification should have shown that Ki-Nata and γi-Ikoma are closely related languages but not that they are one and the same. Heine’s classification too should have, in our view, indicated that Ki-Nata is more closely related to Ke-Ngoreme than to Ke-Zanake.

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