Kenzi language

{{Short description|Nubian language spoken in Egypt}}

{{Infobox language

|name=Kenzi

|nativename=Mattokki

|states=Egypt

|region=Nile River

|ethnicity=Kunuz

|speakers=35,000

|date=2023

|ref=e27

|familycolor=Nilo-Saharan

|fam2=Eastern Sudanic

|fam3=Northern Eastern

|fam4=Nubian

|fam5=Central

|iso3=xnz

|glotto=kenu1243

|glottorefname=Kenuzi

|script=Coptic script (Old Nubian variant)
Latin alphabet
Arabic alphabet

}}

Kenzi, also known as Kenuzi, Kunuz, or Mattokki, is a Nubian language of Egypt. It is spoken north of Mahas in Egypt, and is closely related to Dongolawi or Andaandi, a Nubian language of Sudan.Massenbach, Gertrud von. "Wörterbuch des nubischen Kunuzi-Dialektes," Mitteilungen des Seminars für orientalische Sprachen, Berlin, 1933, III, pp. 99–227. The two have historically been considered two varieties of one language. More recent research recognizes them as distinct languages without a "particularly close genetic relationship."Bechhaus-Gerst, Marianne. The (Hi)story of Nobiin — 1000 Years of Language Change. Peter Lang, 2011, p. 22. With population displacement due to the Aswan High Dam there are communities of speakers in Lower Egypt. Recent linguistic research on the Kenzi language has been conducted by Ahmed Sokarno Abdel-Hafiz.{{cite book |last=Abdel-Hafiz |first1=Ahmed Sokarno |url=https://www.sfu.ca/~gerdts/teaching/Abdel-HafizNubian.pdf |title=A Reference Grammar of Kunuz Nubian |publisher=State University of New York |year=1988 |location=Buffalo |format=PDF |accessdate=}}

Kenzi is currently a threatened language that has about 35,000 native speakers worldwide.{{cite web|title=Kenzi|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/xnz/|publisher=Ethnologue|accessdate=11 September 2023}} Ethnologue reports that the use of Kenzi is decreasing as the language is spoken by adults only and that all speakers are shifting to Egyptian Arabic.

Most speakers of Kenzi live in the city of Kom Ombo in the Aswan Governorate of Egypt.{{Cite web|title=The Nubian language|url=https://shazlyasmail.tripod.com/new_page_61.htm|access-date=2021-02-19|website=shazlyasmail.tripod.com}}