Markwet language
{{Short description|Kalenjin language spoken in Kenya}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Markwet
|states=Kenya
|ethnicity=Marakwet
|speakers=180,000
|date=2009 census
|ref=e18
|familycolor=Nilo-Saharan
|fam2=Eastern Sudanic
|fam3=Nilotic
|fam4=Southern Nilotic
|fam5=Kalenjin
|fam6=Nandi–Markweta
|dia1=Endo (Northern)
|dia2=Sambirir (Southern)
|iso3=enb
|glotto=mark1255
|glottorefname=Markweeta
}}
Markwet (Markweeta) is a Kalenjin language of Kenya. The regional terms Endo and Sambirir (or the clan name Talai) have been used for northern and southern Markweta, but they are not distinct dialects. The unmarked word order is Verb–subject–object.
Phonology
= Vowels =
Markweta has five basic vowels: {{ipa|/a, e, i, o, u/}}. All vowels have variants based on tongue root position and length, for a total of 20 distinct vowel phonemes.
The vowels {{ipa|/o:/}} and {{ipa|/a:/}} are both pronounced like {{ipa|/ɔ:/}}, and can only be distinguished by looking at affixes.{{Cite book|title=The phonology of Endo : a southern Nilotic language of Kenya|last=Zwarts, Joost.|date=2004|publisher=LINCOM EUROPA|isbn=3895868205|oclc=249588881}}
= Consonants =
Markweta has 13 consonants:
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ ! |
| Nasal
|{{IPA link|m}} |{{IPA link|n}} |{{IPA link|ɲ}} |{{IPA link|ŋ}} |
|---|
| Plosive
|{{IPA link|p}} |{{IPA link|t}} |{{IPA link|c}} |{{IPA link|k}} |
| Fricative
| |{{IPA link|s}} | | |
| Approximant
| |{{IPA link|l}} |{{IPA link|j}} |{{IPA link|w}} |
| Trill
| |{{IPA link|r}} | | |
Morphology
Markweta has gender. Gender is realized as a prefix added primarily for person nouns and animal names, but sometimes inanimate objects.
The prefixes {{lang|enb|kaa-}} and {{lang|enb|kii-}} are used to indicate nominalization.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Eastern Sudanic languages}}
{{Authority control}}
{{ns-lang-stub}}