| Maasai | |
|---|---|
| ɔl Maa | |
| Native to | Kenya, Tanzania |
| Region | Central and Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania |
| Ethnicity | Maasai |
Native speakers | 1.5 million (2009 census – 2016)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | mas |
| ISO 639-3 | mas |
| Glottolog | masa1300 |
Maasai (previously spelled Masai) or Maa (English: /ˈmɑːsaɪ/ MAH-sy;[2] autonym: ɔl Maa) is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania by the Maasai people, numbering about 1.5 million. It is closely related to the other Maa varieties: Samburu (or Sampur), the language of the Samburu people of central Kenya, Chamus, spoken south and southeast of Lake Baringo (sometimes regarded as a dialect of Samburu); and Parakuyu of Tanzania. The Maasai, Samburu, il-Chamus and Parakuyu peoples are historically related and all refer to their language as ɔl Maa. Properly speaking, "Maa" refers to the language and the culture and "Maasai" refers to the people "who speak Maa".
- ^ Maasai at Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018)
- ^ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
