Maasai language

Morphosyntax

Word order is usually verb–subject–object but can vary because tone is the most salient indicator of the distinction between subject and object roles. What determines the order in a clause is topicality since the order, in the simplest clauses, can be predicted according to the information structure pattern: [Verb – Most.Topical – Less.Topical]. Thus, if the object is highly topical in the discourse (e.g. a first-person pronoun), and the subject is less topical, the object occurs right after the verb and before the subject.

The Maasai language has only two fully-grammatical prepositions but can use relational nouns, along with a most general preposition, to designate specific locative ideas. Noun phrases begin with a demonstrative prefix or a gender-number prefix, followed by a quantifying noun or other head noun. Other modifiers follow the head noun, including possessive phrases.

In Maasai, many morphemes are tone patterns. The tone pattern affects the case, voice and aspect of words, as in the example below:

ɛ́yɛ́tá

ɛ̀-ɛ́t-á

3P-remove.one.by.one-PFV.SG

ɛmʊtí

ɛn-mʊtí(LH)

DEF.FEM.SG-pot(ACC)

(Surface Form)

(Morphemes)

"She removed (meat) from the pot."

ɛyɛ́ta

ɛ̀-ɛ́t-a

3P-remove.one.by.one-IPFV.MID

ɛmʊ́ti

ɛn-mʊ́ti(HL)

DEF.FEM.SG-pot(NOM)

(Surface Form)

(Morphemes)

"The pot is de-meated."

Noun classes

There are three noun classes in Maasai: feminine, masculine, and place. Noun classes are often indexed via prefixes on nouns (ol-/ɔl- for masculine, e[n]/ɛ[n]- for feminine), although other word classes such as demonstratives may also index gender. Although words belong to a given class (e.g. ɔl-aláshɛ̀ “brother”; ɛn-kái “God”), some roots can also occur with both prefixes (e.g. ol-ŋatúny “lion” vs. e-ŋatúny “lion-ness”).

"Who has come?" would be asked if the gender of the visitor were known. The noun would be preceded by a gendered prefix. If the gender of the visitor were unknown, "It is who that has come?" would be the literal translation of the English question.

Adjectives in Maa serve only to describe the noun and inflect based on the noun described.

Pronouns in Maa usually have a gender (male, female, or place); if the gender is unknown, the meaning of the noun in context usually refers to a gender. For example, the context of a female might include working in the house, and a male gender would be implied if the action referred to work outside the home. Maasai uses place as a personal pronoun because place can help identify male or female (i.e. an action occurring in the house is almost always done by a female).

Tense-aspect-mood

Present tense in Maasai includes habitual actions, such as "I wake up" or "I cook breakfast". Past tense refers only to a past action, not to a specific time or place.

Oral literature

In 1905, Alfred Claud Hollis published The Masai: Their Language and Folklore, which contains a grammar of the Maasai language, along with texts in Maasai and English translation. The texts include stories, myths, proverbs, riddles, and songs (lyrics but no music), along with customs and beliefs explained in Maasai. Here are some of the proverbs:

• "Eata en-gewarie 'n-giyaa." "The night has ears (cf. "walls have ears")." (#3)
• "Eitu-kidol ti-oreren en-gerr sambu." "There is not such a thing in the world as a sheep of many colours (i.e. a sheep of two or even three colours is common enough, but one of more than three colors is unknown; this saying is used to express incredulity at an improbable story)." (#5)
• "Ekwenikye 'n-guk in-guruon." "Coals laugh at the ashes (not knowing that the same fate which has befallen them will befall it)." Also: "Ekwenikye ol-chata otii ol-tiren ol-otii en-gima." "The firewood which has been cut ready for burning laughs at that which is being consumed." (#6)
• "Etejo ol-ngojine: Mme ake amunyak, keju nemaagol." "The hyena said: It is not only that I have luck, but my leg is strong (i.e. I have luck, it is true, but I have had to work)." (#20)

Here are some of the riddles:

• "Aata 'l-muran lainei kumok, naa obo oipungoki 'n-gishu. Il-loom le-'ng-aji." "What are my warriors like? I have many of them, and one goes out to look after the cattle. The rafters of the hut (in Masai huts all the rafters are hidden except one which protrudes beyond the door; it is said to be watching the cattle)." (#2)
• "Aata 'n-dapan ainei are naarisyo. Eng-ai o en-gap." "I have two skins, one to lie on and the other to cover myself with. The bare ground and the sky." (#5)
• "Anake eado ngutunyi nemebaiki e-nyawa e-'n-gerr? Eng-oitoi." "What does your mother resemble? She is long and yet she does not reach up to a sheep's udder. The road." (#8)

Usage

The Maasai have resisted the expansion of both European languages and Swahili in East Africa. Maasai speakers engage in frequent trade using their language. However, close contact with other ethnic groups in East Africa and the rise of English as a lingua franca has led to a reduction in the speakers of Maasai. In Tanzania, former President Nyerere encouraged the adoption of Swahili as an official language to unite the many different ethnic groups in Tanzania, as well as English to compete on a global scale. Although the Maasai language, often referred to as Maa, has survived despite the mass influx of English and Swahili education systems, economic plans, and more, the socioeconomic climate that the Maasai people face in East Africa keeps them, and their language, as an under-represented minority.

The Maasai way of life is embedded in their language. Specifically, the economic systems of trade that the Maasai rely on to maintain their nomadic lifestyle rely on the Maasai language. With language endangerment, the Maasai people would continue to be threatened and their cultural integrity threatened. The minority status the language currently faces has already threatened traditional Maasai practices. Fewer and fewer groups of Maasai continue to be nomadic in the region, choosing to settle instead in close-knit communities to keep their language and other aspects of their culture alive.