Lopit language


The Lopit language is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken by around 50,000 people in Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan. Lopit is part of the Lotuko-Teso subfamily and is related to Lotuko, Turkana and Maasai. Lopit is a VSO language and has a complex tonal system.
The Lopit language has six different dialects: Ngabori spoken by Ngaboli sub community, Dorik spoken by Dorik Sub community, Ngotira spoken by Ngotira sub community, Lomiaha spoken by Lomiaha Sub community, Lohutok spoken by Lohutok sub community, and Lolongo spoken by Lolongo sub community. However, some small sub communities or villages for instance Loming, Ahado, Oriaju, Hidonge and may also involved Atarangi who speak Lotuko because of their proximity to the neighboring Lotuko community

Phonology

Vowels

Lopit has 5 vowels: a, e, i, o, u.

Consonants

Grammar

Lopit has vowel harmony for prepositions. Prepositions have the suffix /o/ with vowels /o, u/, /e/ with /e, i/, and /a/ with /a/.
Example:
ta ranga - the bow
to bok - from stable
te heju - with legs