Abanyala ba Kakamega

In Olunyala (K), there are many words written in the same way but with two or more different pronunciations and meanings. The change in pronunciation can be due to three factors: Olunyala syllable stress,  Olunyala vowel lengthening,  Olunyala tone shifts- according to Ochwaya-Oluoch (2013) A Study of the Phonology and Morphology of Lunyala,  she says: "The Olunyala tone is primarily used for making both grammatical and lexical distinctions. She says it is quite common to find lexical minimal pairs differentiated by tone alone. Thus tone is both phonemically and lexically distinctive." Hovever, she gave a few words to illustrate this. The following is a comprehensive list of the words. Abachi 1. The cowardly. Abachi bahindira. 2. Those to go. Abachi ba amachi bali? Abakesi 1. Those with wisdom:  Abakakesi ba sisamuye. 2. Those making it to walk: Abakesi ba eng'ombe mbabo. 3. Those harvesting: Abakesi benukhire. Abaka 1. Is skinning. Abaka embusi nje an...

Olunyala (K) is a dialect of Luhya language spoken by the Abanyala in Kakamega. It is internationally coded as ISO 939-3 nle. Unlike English or Kiswahili, Olunyala ( K) has a number of intensifying ideophones or intensifying particles. These are ideophones or particles which combine with adjectives, nouns and verbs to intensify their meanings. A) Main intensifying ideophones in Olunyala (K) ~mwikho ti (titititi)- to be a real blood or very close relative. Example: Natecho senge wange titititi- Natecho is my real aunt. ~mulina te (tetetete) To relate cordially or with close affection. ~nyingi muno (munomunomuno)- to be of extreme quantity. Example: Abanyala bangi munomunomunomuno- Abanyala are extremely many. ~khale khale (khalekhalekhale)- to be of extreme past. Example: Nambirifuma kechulisise omusango omukhale khalekhalekhale- Namburifuma ha reminded us of a crime of extreme past. ~yakha ng'a- extremely new. Example: Endika embiakha ng'a ng'a ng'a ng'a...