Thok Reel and its speakers The speakers of Thok Reel are thought to be a Nuer section which migrated into the Dinka territory some 500 years ago (Burton 1987). The self-reference name for the speakers of Thok Reel is Reel. Thok Reel literally means the language of the Reel people. The language is often referred to in literature as Atuot or Reel. The speakers of Thok Reel are known as Atuot outside of their community. This name is also used as a self-reference by a group that comprises of Reel and Apak people. The speakers of Thok Reel constitute five of the six sections of Atuot – Jilek, Luac, Jikeyi, Kuek and Akot. The sixth section – Apak, speaks Thong Apak – one of Dinka dialects. There are two dialects of Thok Reel: Thok Reel Cieng Luai and Thok Reel Cieng Nhyam. Thok Reel Cieng Luai (lit. language of Luac Reel) is spoken by Jilek, Luac and Akot. The three sections live along the north-eastern frontiers of the Atuot land, bordering Aliab, Ceic and Agar Dinka. Thok Reel Cieng Nhyam (lit. language of Reel of the front side) is spoken by Kuek and Jikeyi. The two sections live around Mapuordit area – along the south-western boundaries of the Atuot land. They border Mundari, Moru and Jur Bel. The difference between the dialects is purely lexical. There is a fair amount of lexical borrowing from Dinka by the speakers of Thok Reel Cieng Luai. Thok Reel Cieng Nhyam, by contrast retains many of the Nuer lexical items that are no longer found in Thok Reel Cieng Luai. Around 80% of the Reel are bilingual in Thok Reel and Dinka. Dinka and English are used in the Atuot home area in educational and official settings. Thok Reel and Dinka are not mutually intelligible.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 09:31:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015