Maasai language

Maasai
Maasai
ɔl Maa
Native to	Kenya, Tanzania
Region	Central and Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania
Ethnicity	Maasai people
Native speakers	1.5 million (2009 census – 2016)
Language family	Nilo-Saharan? Eastern Sudanic Nilotic Eastern Nilotic Ateker-Lotuko-Maa Lotuko–Maa Maa Maasai; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-2	mas
ISO 639-3	mas
Glottolog	masa1300

Maasai (previously spelled Masai) or Maa (English: /ˈmɑːsaɪ/; 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".

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