Alur language


Alur is a Western Nilotic language spoken in the southern West Nile region of Uganda and the northeastern Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The language's subdialects are Jokot, Jonam/Lo-Naam, Mambisa and Wanyoro.

Phonology

Vowels

Alur has 9 vowels.
FrontCentralBack
Close
Near-close
Close-mid
Open-mid
Open

Consonants

Alur has 23 consonants.

Central Sudanic influence

The Alur language has significant influence from neighboring Central Sudanic languages, as the Alur are largely descended from central Sudanic speakers who shifted to a Luo language relatively recently.

Orthography

The Alur language has no officially accepted orthography. Some informal conventions have been established in written materials and road signs.
There is usually no written tonal distinction. Second, the phonemic distinction between and is occasionally reflected in the orthography, with represented by 'ŋ' and represented by 'ng'. However, is also frequently written as 'ng', confusing it orthographically with.