Moru–Madi languages

The Moru–Madi languages of the Central Sudanic language family are a cluster of closely related languages spoken in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. Moru is spoken by 100,000 people, and Maʼdi is spoken by twice that number. The most populous languages are Aringa of Uganda, with close to a million speakers, and Lugbara, with 1.6 million.

The languages in this cluster are found across three countries: Uganda (Maʼdi, Lugbara, Aringa, S. Maʼdi); South Sudan (Aringa, Maʼdi, Loluʼbo, Avukaya, Kaliko, Moru, and Logo); and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Lugbara, Avukaya, Kaliko, and Logo).

• Moru (Waʼdi variety divergent)
• Avokaya
• Keliko
• Omi
• Lugbara
• Okollo–Ogoko–Rigbo
• Logo
• Aringa (Lower Lugbara)
• Maʼdi (Moyo, Adjumani (Oyuwi), Pandikeri, Lokai, Burulo dialects)
• Oluʼbo (Lolubo)

The name Maʼdi is used for various peoples in the region. There is a tendency, especially in the Acholi region of northern Uganda, to refer to anyone from West Nile Region as a Maʼdi, even the Kakwa. The only group in this region who are never called Maʼdi are the Alur.

Joseph Pasquale Crazzolara,^[1] for example, states that "all Logbara [...] agree that they are of the Maʼdi nation, that they are Maʼdi. They are called Maʼdi by the Alur of Okooro, their immediate neighbours, in Bunyoro and Buganda." Similarly, the linguist A. N. Tucker described the neighboring Keliko people who occupy the high plateau near the Logbara, as having the "real name Maʼdi".^[2] However, the Keliko regard themselves as Keliko rather than as Maʼdi.

Sample basic vocabulary of Moru–Madi languages from Boone & Watson (1996):^[3]

• Nilo-Saharan list (Blench 2000)