Adhola (DhoPadhola)

Adhola is a member of the Western Nilotic branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. It is spoken by about 500,000 people in the Tororo District to the north of Lake Victoria in the Eastern Region of Uganda. In particular, it is spoken in the towns of Tororo and Nagongera, and in the district of Mukuju. It is generally classified as a dialect of Southern Luo, and is closely related to Acholi, Kumam, Lango and Alur, which are spoken in Uganda, and Dholuo, which is spoken in Kenya.

Adhola is also known as Jopadhola or Ludama. The people who speak it call it DhoPadhola ("Padhola language") - Padhola is what they call the region where they live, and they call themselves JoPadhola (sg) /JaPadhola (pl). Dialects of Adhola include the Western Dialect, which is spoken in and around Tororo Town; the Eastern Dialect, which is spoken in and around Nagongera, and the Northern Dialect, which is spoken in Mukuju.

Ways to write Adhola with the Latin script were devised by missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They translated religious works and parts of the Bible into Adhola. It is currently used in homes, markets and community events, taught in schools and used in the local media. It is the dominant language in rural areas, however in urban areas, there is a shift to English and Luganda.

Latin alphabet for Adhola

Download an alphabet chart for Adhola (Excel)

Some information provided by Michael Peter F¨stumum

Sample text (Lord's Prayer)

Yesu owaco rijo ni, “Waci win ama ka wikwayo.” “‘Bawan manitie polo, Nyingin wolwor. Ker perin wobin.
Miy wan ndelo je cemo mawan ma noknok.
Cwaki riwan reco mawan, paka wabende wacwako dhano je ma timo riwan marac. Aka ikir'iter wan karatem. To bothi wan ayino kwoŋ gimarac.’ ”

Source: https://www.bible.com/bible/2185/LUK.11.DHOCDC

Translation

And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
The Lord's Prayer - Luke 11: 2-4

Source: https://www.bible.com/bible/1/LUK.11.KJV

Videos in and about Adhola

Information about Adhola | Numbers | Tower of Babel

Links

Information about the Adhola language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhola_dialect
https://www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org/adhola/
https://www.101lasttribes.com/tribes/adhola.html
https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/adho1243
https://lingweb.eva.mpg.de/channumerals/Jopadhola.htm
https://wixgib.wixsite.com/africandiaries/dhopadhola

Nilotic languages

Acholi, Adhola, Alur, Anuak, Ateso, Bari, Belanda Bor, Datooga, Dholuo, Dinka, Dongotono, Kakwa, Karamojong, Keiyo, Kipsigis, Kupsabiny, Lango (South Sudan), Lango (Uganda), Lopit, Lotuko, Maasai, Mandari, Markwet, Nandi, Nuer, Terik, Toposa, Turkana

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page created: 17.09.24. Last modified: 18.09.24

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