Alternate Names: Ateso, Bakedi, Bakidi, Elgumi, Etossio, Ikumama, Wamia
Dialects: Orom (Rom). Limited intelligibility with other varieties in the Teso-Turkana group. The dialect in Ngora is considered standard. Lexical similarity: 76% with Turkana ,, 75% with Ng’aKarimojong ,.
Status Notes: De facto language of provincial identity in Tororo, 10 other districts.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 1,570,000 in Uganda (2002 census), increasing. Population total all countries: 1,909,000.
Language Use: Vigorous. Home, market, work. All ages. Positive attitudes. Used as L2 by Kenye [lke], Kumam [kdi].
Language Development: Literacy campaign in progress (2012). Taught in primary schools. Taught in secondary schools, as a subject. Poetry. Newspapers. Radio programs. Films. Dictionary. Bible: 1961.
Typology: VSO; highly inflectional; grammatical tone; vowel harmony.
Writing System: Latin
Nation of Origin: Uganda
Other Comments: Ethnonym: Iteso. Christian.