About Us

We were inspired to start Ateso language forums on facebook and youtube after our friends and acquaintances asked how they could learn some basic Ateso phrases and grammar. After over ten years of posting on Facebook forums and talking to a small section of Iteso, we thought that publishing Ateso language website would be a good idea.

Our team comprising of the following; Oselle Opus, Grzegorz Petryniak, Raffael Eboku and James Omoding also worked on Ateso Phrasebook from 2016 to 2018 ,that has now be published. Oselle Opus, Grzegorz Petryniak and Raffael Eboku have continued to develop more content that includes a revision of Introduction to Ateso authored by J. H. Hilders and J. C. D. Lawrance published in 1955. They also plan to revise other publications going forward.

 

 

Ateso Verbs

Ateso expresses many parts of speech by using verbs: adjectives are constructed from verbs, conjunctions and prepositions are frequently translated by verbs and many nouns are derived from verbs. Many varying forms of verbs can be derived from one root, which is the part of the word which conveys the basic meaning.

Aiduk means “to build”                Eduki means “he is building

Edukete means “they are building“.

The root of this verb is duk, which conveys the basic meaning and which remains unaltered in all tenses, moods and derived forms of the verb.

Ateso Grammer

The Ateso grammar is unique. In English grammar we write sentences starting with the object followed by the subject. In Ateso it is reversed; we begin with the subject, then followed by the object.

Ateso Pronounciations

Plural endings of nouns change, change may consist of omission of the last syllable, the addition of another syllable or syllables, or the alteration of the last syllable or syllables.

Ateso Phrases

All nouns in Ateso have a prefix which varies according to the gender of the noun or whether the noun is singular or plural.

Why Ateso?

Iteso people are found in Eastern Uganda and Western Kenya, and they speak Ateso. The people are called Iteso, two or more females are called Ateso and two or more males Iteso.

Our Mission

Our mission is to teach and promote Ateso language. We recognise due to education or lack of Ateso written literature, conurbation, intermarriages and so forth, Ateso language speakers are dwindling. Forums such are the ones we run in parrallel on facebook and youtube like Ateso language Courses, Ateso for Beginners , Learn Ateso and Ateso are complementary. 

One female is called Atesot and one male is Etesot. In Teso Uganda, the Kumam and Iteso are from a common heritage called the Ateker. Kuman and Lango due to reasons undocumented on meeting the Luo, today use Luo words mixed with Ateso.

The Karamojong also part of Ateker. The people of Karamoja the Karimojong refer yo Teso as Kumam not Teso, and its people as Ikumama. Iteso are apart of the Ateker people with close links with Karamojong, Turkana of Kenya, Nyangatom of Ethiopia, Kumi or Toposa of South Sudan. Anthropologists link them to the Kakwa, Bari, Kuku, Lotuko, Lango and many others.