Nandi differentiates its vowels according to their place of articulation. They are either pronounced with the root of the tongue advanced, or with the root of the tongue retracted.[5]
In 1909, A.C. Hollis and Charles Eliot published The Nandi: Their Language and Folklore, which contains a selection of folktales, proverbs, and riddles in Nandi with English translations.[6] Here are some of the proverbs:
"Ii-e ngetuny lel." "The lion bears a hyena (said when a son is unworthy of his father)." (#2)
"Inga-i ngom, i-ker-i-ke kumut-i?" "However clever you may be, can you see the back of your neck?" (#4)
"Iok-toi kiplengoi pelio." "Send hares to the elephant (not elephants to the hare; i.e. it is the duty of children to wait on elders, not elders on children)." (#7)
"Iput-i tany aku pa-kelek angwan." "The ox falls in spite of its four legs (a man often makes a mistake, notwithstanding the fact that he is an intelligent being)." (#)
Here are some of the riddles:
"Apuk ma-pa. Kina-ap-teta." "It pours out; it does not go. A cow's udder (i.e. it produces liquid and yet cannot let the liquid flow when it wishes)." (#4)
"A-tinye cheptan-nyo ne-piiy-onyi mutai ko-rukut lakat. Kweyot." "I have a daughter who gets a good meal every morning, but she goes to bed hungry at night. A broom (huts are swept out every morning)." (#7)
"I-ie tururik annan i-ie che-tililin." "Do you prefer water made dirty (by the feet of oxen) or clean water? I prefer the dirty water (as I should then own cattle)." (#17)
Hollis and Eliot also include a grammar of Nandi.[7]
