Alagwa oral traditions make mention of their historical ties with the neighbouring Burunge people, another South Cushitic group. The Alagwa language shares many surface level similarities with the Burunge language, despite being on different branches of the South Cushitic languages. These linguistic similarities are in large part due to the historical interactions between the Alagwa and Burunge. The Alagwa adopted a plethora of Burunge loanwords including the Alagwa place-name for Kondoa, Ulàa. The Alagwa Ulàa comes from Burunge Ula, which was the name of a Burunge individual who lived in the area.
