Kikuyu language
Kikuyu language
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| Kikuyu | |
|---|---|
| Gĩkũyũ | |
| Pronunciation | [ɣēkōjó] |
| Native to | Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda |
| Region | Central Province |
| Ethnicity | Agĩkũyũ |
Native speakers | 6.6 million (2009 census)[1] |
Language family | Niger–Congo
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | ki |
| ISO 639-2 | kik |
| ISO 639-3 | kik |
| Glottolog | kiku1240[2] |
Guthrie code | E.51[3] |
| Kikuyu | |
|---|---|
| People | Agĩkũyũ |
| Language | Gĩgĩkũyũ |
Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gikuyu: Gĩkũyũ [ɣēkōjó]) is a language of the Bantu family spoken primarily by the Kikuyu people (Agĩkũyũ) of Kenya. Numbering about 7 million (22% of Kenya's population),[4] they are the largest ethnic group in Kenya.[5] Kikuyu is spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi. Kikuyu is one of the five languages of the Thagichu subgroup of the Bantu languages, which stretches from Kenya to Tanzania. The Kikuyu people usually identify their lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in Central Kenya which they call Kĩrĩnyaga.
Contents
1 Dialects
2 Phonology
2.1 Vowels
2.2 Consonants
2.3 Tones
3 Grammar
4 Alphabet
5 Sample phrases
6 Literature
7 In popular culture
8 References
9 Bibliography
10 External links
Dialects[edit]
Kikuyu has four main mutually intelligible dialects. The Central Province districts are divided along the traditional boundaries of these dialects, which are Kîrînyaga, Mûrang'a, Nyeri and Kiambu. The Kikuyu from Kîrînyaga are composed of two main sub-dialects – the Ndia and Gichugu who speak the dialects Kĩndia and Gĩgĩcũgũ. The Gicugus and the Ndias do not have the "ch" or "sh" sound, and will use the "s" sound instead, hence the pronunciation of "Gĩcũgũ" as opposed to "Gĩchũgũ". To hear Ndia being spoken, one needs to be in Kerugoya, the largest town in Kîrînyaga. Other home towns for the Ndia, where purer forms of the dialect are spoken, are located in the tea-growing areas of Kagumo, and the cool Kangaita hills. Lower down the slopes is Kutus, which is a bustling dusty town with so many influences from the other dialects that it is difficult to distinguish between them.The dialect is also prevalent in the rice growing area of Mwea .
The unmistakable sing-song Gichugu dialect (which sounds like Meru or Embu, a sister language to Kikuyu) can be heard in the coffee-growing areas of Kianyaga, Gĩthũre, Kathũngũri, Marigiti. The Gichugu switch easily to other Kikuyu dialects in conversation with the rest of the Kikuyu.
Phonology[edit]
Symbols shown in parentheses are those used in the orthography.
Vowels[edit]
Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
High | i | u | |
Mid-high | e (ĩ) | o (ũ) | |
Mid-low | ɛ (e) | ɔ (o) | |
Low | a |
Consonants[edit]
Bilabial | Dental/ Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | voiceless | t (t) | k (k) | |||
voiced prenasalised | ᵐb (mb) | ⁿd (nd) | ᵑɡ (ng) | |||
Affricate | ᶮdʒ (nj) | |||||
Nasal | m (m) | n (n) | ɲ (ny) | ŋ (ng') | ||
Fricative | voiceless | ʃ (c) | h (h) | |||
voiced | β (b) | ð (th) | ɣ (g) | |||
Liquid | ɾ (r) | |||||
Approximant | j (y) | w (w) | ||||
The prenasalized consonants are often pronounced without prenasalization, and thus /ᵐb ⁿd ᶮdʒ ᵑɡ/ are often realized as [b d dʒ ɡ].
Tones[edit]
Kikuyu has two level tones (high and low), a low-high rising tone, and downstep.[6]
Grammar[edit]
The canonical word order of Gĩkũyũ is SVO (subject–verb–object). It uses prepositions rather than postpostions, and adjectives follow nouns.[7]
Alphabet[edit]
Kikuyu is written in a Latin alphabet. It does not use the letters f l p q s v x z, and adds the letters ĩ and ũ. The Kikuyu alphabet is:
a b c d e g h i ĩ j k m n o r t u ũ w y[8]
Some sounds are represented by digraphs such as ng for the velar nasal /ŋ/.
Sample phrases[edit]
| English | Gĩkũyũ |
|---|---|
| How are you | Ũhoro waku or kūhana atīa? |
| Give me water | He maĩ |
| How are you doing? | Ûrĩ mwega? |
| I am hungry | Ndĩ mũhũtu |
| Help me | Ndeithia |
| I am good | Ndĩ mwega |
| Are you a friend? | Wĩ mũrata? |
| Bye, be blessed | Tigwo na wega/Tigwo na thaayũ |
| I love you | Nĩngwendete. |
| Come here | Ũka haha |
| I will phone you | Nĩngũkũhũrĩra thimû |
| Am blessed | Ndīmūrathime |
Literature[edit]
There is a notable literature written in the Kikuyu language. For instance, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Mũrogi wa Kagogo (Wizard of the Crow) is the longest known book written in Kikuyu. Other authors writing in Kikuyu are Gatua wa Mbũgwa and Waithĩra wa Mbuthia. Mbuthia has published various works in different genres—essays, poetry, children stories and translations—in Kikuyu. The late Wahome Mutahi also sometimes wrote in Kikuyu.
In popular culture[edit]
In the 1983 movie Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the character Nien Nunb speaks in the Kikuyu language.[9]
References[edit]
^ Kikuyu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Kikuyu". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
^ CIA Factbook, retrieved on 16 October 2007.
^ "East Africa Living Encyclopedia". www.africa.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
^ Kevin C. Ford, 1975. "The tones of nouns in Kikuyu," Studies in African Linguistics 6, 49–64; G.N. Clements & Kevin C. Ford, 1979, "Kikuyu Tone Shift and its Synchronic Consequences", Linguistic Inquiry 10.2, 179–210.
^ Wals.info
^ [1]
^ Feldmann, Compiled From Wire Service Dispatches With Analysis From Monitor Correspondents Around The World,Edited By Linda (1983-07-28). "In Kenya, audiences roar at language in 'Jedi' film". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
Bibliography[edit]
.mw-parser-output .refbeginfont-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ullist-style-type:none;margin-left:0.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>dl>ddmargin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em;list-style:none.mw-parser-output .refbegin-100font-size:100%
Armstrong, Lilias E. 1967. The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu. London: Published for the International African Institute by Dawsons of Pall Mall.- Barlow, A. Ruffell and T. G. Benson. 1975. English-Kikuyu Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Barlow, A. Ruffell. 1951. Studies in Kikuyu Grammar and Idiom. Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons,
- Benson, T. G. 1964. Kikuyu–English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Gecaga B. M. and Kirkaldy-Willis W.H. 1953. English–Kikuyu, Kikuyu–English Vocabulary. Nairobi: The Eagle Press.
- Leakey L. S. B. 1989. First Lessons in Kikuyu. Nairobi: Kenya Literature Bureau.
- Mugane John 1997. A Paradigmatic Grammar of Gikuyu. Stanford, California: CSLI publications.
External links[edit]
 | Kikuyu edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
- Robert Englebretson (ed.), "A Basic Sketch Grammar of Gĩkũyũ", 2015.
Gikuyu alphabet and pronunciation at Omniglot- African Language Resources
- Muigwithania 2.0 – First Kikuyu Newspaper revived on the Internet
- PanAfrican L10n page on Gikuyu
- Gikuyu blog
Gĩkũyũ Language Page (Wiki Created by Linguistic Field Methods Course at UMass Amherst)
First Course in Kikuyu (vol. 1; see ref. for v2 & v3)- My First Gikuyu Dictionary
 Languages of Kenya | |||||||
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Authority control  |
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Categories:
- Kikuyu
- Northeast Bantu languages
- Subject–verb–object languages
- Languages of Kenya
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