Kamba language

For other uses, see Kamba language (disambiguation).
Kamba
Kikamba
Native to Kenya, Tanzania
Region Machakos, Kitui, Makueni and Shimba Hills
Native speakers
3.9 million (2009 census)[1]
600,000 L2 speakers
Language codes
ISO 639-2 kam
ISO 639-3 Either:
kam  Kamba
dhs  Dhaiso (Thaisu)
Glottolog east2749[2]
E.55–56[3]

The Kamba /ˈkæmbə/[4] language, or Kikamba, is a Bantu language spoken by the Kamba people of Kenya. It is also spoken by 5,000 people in Tanzania (Thaisu).

The Kamba language has lexical similarities to other Bantu languages such as Kikuyu, Meru, and Embu.

In Kenya, Kamba is generally spoken in 4 out of the forty-seven Counties of Kenya. These counties are Machakos, Kitui, Makueni, and Kwale. The Machakos variety is considered the standard variety of the three dialects and has been used in the translation of the Bible.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Kamba at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Dhaiso (Thaisu) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Eastern Central Kenya Bantu". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  3. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  4. Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh

External links

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