Meru language
For the language spoken in Tanzania and sometimes known as Meru, see West Kilimanjaro language.
| Meru | |
|---|---|
| Kimîîru | |
| Native to | Kenya |
| Region | Mount Kenya and Eastern Province |
Native speakers | 2.0 million (2009 census)[1] |
|
Niger–Congo
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
Variously: mer – Meru thk – Tharaka mws – Mwimbi-Muthambi cuh – Cuka |
| Glottolog |
nort3214 (Meru–Tharaka–Cuka)[2]mwim1241[3] |
E.53,531,54,541[4] | |
Meru is the language spoken by the Meru people (Ameru) who live on the Eastern and Northern slopes of Mount Kenya, Kenya, Africa and on the Nyambene ranges. They settled in this area after centuries of migration from the north.
The Meru people are a fairly homogeneous community and all share a common ancestry. They speak the same language, Kimeru, but there are some slight regional differences, in accent and local words. The community comprises the following subdivisions; from the north to south:
- Igembe
- Tigania (Tiania) (culture close to neighbouring Cushitic and Nilotic communities)
- Imenti
- Tharaka (Saraka)
- Igoji
- Mwimbi–Muthambi
- Chuka (Gicuka) (marginal intelligibility with Meru proper and with Gikuyu)
As the Meru language is similar to its surrounding neighbors, the Kikuyu and Embu could have possibly adopted parts of Meru.
References
- ↑ Meru at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Tharaka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Mwimbi-Muthambi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Cuka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) - ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Northern Central Kenya Bantu". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Mwimbi–Muthambi". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
External links
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