Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gikuyu: G?k?y? [??k?jó]) is a language of the Bantu family spoken primarily by the Kikuyu people (Ag?k?y?) of Kenya. Numbering about 7 million (22% of Kenya's population), they are the largest ethnic group in Kenya. 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 K?r?nyaga.
Video Kikuyu language
Dialects
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 K?ndia and G?g?c?g?. The Gicugus and the Ndias do not have the "ch" or "sh" sound, and will use the "s" sound instead, hence the pronunciation of "G?c?g?" as opposed to "G?ch?g?". 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, G?th?re, Kath?ng?ri, Marigiti. The Gichugu switch easily to other Kikuyu dialects in conversation with the rest of the Kikuyu.
Maps Kikuyu language
Phonology
Symbols shown in parentheses are those used in the orthography.
Vowels
Consonants
The prenasalized consonants are often pronounced without prenasalization, and thus /?b ?d ?d? ??/ are often realized as [b d d? ?].
Tones
Kikuyu has two level tones (high and low), a low-high rising tone, and downstep.
Grammar
The canonical word order of G?k?y? is SVO (subject-verb-object). It uses prepositions rather than postpostions, and adjectives follow nouns.
Alphabet
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 ? and ?. The Kikuyu alphabet is:
- a b c d e g h i ? j k m n o r t u ? w y
Some sounds are represented by digraphs such as ng for the velar nasal /?/.
Sample phrases
Literature
There is a notable literature written in the Kikuyu language. For instance, Ng?g? wa Thiong'o's M?rogi wa Kagogo (Wizard of the Crow) is the longest known book written in Kikuyu. Other authors writing in Kikuyu are Gatua wa Mb?gwa and Waith?ra 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
In the 1983 movie Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the character Nien Nunb speaks in the Kikuyu language.
References
Bibliography
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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