Kuria language

Kuria
Kuria
Igikuria
Native to	Kenya, Tanzania
Ethnicity	Kuria people
Native speakers	690,000 (2005–2009)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Northeast Bantu Great Lakes Bantu Logooli–Kuria (E.40) Kuria; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Dialects	Kuria proper; Simbiti; Hacha; Surwa; Sweta;
Writing system	Latin, Arabic
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kuj
Glottolog	kuri1259
Guthrie code	JE.43,431–434

Last updated January 31, 2026

Kuria is a Bantu language spoken by the Kuria people of Northern Tanzania, with some speakers also residing in Kenya.

Alphabet

	Kuria alphabet (Kenya)^[4]^[5]^[6]
Uppercase	A	B	Ch	E	Ë	G	H	I	K	M	N	Nd	Ny	Ng'	O	Ö	R	Rr	S	T	U	W	Y
Lowercase	a	b	ch	e	ë	g	h	i	k	m	n	nd	ny	ng'	o	ö	r	rr	s	t	u	w	y
IPA Symbol	a	β	t͡ʃ	e	ɛ	ɣ	h	i	k	m	n	n͡d	ɲ	ŋ	o	ɔ	ɾ	r	s	t	u	w	j

Phonology

Consonants

Kuria consonant phonemes^[5]
	Bilabial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Prenasalized plosive	ᵐb	ⁿd		ᵑg
Plosive/affricate		t	t͡ʃ	k
Fricative	β	s		ɣ	h
Approximant			j
Tap/flap		ɾ
Trill		r

Vowels

Kuria vowels^[5]
	Front		Back
	+ATR	-ATR	+ATR	-ATR
Close	i		u
Mid	e	ɛ	o	ɔ
Open	a

All vowels contrast length, and can be either short or long.

Bibliography

Jelle Cammenga, Igikuria phonology and morphology : a Bantu language of South-West Kenya and North-West Tanzania, Köppe, Köln, 2004, 351 p. ISBN 3896450298 (revised text of a thesis)
S. M. Muniko, B. Muita oMagige and M. J. Ruel (ed.), Kuria-English dictionary, LIT, Hambourg, 1996, 137 p. ISBN 3825829510
W. H. Whiteley, The structure of the Kuria verbal and its position in the sentence, University of London, 1955, 161 p. (thesis)
Phebe Yoder, Tata na Baba = Father and Mother : a first Kuria reader, Musoma Press, Musoma, Tanganyika, 1949, 44 p.

References

↑ Ethnologue entry for Kuria
↑ Kuria at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
↑ Rhonda L. Hartell, ed. 1993. The Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO and Summer Institute of Linguistics
1 2 3 Nyauma, Shem (2014). "A Phonological Reconstruction Of Ekegusii And Egekuria Nouns: A Comparative Analysis" (PDF). Masters Thesis, University of Nairobi.
↑ Hartell, Rhonda, ed. (1993). Alphabets of Africa. UNESCO Regional Office in Dakar (BREDA). p. 186. ISBN 92-9091-020-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)

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[Ethnologue_page_on_Kuria-1] Ethnologue entry for Kuria

[e18-2] Kuria at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[Guthrie-3] Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online

[4] Rhonda L. Hartell, ed. 1993. The Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO and Summer Institute of Linguistics

[:0-5] 1 2 3 Nyauma, Shem (2014). "A Phonological Reconstruction Of Ekegusii And Egekuria Nouns: A Comparative Analysis" (PDF). Masters Thesis, University of Nairobi.

[6] Hartell, Rhonda, ed. (1993). Alphabets of Africa. UNESCO Regional Office in Dakar (BREDA). p. 186. ISBN 92-9091-020-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)

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Kuria
Igikuria
Native to	Kenya, Tanzania ^[1]
Ethnicity	Kuria people
Native speakers	690,000 (2005–2009)^[2]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Northeast Bantu Great Lakes Bantu Logooli–Kuria (E.40) Kuria
Dialects	Kuria proper Simbiti Hacha Surwa Sweta
Writing system	Latin, Arabic
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`kuj`
Glottolog	`kuri1259`
Guthrie code	`JE.43,431–434`^[3]