Meru language

Last updated
Meru
Kĩmĩĩrũ
Native to Kenya
Region Meru County and Tharaka Nithi County
Ethnicity Ameru
Native speakers
2.0 million (2019 census) [1]
Dialects
  • Igembe
  • Igoji
  • Imenti
  • Miutini
  • Nuclear Meru
  • Tigania
  • Tharaka
  • Chuka
  • Mwimbi-Muthambi
Language codes
ISO 639-3
mer   Meru
Glottolog meru1245   Meru
E.53,531,54,541 [2]

Meru is a Bantu language spoken by the Meru people (Ameru) who live on the Eastern and Northern slopes of Mount Kenya and on the Nyambene ranges. They settled in this area after centuries of migration from the north.

Contents

The Meru people are a fairly homogeneous community and all share a common ancestry. They speak the same language, Kimeru, with slight regional differences in accent and local words. The community comprises the following subdivisions, from the north to south:

As the Meru language is similar to its surrounding neighbors, the Kikuyu and Embu could have possibly adopted parts of Meru.

Sample phrases

EnglishKimeru
How are youMuuga
Give me waterNkundia rũũji/rũi
How are you doing?Ũrĩ ümwega?
I am hungryNdĩna mpara
Help meNteithia/Ntethia
I am goodNdĩ mwega
Are you a friend?Wĩ mũcore?
Bye, be blessedTigwa bwega, tharimwa.
I love youInkwendete.
Come hereĨja aja/ Iyu aa
I will phone youNgakũringira thimũ

I want a cassava||Ndũmia mũanga/mĩanga

Dialects

Kimeru has seven main mutually intelligible dialects. The dialects include Kiimenti widely used by the Imenti section of the Ameru, Tiania/gitiania used by the Tigania, kiigembe used by the Igembe, Kimwimbi used by the Mwïmbï, Kïmüthambï used by the Müthambï, Gicuka used by the Chuka and Kitharaka used by the Tharaka.

Imenti dialect

It is the commonly used dialect in Meru. The dialect acts as the lingua franca between all the nine subtribes of Meru. It is the official dialect used in the Kimeru Bible translations. It is commonly used in Nkubu, Timau, Kibirichia, Meru town and Ruiri areas of Meru County.

Sample phrases

EnglishImenti
How are youNĩatĩa ũrĩ? Muuga?
Give me water to drinkNkundia rũũji
HomeNja/Mũciĩ
Get outUma njaa/ome
Get InsideKũrũka/Tonya
TodayNaarua
TomorrowRũüjü
Come hereĨja aja
I will phone youNgakũringira thimũ

The Chuka, Muthambi and Mwimbi dialects

Chuka dialect
Niger–Congo?
  • Chuka dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3 cuh
Glottolog chuk1274   Chuka
Muthambi dialect
Niger–Congo?
  • Muthambi dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mws
Glottolog muth1242   Muthambi
Mwimbi dialect
Niger–Congo?
  • Mwimbi dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mws
Glottolog mwim1242   Mwimbi

The dialects are more related to Gikuyu and Meru proper, and are common in Igoji, Chogoria and Chuka regions of Meru County and Tharaka Nithi County.

Sample phrases

EnglishChuka/Muthambi/Mwimbi
How are youMuuga
Give me water to drinknkundia rũnjĩ/rüjÏ
HomeMũcii
Get outUma nja
Get InsideKũrũka/Tonya/Thungira
TodayŨmũnthi
TomorrowRũjũ/Rũũ
Come hereÜka/Njü aa
I will phone youNgakũringira/Ngakubũrira thimũ

Tigania and Igembe dialects

Tigania dialect
Niger–Congo?
  • Tigania dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog tiga1244   Tigania
Igembe dialect
Niger–Congo?
  • Igembe dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog igem1238   Igembe

The dialects are mostly spoken in Miraa or Khat growing areas of Muthara, Karama, Kangeta, Maua, Laare and Mutuati in Meru County.

Sample phrases

EnglishTIgania/Igembe
How are youMuua
Give me water to drinkNkundia Rũĩ
HomeMucie/Mucii
Get outTũra
Get InsideUnkuma
TodayRuarii
TomorrowRũũ/Rũyũ
Come hereĨya haa/iyu haa
I will phone youNgakũringira thimũ

Tharaka dialect

Tharaka dialect
Niger–Congo?
  • Tharaka dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3 thk
Glottolog thar1283   Tharaka

The dialect is more closely related to the Kamba and Tigania dialects. It is most common in Tharaka areas of Tharaka Nithi County.

Sample phrases

EnglishTharaka
How are youMuuga
Give me water to drinkNkundia rũũyĩ
HomeMũciĩ
Get outUma nja
Get InsideThũngĩra
TodayĨmunthĩ
TomorrowRũũ
Come hereNcũ aga
I will phone youNgakũringĩra thimũ

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants of the ImentI, Igoji, Mwimbi, Muthambi & Tharaka dialects [3]
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar
Stop pbtdcɟkɡ
Fricative (β)ðʝ(ɣ)
Nasal mnɲŋ
Trill r
Approximant wj
Consonants of the Chuka dialect [3]
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar
Stop btdcɟkɡ
Fricative (β)ð(ɣ)
Nasal mnɲŋ
Trill r
Approximant wj

Prenasalized sounds may also occur in word-medial and word-initial positions.

Fricatives [β, ɣ] occur mostly as allophones of stops /b, d/ in intervocalic positions.

/d/ may also be heard as [ɾ] in intervocalic positions.

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iːu uː
Close-mid e eːo oː
Open-mid ɛ ɛːɔ ɔː
Open a aː

Alphabet

Kimeru is written in a Latin alphabet. It does not use the letters f p q s v x z, and adds the letters ĩ and ũ. [4] The Kimeru alphabet is:

Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters)
ABCDEGHIĨJKMNORTUŨWY
Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters)
abcdeghiĩjkmnortuũwy

Noun Classes

Kimeru has sixteen noun classes as tabulated below. the classes are grammatical and represent how words fit into sentences. Of the noun classes, classes 1, 3, 4, 9 and ten are irregular while the rest are regular. This implies that verbal, adjectival and conjunction concords are not the same.

Example class 1 verses class 2. class 1- Muntũ ũjũ mũraja auma Nairobi. class 2- Antũ baba baraja bauma Nairobi.

Class 1-This tall person has come from Nairobi. Class 2. These tall people have come from Nairobi. In class 1 demonstrative 'this' is ũjũ, with ũ as its concord. The adjective -raja has mũ as its concord and the verb uma has a as its concord hence 'auma'. On the other hand in class two each of the above cases have ba as a concord. The difference is only in ũjũ and baba as demonstratives is that all strong classes use double concords as demonstratives.

Noun classExamThis/TheseAdjectivalVerbal
1- 'MüũMũkũrũŨjũMũ-rajaA-kwija
2-BaAkũrũBabaBa-rajaBa-kwija
3-MũMũtiũũ/ũjũMũ-rajaũ-kũgwa
4-MĩMĩtĩĩjĩ/ĩnoMĩ- rajaĩ- kũgwa
5- RiRiithoRĩrĩRĩ-neneRĩ-kwona
6- MaMeethoJaja/MamaMa-neneMa-kwona
7-KĩKĩaraGĩkĩKĩ-neneGĩ-kworonta
8-BĩBĩaraBĩbiBï-neneBï-kworonta
9-Ng'Ng'ombeÏjï/ÏnoÏ-neneÏ-güküra
10-Ng'Ng'ombeIjï/InoI-neneI-güküra
11-RüRüremeRürüRü-rajaRü-gücuna
10- Ng'NdemeIjï/InoI- ndajaI-gücuna
12-KaKanaGakaKa-niniGa-gükena
13-TüTwanaTütüTü-niniTü-gükena
14- BüÜcürüBübüBü-rüruBü-küthira
15-KüKügürüGüküGü-küneneGü-gükinya
16-AAntüAja/aaA-neneA-kürïmwa

Kimeru follows Dahl's law thus a "K" syllable cannot follow a "K' syllable.

A Kenyan musical group known as High Pitch Band Afrika based in Meru County has done a cover of the Luis Fonsi's popular hit single Despacito in Kimeru language. The Kimeru cover was uploaded on YouTube on July 10, 2017, and has generated over 500,000 views since then.

In Media the Kimeru language is used as the primary broadcast language of several Radio and TV stations in Kenya. Some include: Meru Fm, Muuga Fm, Weru Fm, Weru TV, Baite TV, Thiiri Fm among many others.

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References

  1. Meru at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. 1 2 Erastus, Fridah Kanana (2011). Meru Dialects: The Linguistic Evidence. In Nordic Journal of African Studies 20(4): Kenyatta University, Kenya. pp. 300–327.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. "5 Steps to get you Writing Kimeru like a Njuri Ncheke Editor - The Ameru". The Ameru. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2018-04-30.