Thagiicu languages

Thagiicu
Central Kenya Bantu
Native to	Kenya and Tanzania
Region	Central Province (Kenya), Embu County, Meru County, Tharaka-Nithi County, Machakos County, Kitui County, Makueni County, Ngorongoro District, Arusha
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Northeast Bantu Upland Bantu Thagiicu
Early form	Proto-Thagiicu [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	cent2274

The Thagiicu or Central Kenya Bantu languages are a group of closely related Northeast Bantu languages spoken in the central regions of Kenya and parts of northern Tanzania. ^{[2] [3]}

History

Proto-Thagiicu originated on the southern slopes of Mount Kenya in 1100AD. The thagiicu languages have received influence from cushitic, Nilotic and Kuliak speakers whom the Thagiicu community have absorbed over the millennia. ^{[1] [4]}

Classification

The Thagiicu languages are classified by Glottolog as follows: ^[5]

• Thagiicu
  • Eastern Kirinyaga
    • Chuka
    • Northern Kirinyaga
      • Nithi-Meru
        • Meru
        • Mwimbu-Muthambi
      • Tharaka
  • Embu
  • Kikuyu-Temi
    • Kikuyu
    • Temi
  • Kamba-Dhaiso
    • Dhaiso
    • Kamba

References

1. Niane, Djibril Tamsir, ed. (1984). Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. General History of Africa. Vol. 4. University of California Press. p. 491.
2. Ehret, Christopher (2011). History and the Testimony of Language. University of California Press. p. 226, 234, 239, 273. ISBN   9780520262041.
3. Shillington, Kevin (2013). Encyclopedia of African History. Vol. 3. Routledge. p. 215. ISBN   9780203483862.
4. An African Classical Age: Eastern and Southern Africa in World History, 1000 B.C. to A.D. 400. p. 185.
5. "Family: Central Kenya Bantu". Glottolog. Retrieved 12 March 2025.