| Meru | |
|---|---|
| Kĩmĩĩrũ | |
| Native to | Kenya |
| Region | Meru County and Tharaka Nithi County |
| Ethnicity | Ameru |
Native speakers | 2.0 million (2019 census)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| 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.
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.
Sample phrases
| English | Kimeru |
|---|---|
| How are you | Muuga |
| Give me water | Mpa rũũji/rũi |
| How are you doing? | Ũrĩ o mwega? |
| I am hungry | Ndĩna mpara |
| Help me | Nteithia/Ntethia |
| I am good | Ndĩ mwega |
| Are you a friend? | Wĩ mũcore? |
| Bye, be blessed | Tigwa bwega, tharimwa. |
| I love you | Ikwendete. |
| Come here | Ĩja aja/ Iyu aa |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira thimũ |
I want a cassava||Ndũmia mũkwanga/mĩkwanga
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 and Muthambi used by the Igoji and Chogoria, 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
| English | Imenti |
|---|---|
| How are you | Nĩatĩa ũrĩ? Muuga? |
| Give me water | Mpa rũũji |
| Home | Nja/Mũciĩ |
| Get out | Uma njaa/ome |
| Get Inside | Kũrũka/Tonya |
| Today | Naarua |
| Tomorrow | Rũjo |
| Come here | Ĩja aja |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira thimũ |
The Chuka, Muthambi and Mwimbi dialects
| Chuka dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cuh |
| Glottolog | chuk1274 Chuka |
| Muthambi dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mws |
| Glottolog | muth1242 Muthambi |
| Mwimbi dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| 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
| English | Chuka/Muthambi/Mwimbi |
|---|---|
| How are you | Muuga |
| Give me water | Mpa maaĩ/rũnjĩ |
| Home | Mũcii |
| Get out | Uma nja |
| Get Inside | Kũrũka/Tonya/Thungira |
| Today | Ũmũnthi |
| Tomorrow | Rũjũ/Rũũ |
| Come here | Ũka aja |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira/Ngakubũrira thimũ |
Tigania and Igembe dialects
| Tigania dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | tiga1244 Tigania |
| Igembe dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| 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
| English | TIgania/Igembe |
|---|---|
| How are you | Muua |
| Give me water | Nthaania/mpa Rũĩ |
| Home | Mucie/Mucii |
| Get out | Tũra |
| Get Inside | Unkuma |
| Today | Ruarii |
| Tomorrow | Rũũ/Rũyũ |
| Come here | Ĩya haa/iyu haa |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira thimũ |
Tharaka dialect
| Tharaka dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| 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
| English | Tharaka |
|---|---|
| How are you | Muuga |
| Give me water | Mpa rũũyĩ |
| Home | Mũciĩ |
| Get out | Uma nja |
| Get Inside | Thũngĩra |
| Today | Ĩmunthĩ |
| Tomorrow | Rũũ |
| Come here | Ncũ aga |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringĩra thimũ |
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.[3] The Kimeru alphabet is:
| Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) | |||||||||||||||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | G | H | I | Ĩ | J | K | M | N | O | R | T | U | Ũ | W | Y |
| Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters) | |||||||||||||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | g | h | i | ĩ | j | k | m | n | o | r | t | u | ũ | w | y |
In Media and Popular Culture
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.
References
- ↑ Meru at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ↑ "5 Steps to get you Writing Kimeru like a Njuri Ncheke Editor - The Ameru". The Ameru. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
External links