Kĩembu
Embu
Niger-Congo (Atlantic-Congo, Bantu, E.50)
Embu (Kĩembu) is a Bantu language of the Central Kenya Highlands spoken by the Embu people of Embu County and adjacent Tharaka-Nithi and Kirinyaga counties on the southeastern slopes of Mount Kenya, with ~600K speakers. It belongs to the Bantu E.50 (Central Kenya Bantu) group together with Kikuyu (ki, kik), Meru (mer), Kamba (kam) and others, and shares many cognates and grammatical features with these neighbors. Like other Bantu languages, Embu has a noun-class system (~18 classes), agglutinative verbal morphology, and tonal phonology. Recognized as an indigenous Kenyan language under the 2010 constitution. Strong oral tradition; bible translation completed late 20th century.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Embu
Water
mai
/mai/
Fire
mwaki
/mwaki/
Sun
rĩũa
/ɾiua/
Moon
mweri
/mweɾi/
Star
njata
/ɲdʒata/
Mother
mami
/mami/
Father
baba
/baba/
I
nĩĩ
/niː/
You
wee
/weː/
Name
rĩĩtwa
/ɾɪːtwa/
Eye
riitho
/ɾiːθo/
Hand
guoko
/ɡuoko/
Heart
ngoro
/ŋɡoɾo/
Love
wendo
/wendo/
Tree
mũtĩ
/muti/
House
nyũmba
/ɲumba/
Dog
ngui
/ŋɡui/
Cat
nyau
/ɲau/
Eat
kũrĩa
/kuɾia/
Drink
kũnyua
/kuɲua/
One
ĩmwe
/imwe/
Two
ijĩrĩ
/idʒɪɾɪ/
Hello
mwega
/mweɡa/
Thank you
nĩ baba
/ni baba/
Good
mwega
/mweɡa/
Sources
- Ethnologue: ebu
- Mwaniki (1973) The Living History of Embu and Mbeere
- Maho (2009) NUGL Online (Bantu E.50 group)
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Atlantic-Congo, Bantu, E.50) languages
| Meaning | Embu | Kikuyu | Meru | Kamba | Shambala | Asu | Nyaturu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mai /mai/ | maaĩ /maːi/ | rũũjĩ /ɾuːdʒi/ | kĩw'ũ /kiwu/ | mazi /mazi/ | mende /mende/ | maazi /maːzi/ |
| Fire | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | moto /moto/ | mshika /mʃika/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiwa/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | syũa /sjua/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | idhuva /iðuʋa/ | nzua /nzua/ |
| Moon | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mwei /mwei/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ |
| Star | njata /ɲdʒata/ | njata /ɲdʒata/ | njata /ɲdʒata/ | nzaĩ /nzai/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ | nyeenyeeri /ɲeːɲeːri/ |
| Mother | mami /mami/ | maitũ /maitu/ | mami /mami/ | mwaitũ /mwaitu/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | asa /asa/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | tata /tata/ |
| I | nĩĩ /niː/ | niĩ /niː/ | nyie /ɲie/ | nyie /ɲie/ | niye /nije/ | mine /mine/ | une /une/ |
| You | wee /weː/ | wee /weː/ | wee /weː/ | we /we/ | weye /weje/ | uwe /uwe/ | uwe /uwe/ |
| Name | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | ĩsyĩtwa /isʲitwa/ | izina /izina/ | izina /izina/ | izina /izina/ |
| Eye | riitho /ɾiːθo/ | riitho /riːðo/ | rĩĩthwa /ɾiːθwa/ | ĩtho /iθo/ | izo /izo/ | iiso /iːso/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ |
| Hand | guoko /ɡuoko/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | njara /ndʒaɾa/ | kw'oko /kwoko/ | ukono /ukono/ | mkono /mkono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ |
| Heart | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoo /ŋɡoː/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | umutima /umutima/ |
| Love | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | lumba /lumba/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ |
| Tree | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ |
| House | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyomba /ɲomba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | ngitĩ /ŋɡiti/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ |
| Cat | nyau /ɲau/ | nyaũ /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ | mbaka /mbaka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Eat | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũya /kuja/ | kuya /kuja/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ |
| Drink | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyũa /kuɲua/ | kũnywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| One | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | imo /imo/ | imwe /imwe/ | umwe /umwe/ |
| Two | ijĩrĩ /idʒɪɾɪ/ | igĩrĩ /iɣɪɾɪ/ | ijĩrĩ /idʒɪɾɪ/ | ilĩ /ili/ | mbili /mbili/ | avili /aβili/ | aviri /aβiri/ |
| Hello | mwega /mweɡa/ | wĩmwega /wimweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwĩaĩle /mwiaile/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ |
| Thank you | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ wega /ni weɡa/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ vinya /ni viɲa/ | asante /asante/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ | asante /aˈsante/ |
| Good | mwega /mweɡa/ | wega /weɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | museo /museo/ | hedi /hedi/ | mwamba /mwamba/ | kihi /kihi/ |
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