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
20 core words in Embu
Water
mai
/mai/
Fire
mwaki
/mwaki/
Sun
rĩũa
/ɾiua/
Moon
mweri
/mweɾi/
Mother
mami
/mami/
Father
baba
/baba/
Eat
kũrĩa
/kuɾia/
Drink
kũnyua
/kuɲua/
Love
wendo
/wendo/
Heart
ngoro
/ŋɡoɾo/
Tree
mũtĩ
/muti/
House
nyũmba
/ɲumba/
Dog
ngui
/ŋɡui/
Cat
nyau
/ɲau/
Hand
guoko
/ɡuoko/
Eye
riitho
/ɾiːθo/
Hello
mwega
/mweɡa/
Thank you
nĩ baba
/ni baba/
One
ĩmwe
/imwe/
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 | Asu | Nyaturu | Shambala |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mai /mai/ | maaĩ /maːi/ | rũũjĩ /ɾuːdʒi/ | kĩw'ũ /kiwu/ | mende /mende/ | maazi /maːzi/ | mazi /mazi/ |
| Fire | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mshika /mʃika/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiwa/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | syũa /sjua/ | nyu /ɲu/ | nzua /nzua/ | zuwa /zuwa/ |
| Moon | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mwei /mwei/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ |
| 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/ | tata /tata/ | baba /baba/ |
| Eat | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũya /kuja/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ | kuya /kuja/ |
| Drink | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyũa /kuɲua/ | kũnywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| Love | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | lumba /lumba/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | kwenda /kwenda/ |
| Heart | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoo /ŋɡoː/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | umutima /umutima/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ |
| Tree | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ | mti /mti/ |
| 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/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Cat | nyau /ɲau/ | nyaũ /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ | mbaka /mbaka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | guoko /ɡuoko/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | njara /ndʒaɾa/ | kw'oko /kwoko/ | mkono /mkono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | ukono /ukono/ |
| Eye | riitho /ɾiːθo/ | riitho /riːθo/ | rĩĩthwa /ɾiːθwa/ | ĩtho /iθo/ | jicho /dʒitʃo/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ | izo /izo/ |
| Hello | mwega /mweɡa/ | wĩmwega /wimweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwĩaĩle /mwiaile/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ |
| Thank you | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ wega /ni weɡa/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ vinya /ni viɲa/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ | ahsante /ahsante/ | asante /asante/ |
| One | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | imwe /imwe/ | umwe /umwe/ | imo /imo/ |
| Good | mwega /mweɡa/ | wega /weɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | museo /museo/ | mwamba /mwamba/ | kihi /kihi/ | hedi /hedi/ |
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