Kĩkamba
Kamba
Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Kamba-Kikuyu)
Kamba (Kĩkamba) is a major Kenyan Bantu language of the Eastern Province with ~4M speakers — one of Kenya's five largest ethnic-language groups alongside Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, and Luo. Closely related to Kikuyu (E51) within the Bantu E70 Kamba-Kikuyu group. The Kamba people are renowned woodcarvers (Wamunyu sculptural tradition since the 1920s) and were 19th-c. caravan traders linking the coast to the Great Lakes. Latin orthography developed by missionaries 1888; used in primary education and broadcasting on Musyi FM since 2007.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Kamba
Water
kĩw'ũ
/kiwu/
Fire
mwaki
/mwaki/
Sun
syũa
/sjua/
Moon
mwei
/mwei/
Mother
mwaitũ
/mwaitu/
Father
asa
/asa/
Eat
kũya
/kuja/
Drink
kũnywa
/kuɲwa/
Love
wendo
/wendo/
Heart
ngoo
/ŋɡoː/
Tree
mũtĩ
/muti/
House
nyũmba
/ɲumba/
Dog
ngitĩ
/ŋɡiti/
Cat
mbaka
/mbaka/
Hand
kw'oko
/kwoko/
Eye
ĩtho
/iθo/
Hello
mwĩaĩle
/mwiaile/
Thank you
nĩ vinya
/ni viɲa/
One
ĩmwe
/imwe/
Good
museo
/museo/
Sources
- Lindblom (1926) — The Akamba in British East Africa
- Ethnologue 27: Kamba
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Kamba-Kikuyu) languages
| Meaning | Kamba | Kikuyu | Embu | Meru | Shambala | Asu | Nyaturu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | kĩw'ũ /kiwu/ | maaĩ /maːi/ | mai /mai/ | rũũjĩ /ɾuːdʒi/ | mazi /mazi/ | mende /mende/ | maazi /maːzi/ |
| Fire | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | moto /moto/ | mshika /mʃika/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | syũa /sjua/ | rĩũa /ɾiwa/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | nyu /ɲu/ | nzua /nzua/ |
| Moon | mwei /mwei/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ |
| Mother | mwaitũ /mwaitu/ | maitũ /maitu/ | mami /mami/ | mami /mami/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | asa /asa/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | tata /tata/ |
| Eat | kũya /kuja/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kuya /kuja/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ |
| Drink | kũnywa /kuɲwa/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyũa /kuɲua/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| Love | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | lumba /lumba/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ |
| Heart | ngoo /ŋɡoː/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | umutima /umutima/ |
| Tree | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ |
| House | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyomba /ɲomba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | ngitĩ /ŋɡiti/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ |
| Cat | mbaka /mbaka/ | nyaũ /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | kw'oko /kwoko/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | njara /ndʒaɾa/ | ukono /ukono/ | mkono /mkono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ |
| Eye | ĩtho /iθo/ | riitho /riːθo/ | riitho /ɾiːθo/ | rĩĩthwa /ɾiːθwa/ | izo /izo/ | jicho /dʒitʃo/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ |
| Hello | mwĩaĩle /mwiaile/ | wĩmwega /wimweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ |
| Thank you | nĩ vinya /ni viɲa/ | nĩ wega /ni weɡa/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | asante /asante/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ | ahsante /ahsante/ |
| One | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | imo /imo/ | imwe /imwe/ | umwe /umwe/ |
| Good | museo /museo/ | wega /weɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | hedi /hedi/ | mwamba /mwamba/ | kihi /kihi/ |
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