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
31 core words in Kamba
Water
kĩw'ũ
/kiwu/
Fire
mwaki
/mwaki/
Sun
syũa
/sjua/
Moon
mwei
/mwei/
Star
nzaĩ
/nzai/
Mother
mwaitũ
/mwaitu/
Father
asa
/asa/
I
nyie
/ɲie/
You
we
/we/
Name
ĩsyĩtwa
/isʲitwa/
Eye
ĩtho
/iθo/
Hand
kw'oko
/kwoko/
Heart
ngoo
/ŋɡoː/
Love
wendo
/wendo/
Tree
mũtĩ
/muti/
House
nyũmba
/ɲumba/
Dog
ngitĩ
/ŋɡiti/
Cat
mbaka
/mbaka/
Eat
kũya
/kuja/
Drink
kũnywa
/kuɲwa/
One
ĩmwe
/imwe/
Two
ilĩ
/ili/
Hello
mwĩaĩle
/mwiaile/
Thank you
nĩ vinya
/ni viɲa/
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 | Meru | Embu | Kikuyu | Asu | Shambala | Machame |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | kĩw'ũ /kiwu/ | rũũjĩ /ɾuːdʒi/ | mai /mai/ | maaĩ /maːi/ | mende /mende/ | mazi /mazi/ | mringa /mɾiŋɡa/ |
| Fire | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mshika /mʃika/ | moto /moto/ | mòò /moːʔ/ |
| Sun | syũa /sjua/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiwa/ | idhuva /iðuʋa/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | ìsùwà /isuwa/ |
| Moon | mwei /mwei/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ |
| Star | nzaĩ /nzai/ | njata /ɲdʒata/ | njata /ɲdʒata/ | njata /ɲdʒata/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ |
| Mother | mwaitũ /mwaitu/ | mami /mami/ | mami /mami/ | maitũ /maitu/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | asa /asa/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ |
| I | nyie /ɲie/ | nyie /ɲie/ | nĩĩ /niː/ | niĩ /niː/ | mine /mine/ | niye /nije/ | inyi /iɲi/ |
| You | we /we/ | wee /weː/ | wee /weː/ | wee /weː/ | uwe /uwe/ | weye /weje/ | uwe /uwe/ |
| Name | ĩsyĩtwa /isʲitwa/ | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | izina /izina/ | izina /izina/ | irina /irina/ |
| Eye | ĩtho /iθo/ | rĩĩthwa /ɾiːθwa/ | riitho /ɾiːθo/ | riitho /riːðo/ | iiso /iːso/ | izo /izo/ | rítiò /ɾitio/ |
| Hand | kw'oko /kwoko/ | njara /ndʒaɾa/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | mkono /mkono/ | ukono /ukono/ | kùoòko /kuoːko/ |
| Heart | ngoo /ŋɡoː/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | mòyò /mojo/ |
| Love | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | lumba /lumba/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | ìkwenda /ikwenda/ |
| Tree | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | mtí /mti/ |
| House | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyomba /ɲomba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | ngitĩ /ŋɡiti/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Cat | mbaka /mbaka/ | nyau /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ | nyaũ /ɲau/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Eat | kũya /kuja/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | kuya /kuja/ | ìlya /iʎa/ |
| Drink | kũnywa /kuɲwa/ | kũnyũa /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | ìnyo /iɲo/ |
| One | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | imwe /imwe/ | imo /imo/ | ìmwí /imwi/ |
| Two | ilĩ /ili/ | ijĩrĩ /idʒɪɾɪ/ | ijĩrĩ /idʒɪɾɪ/ | igĩrĩ /iɣɪɾɪ/ | avili /aβili/ | mbili /mbili/ | iwi /iwi/ |
| Hello | mwĩaĩle /mwiaile/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | wĩmwega /wimweɡa/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | máshàlòmà /maʃaloma/ |
| Thank you | nĩ vinya /ni viɲa/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ wega /ni weɡa/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ | asante /asante/ | ahsànte /ahsante/ |
| Good | museo /museo/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | wega /weɡa/ | mwamba /mwamba/ | hedi /hedi/ | ìchá /itʃa/ |
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