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.
Où elle est parlée
20 mots essentiels en Embu
Eau
mai
/mai/
Feu
mwaki
/mwaki/
Soleil
rĩũa
/ɾiua/
Lune
mweri
/mweɾi/
Mère
mami
/mami/
Père
baba
/baba/
Manger
kũrĩa
/kuɾia/
Boire
kũnyua
/kuɲua/
Amour
wendo
/wendo/
Cœur
ngoro
/ŋɡoɾo/
Arbre
mũtĩ
/muti/
Maison
nyũmba
/ɲumba/
Chien
ngui
/ŋɡui/
Chat
nyau
/ɲau/
Main
guoko
/ɡuoko/
Œil
riitho
/ɾiːθo/
Bonjour
mwega
/mweɡa/
Merci
nĩ baba
/ni baba/
Un
ĩmwe
/imwe/
Bon
mwega
/mweɡa/
Sources
- Ethnologue: ebu
- Mwaniki (1973) The Living History of Embu and Mbeere
- Maho (2009) NUGL Online (Bantu E.50 group)
Mots comparés
Comparé aux langues Niger-Congo (Atlantic-Congo, Bantu, E.50) apparentées
| Sens | Embu | kikuyu | Méru | Kamba | Asu | Nyaturu | Shambala |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eau | mai /mai/ | maaĩ /maːi/ | rũũjĩ /ɾuːdʒi/ | kĩw'ũ /kiwu/ | mende /mende/ | maazi /maːzi/ | mazi /mazi/ |
| Feu | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mshika /mʃika/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ |
| Soleil | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiwa/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | syũa /sjua/ | nyu /ɲu/ | nzua /nzua/ | zuwa /zuwa/ |
| Lune | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mwei /mwei/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ |
| Mère | mami /mami/ | maitũ /maitu/ | mami /mami/ | mwaitũ /mwaitu/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Père | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | asa /asa/ | baba /baba/ | tata /tata/ | baba /baba/ |
| Manger | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũya /kuja/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ | kuya /kuja/ |
| Boire | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyũa /kuɲua/ | kũnywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| Amour | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | lumba /lumba/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | kwenda /kwenda/ |
| Cœur | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoo /ŋɡoː/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | umutima /umutima/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ |
| Arbre | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ | mti /mti/ |
| Maison | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyomba /ɲomba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Chien | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | ngitĩ /ŋɡiti/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Chat | nyau /ɲau/ | nyaũ /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ | mbaka /mbaka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Main | guoko /ɡuoko/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | njara /ndʒaɾa/ | kw'oko /kwoko/ | mkono /mkono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | ukono /ukono/ |
| Œil | riitho /ɾiːθo/ | riitho /riːθo/ | rĩĩthwa /ɾiːθwa/ | ĩtho /iθo/ | jicho /dʒitʃo/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ | izo /izo/ |
| Bonjour | mwega /mweɡa/ | wĩmwega /wimweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwĩaĩle /mwiaile/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ |
| Merci | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ wega /ni weɡa/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ vinya /ni viɲa/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ | ahsante /ahsante/ | asante /asante/ |
| Un | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | imwe /imwe/ | umwe /umwe/ | imo /imo/ |
| Bon | mwega /mweɡa/ | wega /weɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | museo /museo/ | mwamba /mwamba/ | kihi /kihi/ | hedi /hedi/ |
Fait partie de LangMap — un projet de visualisation linguistique. Ceci est un résumé statique et explorable ; les cartes interactives offrent l’audio de prononciation, des filtres et une vue globe.