Northeast Bantu Languages
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Northeast Bantu Languages
The Northeast Bantu languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in East Africa. In Guthrie's geographic classification, they fall within Bantu zones E50 plus E46 (Sonjo), E60 plus E74a (Taita), F21–22, J, G60, plus Northeast Coast Bantu (of zones E & G).Derek Nurse, 2003, ''The Bantu Languages'' Some of these languages (F21, most of E50, and some of J) share a phonological innovation called Dahl's law that is unlikely to be borrowed as a productive process, though individual words reflecting Dahl's law have been borrowed into neighboring languages. The languages, or clusters, are: *Kikuyu–Kamba Thagiicu (primarily E50): ** Sonjo (E40) ** Cuka **Meru (incl. Tharaka, Mwimbi-Muthambi) **South ***Kamba, Daisu *** Gikuyu, Embu *Chaga–Taita **Taita (Dawida; E70) – Sagalla **Chaga languages (E60) *Northeast Coast Bantu (G10-G40): Swahili (E70), ''etc.'' *Takama: Sukuma– Nyamwezi (+ Konongo–Ruwila), Kimbu (F20), Iramba–Isanzu, Nyaturu (Rimi) (F30), ? Holohol ...
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Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. According to the United Nations, Tanzania has a population of million, making it the most populous country located entirely south of the equator. Many important hominid fossils have been found in Tanzania, such as 6-million-year-old Pliocene hominid fossils. The genus Australopithecus ranged across Africa between 4 and 2 million years ago, and the oldest remains of the genus ''Homo'' are found near Lake Olduvai. Following the rise of '' Homo erectus'' 1.8 million years ago, humanity spread ...
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Dahl's Law
Dahl's law (German: ''Das Dahlsche Gesetz'') is a sound rule in some of the Northeast Bantu languages that illustrates a case of voicing dissimilation. In the history of these languages, a voiceless stop, such as , became voiced () when immediately followed by a syllable with another voiceless stop. For example, Nyamwezi has ''-datu'' "three" where Swahili, a Bantu language that did not undergo Dahl's law, has ''-tatu'', and Shambala has ''mgate'' "bread" where Swahili has ''mkate''. Dahl's law is the reason for the name Gikuyu when the language prefix normally found in that language is ''ki-'' . The law was named in 1903 by Carl Meinhof in his paper "Das Dahlsche Gesetz": in the paper, Meinhof explains that he named the rule after his pupil, the Moravian missionary Edmund Dahl, who reported it in 1897 when visiting the Wanyamwezi tribe in Urambo. It is productive in Sukuma, in the Nyanyembe dialect of Nyamwezi, most E50 languages (such as Kikuyu, Embu and Meru) and some J ...
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Nyamwezi Language
Nyamwezi is a major Bantu language of central Tanzania. It forms a dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ... with Sukuma, but is more distinct from other neighboring languages. Konongo and Ruwila are sometimes considered dialects. Phonology Consonants * Prenasalized voiceless stops p ⁿtmay also frequently occur, as a result of loan words. * Nasal sounds /m ŋ/ may also occur as labialized ʷ ŋʷ Vowels Tones Tones present in Nyamwezi are high /v́/, low /v̀/, and rising /v̌/. Sample text ''Banhu bose bubyalagwa biyagalulile, n'ikujo haki zilenganelile. Banhu bose bina masala na wiganiki, hu kuyomba ihayilwe bitogwe giti bana ba mbyazi bumo.'' All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with r ...
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Sukuma Language
Sukuma is a Bantu language of Tanzania, spoken in an area southeast of Lake Victoria between Mwanza, Shinyanga, and Lake Eyasi. Its orthography uses Roman script without special letters, which resembles that used for Swahili, and has been used for Bible translations and in religious literature. Dialects (''KɪmunaSukuma'' in the west, ''GɪmunaNtuzu/GɪnaNtuzu'' in the northeast, and ''Jìnàkɪ̀ɪ̀yâ/JimunaKɪɪyâ'' in the southeast) are easily mutually intelligible. Phonology There are seven vowel qualities, which occur long and short:Rahma Muhdhar, 2006, ''Verb Extensions in Kisukuma, Jinakiiya dialect'', MS dissertation, UDSM , which are written , may be closer to , and may be closer to . Sukuma has gone through Dahl's Law (''ɪdàtʊ́'' 'three', from proto-Bantu ''-tatʊ'') and has voiceless nasal consonants. It is not clear whether should better be considered as stops or affricates as or whether they are even palatal. Syllables are V or CV. There are four ...
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Swahili Language
Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili has borrowed a number of words from foreign languages, particularly Arabic, but also words from Portuguese, English and German. Around forty percent of Swahili vocabulary consists of Arabic loanwords, including the name of the language ( , a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning 'of the coast'). The loanwords date from the era of contact between Arab slave traders and the Bantu inhabitants of the east coast of Africa, which was also the time period when Swahili emerged as a lingua franca in the region. The number of Swahili speakers, be they native or second-language speakers, is estimated to be approximately 200 million. Due to concerted efforts by the government of Tanzania, Swahili is one of three official languages (th ...
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Chaga Languages
Chaga, also ''Kichaga'' or ''Kichagga'', is a Bantu dialect continuum spoken by the Chaga people of northern Tanzania, south of Mount Kilimanjaro. They also speak 9 dialects: Kivunjo, Kimarangu, Kirombo, Kimachame, Kisiha, Kikibosho, Kiuru, Kioldimoshi and Kingassa. The Chaga languages are:Maho (2009) * West Kilimanjaro (West Chaga), including Meru and Machame * Central Kilimanjaro (Central Chaga), including Mochi (Old Moshi) and Wunjo * Rombo * Rusha (Arusha-Chini) * Kahe Kahe may refer to: Places * Kahe, Tanzania, a group of wards in northeastern Tanzania ** Battle of Kahe, fought during the East African Campaign of World War I * Kahe Mashariki, a town and ward in northeastern Tanzania * Kahak, Razavi Khorasan, ... * Gweno References Languages of Tanzania {{Tanzania-stub ...
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Sagalla Language
Taita is a Bantu language spoken in the Taita Hills of Kenya. It is closely related to the Chaga languages of Kenya and Tanzania. The Saghala (Northern Sagala, Sagalla) variety is distinct enough to be considered a language separate from the Daw'ida and Kasigau dialects. Daw'ida and Saghala contain loanwords from two different South Cushitic languages, called Taita Cushitic, which are now extinct. It is likely that the Cushitic speakers were assimilated fairly recently, since lateral obstruents in the loanwords were still pronounced as such within living memory. However, those consonants have now been replaced by Bantu sounds. The Taveta language was mistaken for Daw'ida by Jouni Maho in his (2009) classification of Bantu languages. However, it's a distinct language, lexically and grammatically closest to Chasu (Pare Pare may refer to: People with the name * Emmett Paré (1907-1973), tennis player * Pare, former member of Kotak, an Indonesian band * Pare Lorentz (1905 ...
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Taita Language
Taita is a Bantu language spoken in the Taita Hills of Kenya. It is closely related to the Chaga languages of Kenya and Tanzania. The Saghala (Northern Sagala, Sagalla) variety is distinct enough to be considered a language separate from the Daw'ida and Kasigau dialects. Daw'ida and Saghala contain loanwords from two different South Cushitic languages, called Taita Cushitic, which are now extinct. It is likely that the Cushitic speakers were assimilated fairly recently, since lateral obstruents in the loanwords were still pronounced as such within living memory. However, those consonants have now been replaced by Bantu sounds. The Taveta language was mistaken for Daw'ida by Jouni Maho in his (2009) classification of Bantu languages. However, it's a distinct language, lexically and grammatically closest to Chasu (Pare Pare may refer to: People with the name * Emmett Paré (1907-1973), tennis player * Pare, former member of Kotak, an Indonesian band * Pare Lorentz (1905-1992 ...
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Embu Language
Embu, also known as Kîembu, is a Bantu language of Kenya. It is spoken by the Embu people, also known as the Aembu (sg. Muembu). Speakers of the Embu language can also be found in neighboring districts/counties and in the diaspora. The language is closely related to the Kikuyu and Kimeru languages. Dialects Embu has two known dialects; Mbeere (Mbere, Kimbeere) and Embu proper. Native Embu speakers can also tell apart a speaker from areas close to Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (), Nelion () and Point Lenana (). Mount Kenya is locat ..., because they speak with a slight dialect locally called Kiruguru (Kirũgũrũ). Sample Translations Sample translations of words from English to Kiembu. Note: Accented characters or diacritical mark are not shown in the following two tables.                 ...
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Gikuyu Language
Kikuyu or Gikuyu ( ki, Gĩkũyũ, link=no ) is a Bantu language spoken by the Gĩkũyũ (''Agĩkũyũ'') of Kenya. Kikuyu is mainly spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi. The Kikuyu people usually identify their lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in Central Kenya which they call ''Kĩrĩnyaga''. The Gikuyu language is intelligibly similar to its surrounding neighbors, the Meru and Embu. Dialects Kikuyu has four main mutually intelligible dialects. The Central Province districts are divided along the traditional boundaries of these dialects, which are Kĩrĩnyaga, Mũrang'a, Nyeri and Kiambu. The Kikuyu from Kĩrĩnyaga are composed of two main sub-dialects – the Ndia and Gichugu who speak the dialects ''Kĩndia'' and ''Gĩgĩcũgũ''. The Gicugus and the Ndias do not have the "ch" or "sh" sound, and will use the "s" sound instead, hence the pronunciation of "Gĩcũgũ" as opposed to "Gĩchũgũ". To hear Ndia being spoken, one needs to be in Kerugoya, the lar ...
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Daisu Language
Kamba, or Kikamba, is a Bantu language spoken by millions of Kamba people, primarily in Kenya, as well as thousands of people in Uganda, Tanzania, and elsewhere. In Kenya, Kamba is generally spoken in four counties: Machakos, Kitui, Makueni, and Kwale. The Machakos dialect is considered the standard variety and has been used in translation. The other major dialect is Kitui. Kamba has lexical similarities to other Bantu languages such as Kikuyu, Meru, and Embu. The Swedish National Museums of World Culture holds field recordings of kamba language made by Swedish ethnographer Gerhard Lindblom Karl Gerhard Lindblom (26 August 1887 – 8 June 1969) was an ethnographer from Sweden who worked in East Africa in the 1910s. He was the principal author of materials on the Akamba peoples. Additionally, he worked as the Director of the Museum ... in 1911–12. Lindblom used phonograph cylinders to record songs along with other means of documentation in writing and photography. H ...
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Kamba Language
Kamba, or Kikamba, is a Bantu language spoken by millions of Kamba people, primarily in Kenya, as well as thousands of people in Uganda, Tanzania, and elsewhere. In Kenya, Kamba is generally spoken in four counties of Kenya, counties: Machakos County, Machakos, Kitui County, Kitui, Makueni County, Makueni, and Kwale County, Kwale. The Machakos dialect is considered the standard variety and has been used in translation. The other major dialect is Kitui. Kamba has lexical similarities to other Bantu languages such as Kikuyu language, Kikuyu, Meru language, Meru, and Embu language, Embu. The Swedish National Museums of World Culture holds field recordings of kamba language made by Swedish ethnographer Gerhard Lindblom in 1911–12. Lindblom used phonograph cylinders to record songs along with other means of documentation in writing and photography. He also gathered objects, and later presented his work in ''The Akamba in British East Africa'' (1916)''.'' Phonology Vowels ...
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