Luhya (; also Luyia, Luhia or Luhiya) is a
Bantu language
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages.
The t ...
of
western Kenya
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Dialects
The various
Luhya tribes speak several related languages and dialects, though some of them are no closer to each other than they are to neighboring non-Luhya languages. For example, the
Bukusu people
The Bukusu people (Bukusu: ''Babukusu'') are one of the seventeen Kenyan tribes of the Luhya Bantu people of East Africa residing mainly in the counties of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. They are closely related to other Luhya people and the Gisu o ...
are ethnically Luhya, but the
Bukusu dialect is a variety of
Masaba. (See
Luhya people
The Luhya (also known as ''Abaluyia'' or Luyia) comprise a number of Bantu ethnic groups native to western Kenya. They are divided into 20 culturally and linguistically related tribes.
''Luhya'' refers to both the 20 Luhya clans and their respe ...
for details.) However, there is a core of
mutually intelligible
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...
dialects that comprise Luhya proper:
*Hanga
*Tsotso
*Marama
*Kisa
*Kabras
*East Nyala
Comparison
A comparison between two dialects of Luhya proper, and to two other Bantu languages spoken by the Luhya:
Comparison to Bantu
Phonology
The following is the phonology of the Luwanga dialect:
Vowels
Consonants
External links
Eshitabo Eshiokhulaama nende Tsisakalamendo nende Akebiima Bindi Bieikanisa1967 Anglican liturgical text digitized by Richard Mammana
References
Musimbi Kanyoro (1989), "The Abaluyia of Kenya; one people, one language: What can be learned from the Luyia project": ''The Abaluyia of Western Kenya.'' (p. 27).Wanga-English Dictionary
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