| Also Known As: Gekoyo,Gigikuyu,Kikuyu
Description:
Gikuyu (sometimes written Kikuyu), pronounced "gĩkũyũ" [ɣēkōjó], is a language in the Central Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family spoken primarily by the Kikuyu people of Kenya. Numbering about 6 million (22% of Kenya's population), they are the largest ethnic group in Kenya. Gikuyu is spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi. Gikuyu is one of the five languages of the Thagichu subgroup of the Bantu languages, which stretches from Kenya to Tanzania. The Gikuyu people usually identify their lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in Central Kenya which they call Kirinyaga.
Gikuyu has four main mutually intelligible dialects. The Central Province districts are divided along the traditional boundaries of these dialects, which are Kirinyaga, Muranga[Maragua], Nyeri and Kiambu. The Gikuyu from Kirinyaga are composed of two main sub-dialects - the Ndia and Gichũgũ who speak the dialect Kĩ-Ndia and Gĩ-gĩcũgũ. The Gĩcũgũs 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 "Gĩchũgũ". To hear Ndia being spoken, one needs to be in Kerugoya the largest town in Kirinyaga. Other home towns for the Ndia,..... full article at Wikipedia |
