Meru is a Bantu language spoken by the Meru people (Ameru) who live on the Eastern and Northern slopes of Mount Kenya and on the Nyambene ranges. They settled in this area after centuries of migration from the north.
| Meru | |
|---|---|
| Kĩmĩĩrũ | |
| Native to | Kenya |
| Region | Meru County and Tharaka Nithi County |
| Ethnicity | Ameru |
Native speakers | 2.0 million (2019 census)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mer – Meru |
| Glottolog | meru1245 Meru |
E.53,531,54,541[2] | |
The Meru people are a fairly homogeneous community and all share a common ancestry. They speak the same language, Kimeru, with slight regional differences in accent and local words. The community comprises the following subdivisions, from the north to south:
- Igembe
- Tigania (Tiania) (culture close to neighbouring Cushitic and Nilotic communities)
- Imenti
- Tharaka (Saraka)
- Igoji
- Mwimbi–Muthambi
- Chuka (Gicuka)
As the Meru language is similar to its surrounding neighbors, the Kikuyu and Embu could have possibly adopted parts of Meru.
Sample phrases
edit| English | Kimeru |
|---|---|
| How are you | Muuga |
| Give me water | Nkundia rũũji/rũi |
| How are you doing? | Ũrĩ ümwega? |
| I am hungry | Ndĩna mpara |
| Help me | Nteithia/Ntethia |
| I am good | Ndĩ mwega |
| Are you a friend? | Wĩ mũcore? |
| Bye, be blessed | Tigwa bwega, tharimwa. |
| I love you | Inkwendete. |
| Come here | Ĩja aja/ Iyu aa |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira thimũ |
I want a cassava||Ndũmia mũanga/mĩanga
Dialects
editKimeru has seven main mutually intelligible dialects. The dialects include Kiimenti widely used by the Imenti section of the Ameru, Tiania/gitiania used by the Tigania, kiigembe used by the Igembe, Kimwimbi used by the Mwïmbï, Kïmüthambï used by the Müthambï, Gicuka used by the Chuka and Kitharaka used by the Tharaka.
Imenti dialect
editIt is the commonly used dialect in Meru. The dialect acts as the lingua franca between all the nine subtribes of Meru. It is the official dialect used in the Kimeru Bible translations. It is commonly used in Nkubu, Timau, Kibirichia, Meru town and Ruiri areas of Meru County.
Sample phrases
edit| English | Imenti |
|---|---|
| How are you | Nĩatĩa ũrĩ? Muuga? |
| Give me water to drink | Nkundia rũũji |
| Home | Nja/Mũciĩ |
| Get out | Uma njaa/ome |
| Get Inside | Kũrũka/Tonya |
| Today | Naarua |
| Tomorrow | Rũüjü |
| Come here | Ĩja aja |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira thimũ |
The Chuka, Muthambi and Mwimbi dialects
edit| Chuka dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cuh |
| Glottolog | chuk1274 Chuka |
| Muthambi dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mws |
| Glottolog | muth1242 Muthambi |
| Mwimbi dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mws |
| Glottolog | mwim1242 Mwimbi |
The dialects are more related to Gikuyu and Meru proper, and are common in Igoji, Chogoria and Chuka regions of Meru County and Tharaka Nithi County.
Sample phrases
edit| English | Chuka/Muthambi/Mwimbi |
|---|---|
| How are you | Muuga |
| Give me water to drink | nkundia rũnjĩ/rüjÏ |
| Home | Mũcii |
| Get out | Uma nja |
| Get Inside | Kũrũka/Tonya/Thungira |
| Today | Ũmũnthi |
| Tomorrow | Rũjũ/Rũũ |
| Come here | Üka/Njü aa |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira/Ngakubũrira thimũ |
Tigania and Igembe dialects
edit| Tigania dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | tiga1244 Tigania |
| Igembe dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | igem1238 Igembe |
The dialects are mostly spoken in Miraa or Khat growing areas of Muthara, Karama, Kangeta, Maua, Laare and Mutuati in Meru County.
Sample phrases
edit| English | TIgania/Igembe |
|---|---|
| How are you | Muua |
| Give me water to drink | Nkundia Rũĩ |
| Home | Mucie/Mucii |
| Get out | Tũra |
| Get Inside | Unkuma |
| Today | Ruarii |
| Tomorrow | Rũũ/Rũyũ |
| Come here | Ĩya haa/iyu haa |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira thimũ |
Tharaka dialect
edit| Tharaka dialect | |
|---|---|
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | thk |
| Glottolog | thar1283 Tharaka |
The dialect is more closely related to the Kamba and Tigania dialects. It is most common in Tharaka areas of Tharaka Nithi County.
Sample phrases
edit| English | Tharaka |
|---|---|
| How are you | Muuga |
| Give me water to drink | Nkundia rũũyĩ |
| Home | Mũciĩ |
| Get out | Uma nja |
| Get Inside | Thũngĩra |
| Today | Ĩmunthĩ |
| Tomorrow | Rũũ |
| Come here | Ncũ aga |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringĩra thimũ |
Alphabet
editKimeru is written in a Latin alphabet. It does not use the letters f p q s v x z, and adds the letters ĩ and ũ.[3] The Kimeru alphabet is:
| Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) | |||||||||||||||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | G | H | I | Ĩ | J | K | M | N | O | R | T | U | Ũ | W | Y |
| Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters) | |||||||||||||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | g | h | i | ĩ | j | k | m | n | o | r | t | u | ũ | w | y |
Noun Classes
Kimeru has sixteen noun classes as tabulated below. the classes are grammatical and represent how words fit into sentences. Of the noun classes, classes 1, 3, 4, 9 and ten are irregular while the rest are regular. This implies that verbal, adjectival and conjunction concords are not the same.
Example class 1 verses class 2. class 1- Muntü üjü müraja auma Nairobi. class 2- Antü baba baraja bauma Nairobi.
Class 1-This tall person has come from Nairobi. Class 2. These tall people have come from Nairobi. In class 1 demonstrative 'this' is üjü, with ü as its concord. The adjective -raja has mü as its concord and the verb uma has a as its concord hence 'auma'. on the other hand in class two each of the above cases have ba as a concord. the difference is only in üjü and baba as demonstratives is that all strong classes use double concords as demonstratives.
| Noun class | Exam | This/These | Adjectival | Verbal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1- Mü | Mükürü | Üjü | Mü-raja | A-kwija |
| 2-Ba | Akürü | Baba | Ba-raja | Ba-kwija |
| 3-Mü | Müti | üü/üjü | Mü-raja | ü-kügwa |
| 4-Mï | Mïtï | ïjï/ïno | Mï- raja | ï- kügwa |
| 5- Ri | Riitho | Rïrï | Rï-nene | Rï-kwona |
| 6- Ma | Meetho | Jaja/Mama | Ma-nene | Ma-kwona |
| 7-Kï | Kïara | Gïkï | Kï-nene | Gï-kworonta |
| 8-Bï | Bïara | Bïbi | Bï-nene | Bï-kworonta |
| 9-Ng' | Ng'ombe | Ïjï/Ïno | Ï-nene | Ï-güküra |
| 10-Ng' | Ng'ombe | Ijï/Ino | I-nene | I-güküra |
| 11-Rü | Rüreme | Rürü | Rü-raja | Rü-gücuna |
| 10- Ng' | Ndeme | Ijï/Ino | I- ndaja | I-gücuna |
| 12-Ka | Kana | Gaka | Ka-nini | Ga-gükena |
| 13-Tü | Twana | Tütü | Tü-nini | Tü-gükena |
| 14- Bü | Ücürü | Bübü | Bü-rüru | Bü-küthira |
| 15-Kü | Kügürü | Gükü | Gü-künene | Gü-gükinya |
| 16-A | Antü | Aja/aa | A-nene | A-kürïmwa |
Kimeru follows Dahl's law thus a "K" syllable cannot follow a "K' syllable.
In Media and Popular Culture
editA Kenyan musical group known as High Pitch Band Afrika based in Meru County has done a cover of the Luis Fonsi's popular hit single Despacito in Kimeru language. The Kimeru cover was uploaded on YouTube on July 10, 2017, and has generated over 500,000 views since then.
In Media the Kimeru language is used as the primary broadcast language of several Radio and TV stations in Kenya. Some include: Meru Fm, Muuga Fm, Weru Fm, Weru TV, Baite TV, Thiiri Fm among many others.
References
edit- ^ Meru at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ "5 Steps to get you Writing Kimeru like a Njuri Ncheke Editor - The Ameru". The Ameru. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
