Meru language

For the language spoken in Tanzania and sometimes known as Meru, see West Kilimanjaro language.
Meru
Kimîîru
Native to Kenya
Region Mount Kenya and Eastern Province
Native speakers
 2.0 million (2009 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
mer – Meru
thk – Tharaka
mws – Mwimbi-Muthambi
cuh – Cuka
Glottolog nort3214  (Meru–Tharaka–Cuka)[2]
mwim1241[3]
E.53,531,54,541[4]

Meru is the language spoken by the Meru people (Ameru) who live on the Eastern and Northern slopes of Mount Kenya, Kenya, Africa and on the Nyambene ranges. They settled in this area after centuries of migration from the north.

The Meru people are a fairly homogeneous community and all share a common ancestry. They speak the same language, Kimeru, but there are some slight regional differences, in accent and local words. The community comprises the following subdivisions; from the north to south:

As the Meru language is similar to its surrounding neighbors, the Kikuyu and Embu could have possibly adopted parts of Meru.

References

  1. ↑ Meru at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Tharaka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Mwimbi-Muthambi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Cuka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Northern Central Kenya Bantu". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Mwimbi–Muthambi". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  4. ↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
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