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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 (2009 census)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Northeast Bantu Thagiicu North Thagiicu Meru
Dialects	Igembe Igoji Imenti Miutini Nuclear Meru Tigania
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mer – Meru
Glottolog	meru1245  Meru
Guthrie code	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, but there are some 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) (marginal intelligibility with Meru proper and with Gikuyu.

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

Sample phrases

English	Kimeru
How are you	Muuga
Give me water	Mpa rũũji/rũi
How are you doing?	Ũrĩ o mwega?
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	Ikwendete.
Come here	Ĩja aja/ Iyu aa
I will phone you	Ngakũringira thimũ

Dialects

Kimeru 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 and Muthambi used by the Igoji and Chogoria, Gicuka used by the Chuka and Kitharaka used by the Tharaka.

Imenti dialect

It 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

English	Imenti
How are you	Nĩatĩa ũrĩ? Muuga?
Give me water	Mpa rũũji
Home	Nja/Mũciĩ
Get out	Uma njaa/ome
Get Inside	Kũrũka/Tonya
Today	Naarua
Tomorrow	Rũjo
Come here	Ĩja aja
I will phone you	Ngakũringira thimũ

The Chuka, Muthambi and Mwimbi dialects

Chuka dialect
Language family	Niger–Congo? Chuka dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3	cuh
Glottolog	chuk1274  Chuka

Muthambi dialect
Language family	Niger–Congo? Muthambi dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mws
Glottolog	muth1242  Muthambi

Mwimbi dialect
Language family	Niger–Congo? Mwimbi dialect
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

English	Chuka/Muthambi/Mwimbi
How are you	Muuga
Give me water	Mpa maaĩ/rũnjĩ
Home	Mũcii
Get out	Uma nja
Get Inside	Kũrũka/Tonya/Thungira
Today	Ũmũnthi
Tomorrow	Rũjũ/Rũũ
Come here	Ũka aja
I will phone you	Ngakũringira/Ngakubũrira thimũ

Tigania and Igembe dialects

Tigania dialect
Language family	Niger–Congo? Tigania dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	tiga1244  Tigania

Igembe dialect
Language family	Niger–Congo? Igembe dialect
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

English	TIgania/Igembe
How are you	Muua
Give me water	Nthaania/mpa Rũĩ
Home	Mucie/Mucii
Get out	Tũra
Get Inside	Unkuma
Today	Naarua/Ruarii
Tomorrow	Rũũ/Rũyũ
Come here	Ĩya haa
I will phone you	Ngakũringira thimũ

Tharaka dialect

Tharaka dialect
Language family	Niger–Congo? Tharaka dialect
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

English	Tharaka
How are you	Muuga
Give me water	Mpa 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

Kimeru 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. The Kimeru alphabet is:

'a b c d e g h i ĩ j k m n o r t u ũ w y[3]

In Media and Popular Culture

A 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

External links

• Meru dictionary
• PanAfrican L10n page on Meru
• "page on Meru History

На других языках

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- [en] Meru language

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[fr] Meru (langue)

Le meru (ou kimeru) est une langue bantoue parlée par la population meru au Kenya. Selon le census kenyan de 2009, 2 000 000 personnes parlent le meru[1].

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[ru] Меру (язык)

Меру (меру Kimîîru) — один из языков банту, язык народа меру. Распространён в округе Меру Восточной провинции в Кении. Число носителей — около 1,9 млн (2009 г.). Меру близок к другим языкам своей зоны бантоидных языков, в частности кикуйю. Иногда рассматривается как диалект кикуйю. Имеет диалекты игембе, игоджи, именти, кука (гикука, чука), мвимби-мутхамби, меру (бейк), миутини, тигания (тиания) и тхарака (сарака). Отличается от языка меру (западнокилиманджарский, рва), на котором говорят в Танзании.

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