Kamba language

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For other uses, see Kamba language (disambiguation).
Kamba
Kikamba
Native to Kenya, Tanzania
Region Machakos, Kitui, Makueni and Shimba Hills
Native speakers
 3.9 million  (2009 census)[1]
600,000 L2 speakers
Niger–Congo
  • Atlantic–Congo
    • Benue–Congo
      • Southern Bantoid
        • Bantu
          • Northeast Bantu
            • Kikuyu–Kamba
              • South
                • Kamba–Daiso
                  • Kamba
Language codes
ISO 639-2 kam
ISO 639-3 Either:
kam – Kamba
dhs – Dhaiso (Thaisu)
E.55–56[2]

The Kamba /ˈkæmbə/[3] language, or Kikamba, is a Bantu language spoken by the Kamba people of Kenya. It is spoken by 5,000 people in Tanzania (Thaisu).

The Kamba language has lexical similarities to other Bantu languages such as Kikuyu, Meru, and Embu.

In Kenya, Kamba is generally spoken in 4 out of the forty-seven Counties of Kenya. These counties are Machakos, Kitui and Makueni. The Machakos variety is considered the standard variety of the three dialects and has been used in the translation of the Bible.[citation needed]

References

  1. ↑ Kamba reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
    Dhaiso (Thaisu) reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
  2. ↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ↑ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
  • Mwau, John Harun (2006). Kikamba Dictionary: Kikamba-English, Kikamba-Kikamba, English-Kikamba. ISBN 9966-773-09-6.

External links

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