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 Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

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: *Igembe *Tigania (Tiania) (

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

close to neighbouring

Cushitic The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and the Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As o ...

and

Nilotic The Nilotic peoples are people indigenous to the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. Among these are the Burun-sp ...

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 Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: * Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cent ...

and Embu could have possibly adopted parts of Meru.

Sample phrases

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

The Chuka, Muthambi and Mwimbi dialects

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

Tigania and Igembe dialects

The dialects are mostly spoken in Miraa or Khat growing areas of Muthara, Karama, Kangeta, Maua, Laare and Mutuati in Meru County.

Sample phrases

Tharaka dialect

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

Alphabet

Kimeru is written in a Latin alphabet. I
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''

In Media and Popular Culture

A Kenyan musical group known as High Pitch Band Afrika based in

Meru County Meru County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, located in the former Eastern Province. The county lies between 0° 6′ North and 0° 1′ South and between latitudes 37° West and 38° East. It borders Isiolo County to the North, Tharaka/Nit ...

has done a cover of the

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being " Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

's popular hit single

Despacito "Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album '' Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi ...

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 dictionaryPanAfrican L10n page on Meru
Northeast Bantu languages Languages of Kenya {{Bantu-lang-stub