Mijikenda is a
Bantu dialect cluster
A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...
spoken along the coast of East Africa, mostly in
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, where there are 2.6 million speakers (2019 census) but also in
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
, where there are 166,000 speakers. The name ''Mijikenda'' means "the nine settlements" or "the nine communities" and refers to the multiple language communities that make up the group.
An older, derogatory term for the group is ''Nyika'' which refers to the "dry and bushy country" along the coast.
Varieties
The New Updated Guthrie List from 2009 lists the following varieties and Guthrie codes as part of the Mijikenda cluster:
* E72 – North Mijikenda (Nyika)
** E72a –
Giryama yf** E72b – Kauma
** E73c –
Chonyi oh** E73d –
Duruma
The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provin ...
ug** E73e –
Rabai
Rabai, also called Rabai Mpya (New Rabai), is a historic location and Sub-County in Kilifi County, Kenya about 12 miles northwest of the city of Mombasa. It is the first place in Kenya where missionaries of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) est ...
** E73F – Jibana
** E72G – Kambe
** E72H – Ribe
* E73-732 – South Mijikenda
** E73 –
Digo ig** E731 –
Segeju
The Segeju ( Swahili: ''Wasegeju''; Mijikenda: ''Asagidzu'') are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group mostly based in Tanzania's Tanga Region (particularly Mkinga District) and Kenya's Kwale County. Most Segeju reside in the small coastal strip betwee ...
eg** E732 – Degere
The
Degere
The Degere are a Mijikenda-speaking group of former hunter-gatherers of Kenya and Tanzania, now settled along the Ramisi, Mwena and Umba rivers, with a few along the coast. They may number no more than a few hundred to at most a few thousand. ...
are former hunter-gatherers like the Cushitic
Waata
The Waata (Waat, Watha), or Sanye, are an Oromo-speaking people of Kenya and former hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or al ...
, and are said to have once spoken a
Cushitic language
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 Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As of 2 ...
.
The Ethnologue
lists the following variety groupings:
*
coh">Chonyi_language.html" ;"title="nowiki/>
coh – Chonyi, Jibana
* [
Duruma language">dug">Chonyi language">coh">Chonyi_language.html" ;"title="nowiki/>
coh – Chonyi, Jibana
*
dug– Duruma
* [
Digo language">dig">Chonyi language">coh – Chonyi, Jibana
*
dug– Duruma
* [
Digo language">dig– Digo
* [
Giryama language">nyf">nowiki/>Duruma language">dug– Duruma
* [
Digo language">dig– Digo
*
nyf– Giryama, Ribe, Kambe, Chwaka, Rabai, Kauma
* [
Segeju language">seg">nowiki/>Giryama language">nyf– Giryama, Ribe, Kambe, Chwaka, Rabai, Kauma
* [
Segeju language">seg– Segeju
''Ethnologue's'' 'Duruma' may refer to the same thing as Maho's 'Degere', as the Degere are variously reported to speak Duruma, Digo, or a similar dialect of their own.
Clicks
Clicks have been reported in ideophones from two dialects of Mijikenda:
Digo and Duruma. (It is not known if they occur in the others.) These are ''tsya!'' 'scram!' and 'minute'. It is not known if these have any connection with the neighbouring Cushitic language
Dahalo.
References
* Walsh, M.T. (2006)
"A Click in Digo and its Historical Interpretation" ''Azania'', 41.
{{Authority control
Northeast Coast Bantu languages
Click languages