| Luhya | |
|---|---|
| Luyia | |
| Oluluhya | |
| Native to | Kenya |
| Ethnicity | Luhya |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | luy – inclusive code (includes all languages spoken by ethnic Luhya, not just the following)[1]Individual codes: lrm – Maramalwg – Wanga (Hanga)lks – Kisalto – Tsotsolkb – Kabrasnle – (East) Nyala |
| Glottolog | cent2288 Central Luyia (incl. some Nyore)kabr1240 Kabras |
JE.32[2] | |
Luhya (/ˈluːjə/; alsoLuyia,Oluluyia,Luhia orLuhiya) is aBantu language ofwesternKenya.
The variousLuhya tribes speak several related languages and dialects, though some of them are no closer to each other than they are to neighboring non-Luhya languages. For example, theBukusu people are ethnically Luhya, but theBukusu dialect is a variety ofMasaba. (SeeLuhya people for details.) However, there is a core ofmutually intelligible dialects that comprise Luhya proper:[3]
A comparison between two dialects of Luhya proper, and to two other Bantu languages spoken by the Luhya:
| English | Kisa | Logoli | Nyole | Wanga |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I (me) | eshie | nzi/ inze | ise | esie |
| words | amakhuwa | makuva | amang'ana, amakhuwa | amakhuwa |
| chair | eshifumbi | indeve/ endeve | indebe | eshisala |
| head | omurwe | mutwi | omurwe | om'rwe |
| money | amapesa | mang'ondo | amang'ondo, am'mondo, etsilupia | amapesa, irupia |
| English | Luhya | Kikuyu | Kinyarwanda | Lingala | Luganda | Shona | Swahili | Zulu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| children | abana, baana, otwana, orwana, vaana | twana | abana | bana | baana, abaana | vana | wana | abantwana |
| dog | imbwa | ngui (pron. gui) | imbwa | mbwa | mbwa, embwa | mbwa, imbwa | mbwa | inja |
| fire | omuliro | mwaki | umuriro | moto | omuliro | moto | moto | umlilo |
The following is the phonology of the Luwanga dialect:[4]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | u uː | |
| Mid | e eː | o oː | |
| Open | a aː |
| Bilabial | Labio- dental | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | plain | p | t | k | |||
| prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑɡ | |||
| Affricate | ts | tʃ | |||||
| Fricative | plain | β | f | s | ʃ | x | |
| prenasal | ⁿz | ||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Trill | r | ||||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | ||||
