| Mijikenda | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Kenya,Tanzania |
| Region | Mombasa andKwale districts in Kenya;Muheza andTanga districts in Tanzania |
| Ethnicity | Mijikenda,Chonyi,Digo,Giryama,Jibana,Duruma,Kambe,Kauma,Ribe,Rabai |
Native speakers | 2.6 million (2019 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:coh – Chonyidig – Digodug – Durumanyf – Giryamaseg – Segeju |
| Glottolog | miji1238 |
E.72,73,731,732[2] | |
| ELP | Segeju |
Mijikenda is aBantudialect cluster spoken along the coast of East Africa, mostly inKenya, where there are 2.6 million speakers (2019 census) but also inTanzania, where there are 166,000 speakers. The nameMijikenda means "the nine settlements" or "the nine communities" and refers to the multiple language communities that make up the group.[3] An older, derogatory term for the group isNyika which refers to the "dry and bushy country" along the coast.[3]
The New Updated Guthrie List from 2009[4] lists the following varieties and Guthrie codes as part of the Mijikenda cluster:
TheDegere are former hunter-gatherers like the CushiticWaata, and are said to have once spoken aCushitic language.
The Ethnologue[5] lists the following variety groupings:
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 have been reported inideophones from two dialects of Mijikenda:Digo and Duruma. (It is not known if they occur in the others.) These aretsya!/ʇ̃ǎ/ 'scram!' and/ʇ̃akule/ 'minute'. It is not known if these have any connection with the neighbouring Cushitic languageDahalo.
