Meru language

Meru
Kĩmĩĩrũ
Native toKenya
RegionMeru County and Tharaka Nithi County
EthnicityAmeru
Native speakers
2.0 million (2019 census)[1]
Dialects
  • Igembe
  • Igoji
  • Imenti
  • Miutini
  • Nuclear Meru
  • Tigania
  • Tharaka
  • Chuka
  • Mwimbi-Muthambi
Language codes
ISO 639-3
mer – Meru
Glottologmeru1245  Meru
E.53,531,54,541[2]

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 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 close to neighbouring Cushitic and Nilotic communities)
  • Imenti
  • Tharaka (Saraka)
  • Igoji
  • Mwimbi–Muthambi
  • Chuka (Gicuka)

As the Meru language is similar to its surrounding neighbors, the Kikuyu and Embu could have possibly adopted parts of Meru.

  1. ^ Meru at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online