| Mijikenda | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Kenya, Tanzania |
| Region | Mombasa and Kwale districts in Kenya; Muheza and Tanga 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 a Bantu dialect cluster spoken along the coast of East Africa, mostly in Kenya, where there are 2.6 million speakers (2019 census) but also in Tanzania, 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.[3] An older, derogatory term for the group is Nyika which refers to the "dry and bushy country" along the coast.[3]
- ^ Chonyi at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Digo at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Duruma at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Giryama at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Segeju at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ a b Heine, Bernd; Möhlig, Wilhelm J.G. (1980). Language and Dialect Atlas of Kenya vol 1. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag. pp. 17–22. ISBN 3-496-00144-5.
