# Meru language

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, with 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.

## Sample phrases

| English | Kimeru |
| How are you | Muuga |
| Give me water | Nkundia rũũji/rũi |
| How are you doing? | Ũrĩ ümwega? |
| I am hungry | Ndĩna mpara |
| Help me | Nteithia/Ntethia |
| I am good | Ndĩ mwega |
| Are you a friend? | Wĩ mũcore? |
| Bye, be blessed | Tigwa bwega, tharimwa. |
| I love you | Inkwendete. |
| Come here | Ĩja aja/ Iyu aa |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira thimũ |
I want a cassava||Ndũmia mũanga/mĩanga

## Dialects

Kimeru has seven main mutually intelligible dialects. The dialects include Kiimenti widely used by the Imenti section of the Ameru, Tiania/gitiania used by the Tigania, kiigembe used by the Igembe, Kimwimbi used by the Mwïmbï, Kïmüthambï used by the Müthambï, Gicuka used by the Chuka and Kitharaka used by the Tharaka.

### Imenti dialect

It is the commonly used dialect in Meru. The dialect acts as the lingua franca between all the nine subtribes of Meru. It is the official dialect used in the Kimeru Bible translations. It is commonly used in Nkubu, Timau, Kibirichia, Meru town and Ruiri areas of Meru County.

#### Sample phrases

| English | Imenti |
| How are you | Nĩatĩa ũrĩ? Muuga? |
| Give me water to drink | Nkundia rũũji |
| Home | Nja/Mũciĩ |
| Get out | Uma njaa/ome |
| Get Inside | Kũrũka/Tonya |
| Today | Naarua |
| Tomorrow | Rũüjü |
| Come here | Ĩja aja |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira thimũ |

### The Chuka, Muthambi and Mwimbi dialects

The dialects are more related to Gikuyu and Meru proper, and are common in Igoji, Chogoria and Chuka regions of Meru County and Tharaka Nithi County.

#### Sample phrases

| English | Chuka/Muthambi/Mwimbi |
| How are you | Muuga |
| Give me water to drink | nkundia rũnjĩ/rüjÏ |
| Home | Mũcii |
| Get out | Uma nja |
| Get Inside | Kũrũka/Tonya/Thungira |
| Today | Ũmũnthi |
| Tomorrow | Rũjũ/Rũũ |
| Come here | Üka/Njü aa |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira/Ngakubũrira thimũ |

### Tigania and Igembe dialects

The dialects are mostly spoken in Miraa or Khat growing areas of Muthara, Karama, Kangeta, Maua, Laare and Mutuati in Meru County.

#### Sample phrases

| English | TIgania/Igembe |
| How are you | Muua |
| Give me water to drink | Nkundia Rũĩ |
| Home | Mucie/Mucii |
| Get out | Tũra |
| Get Inside | Unkuma |
| Today | Ruarii |
| Tomorrow | Rũũ/Rũyũ |
| Come here | Ĩya haa/iyu haa |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringira thimũ |

### Tharaka dialect

The dialect is more closely related to the Kamba and Tigania dialects. It is most common in Tharaka areas of Tharaka Nithi County.

#### Sample phrases

| English | Tharaka |
| How are you | Muuga |
| Give me water to drink | Nkundia rũũyĩ |
| Home | Mũciĩ |
| Get out | Uma nja |
| Get Inside | Thũngĩra |
| Today | Ĩmunthĩ |
| Tomorrow | Rũũ |
| Come here | Ncũ aga |
| I will phone you | Ngakũringĩra thimũ |

## Phonology
### Consonants

Consonants of the ImentI, Igoji, Mwimbi, Muthambi & Tharaka dialects :
| | Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar |
| Stop | p b | | t d | c ɟ | k ɡ |
| Fricative | (β) | ð | | ʝ | (ɣ) |
| Nasal | m | | n | ɲ | ŋ |
| Trill | | | r | | |
| Approximant | w | | | j | |
Consonants of the Chuka dialect :
| | Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar |
| Stop | b | | t d | c ɟ | k ɡ |
| Fricative | (β) | ð | | | (ɣ) |
| Nasal | m | | n | ɲ | ŋ |
| Trill | | | r | | |
| Approximant | w | | | j | |
Prenasalized sounds may also occur in word-medial and word-initial positions.
Fricatives [β, ɣ] occur mostly as allophones of stops /b, d/ in intervocalic positions.
/d/ may also be heard as [ɾ] in intervocalic positions.

### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | i iː | | u uː |
| Close-mid | e eː | | o oː |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛː | | ɔ ɔː |
| Open | | a aː | |

## Alphabet

Kimeru is written in a Latin alphabet. It does not use the letters f p q s v x z, and adds the letters ĩ and ũ. The Kimeru alphabet is:
Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) :
| A | B | C | D | E | G | H | I | Ĩ | J | K | M | N | O | R | T | U | Ũ | W | Y |
| Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters) ||||||||||||||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | g | h | i | ĩ | j | k | m | n | o | r | t | u | ũ | w | y |
Noun Classes
Kimeru has sixteen noun classes as tabulated below. the classes are grammatical and represent how words fit into sentences. Of the noun classes, classes 1, 3, 4, 9 and ten are irregular while the rest are regular. This implies that verbal, adjectival and conjunction concords are not the same.
Example class 1 verses class 2. class 1- Muntũ ũjũ mũraja auma Nairobi. class 2- Antũ baba baraja bauma Nairobi.
Class 1-This tall person has come from Nairobi. Class 2. These tall people have come from Nairobi. In class 1 demonstrative 'this' is ũjũ, with ũ as its concord. The adjective -raja has mũ as its concord and the verb uma has a as its concord hence 'auma'. On the other hand in class two each of the above cases have ba as a concord. The difference is only in ũjũ and baba as demonstratives is that all strong classes use double concords as demonstratives.
| Noun class | Exam | This/These | Adjectival | Verbal |
| 1- 'Müũ | Mũkũrũ | Ũjũ | Mũ-raja | A-kwija |
| 2-Ba | Akũrũ | Baba | Ba-raja | Ba-kwija |
| 3-Mũ | Mũti | ũũ/ũjũ | Mũ-raja | ũ-kũgwa |
| 4-Mĩ | Mĩtĩ | ĩjĩ/ĩno | Mĩ- raja | ĩ- kũgwa |
| 5- Ri | Riitho | Rĩrĩ | Rĩ-nene | Rĩ-kwona |
| 6- Ma | Meetho | Jaja/Mama | Ma-nene | Ma-kwona |
| 7-Kĩ | Kĩara | Gĩkĩ | Kĩ-nene | Gĩ-kworonta |
| 8-Bĩ | Bĩara | Bĩbi | Bï-nene | Bï-kworonta |
| 9-Ng' | Ng'ombe | Ïjï/Ïno | Ï-nene | Ï-güküra |
| 10-Ng' | Ng'ombe | Ijï/Ino | I-nene | I-güküra |
| 11-Rü | Rüreme | Rürü | Rü-raja | Rü-gücuna |
| 10- Ng' | Ndeme | Ijï/Ino | I- ndaja | I-gücuna |
| 12-Ka | Kana | Gaka | Ka-nini | Ga-gükena |
| 13-Tü | Twana | Tütü | Tü-nini | Tü-gükena |
| 14- Bü | Ücürü | Bübü | Bü-rüru | Bü-küthira |
| 15-Kü | Kügürü | Gükü | Gü-künene | Gü-gükinya |
| 16-A | Antü | Aja/aa | A-nene | A-kürïmwa |
Kimeru follows Dahl's law thus a "K" syllable cannot follow a "K' syllable.

## In Media and Popular Culture

A Kenyan musical group known as High Pitch Band Afrika based in Meru County has done a cover of the Luis Fonsi's popular hit single Despacito in Kimeru language. The Kimeru cover was uploaded on YouTube on July 10, 2017, and has generated over 500,000 views since then.
In Media the Kimeru language is used as the primary broadcast language of several Radio and TV stations in Kenya. Some include: Meru Fm, Muuga Fm, Weru Fm, Weru TV, Baite TV, Thiiri Fm among many others.