Kuria is a Bantu language spoken by the Kuria people of Northern Tanzania, with some speakers also residing in Kenya.
Maho (2009) treats the Simbiti, Hacha, Surwa, and Sweta varieties as distinct languages.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Prenasalized plosive | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑg | ||
| Plosive/affricate | t | t͡ʃ | k | ||
| Fricative | β | s | ɣ | h | |
| Approximant | j | ||||
| Tap/flap | ɾ | ||||
| Trill | r |
Vowels
| Front | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +ATR | -ATR | +ATR | -ATR | |
| Close | i | u | ||
| Mid | e | ɛ | o | ɔ |
| Open | a | |||
All vowels contrast length, and can be either short or long.
Alphabet
| Kuria alphabet (Kenya)[5][4][6] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uppercase | A | B | Ch | E | Ë | G | H | I | K | M | N | Nd | Ny | Ng’ | O | Ö | R | Rr | S | T | U | W | Y | ||||
| Lowercase | a | b | ch | e | ë | g | h | i | k | m | n | nd | ny | ng’ | o | ö | r | rr | s | t | u | w | y | ||||
| IPA Symbol | a | β | t͡ʃ | e | ɛ | ɣ | h | i | k | m | n | n͡d | ɲ | ŋ | o | ɔ | ɾ | r | s | t | u | w | j | ||||
Bibliography
- Jelle Cammenga, Igikuria phonology and morphology : a Bantu language of South-West Kenya and North-West Tanzania, Köppe, Köln, 2004, 351 p. ISBN 3896450298 (revised text of a thesis)
- S. M. Muniko, B. Muita oMagige and M. J. Ruel (ed.), Kuria-English dictionary, LIT, Hambourg, 1996, 137 p. ISBN 3825829510
- W. H. Whiteley, The structure of the Kuria verbal and its position in the sentence, University of London, 1955, 161 p. (thesis)
- Phebe Yoder, Tata na Baba = Father and Mother : a first Kuria reader, Musoma Press, Musoma, Tanganyika, 1949, 44 p.
References
- ^ Ethnologue entry for Kuria
- ^ Kuria at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
- ^ a b c Nyauma, Shem (2014). “A Phonological Reconstruction Of Ekegusii And Egekuria Nouns: A Comparative Analysis” (PDF). Masters Thesis, University of Nairobi.
- ^ Rhonda L. Hartell, ed. 1993. The Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO and Summer Institute of Linguistics
- ^ Hartell, Rhonda, ed. (1993). Alphabets of Africa. UNESCO Regional Office in Dakar (BREDA). p. 186. ISBN 92-9091-020-3.
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