Kikuyu or Gikuyu ( ) is a Bantu language spoken by the Gĩkũyũ (Agĩkũyũ) of Kenya. Kikuyu is mainly spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi. The Kikuyu people usually identify their lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in Central Kenya which they call Kĩrĩnyaga. The Gikuyu language is intelligibly similar to its surrounding neighbors, the Meru and Embu. Dialects Kikuyu has four main mutually intelligible dialects. The Central Province districts are divided along the traditional boundaries of these dialects, which are Kĩrĩnyaga, Mũrang'a, Nyeri and Kiambu. The Kikuyu from Kĩrĩnyaga are composed of two main sub-dialects – the Ndia and Gichugu who speak the dialects Kĩndia and Gĩgĩcũgũ. The Gicugus and the Ndias do not have the "ch" or "sh" sound, and will use the "s" sound instead, hence the pronunciation of "Gĩcũgũ" as opposed to "Gĩchũgũ". To hear Ndia being spoken, one needs to be in Kerugoya, the largest town in Kîrînyaga. Other home towns for the Ndia, where "purer" forms of the dialect are spoken, are located in the tea-growing areas of Kagumo, Baricho, Kagio, and the Kangaita hills. Lower down the slopes is Kutus, which is a bustling town with so many influences from the other dialects that it is difficult to distinguish between them. The dialect is also prevalent in the rice growing area of Mwea. The unmistakable tonal patterns of the Gichũgũ dialect (which sounds like Meru or Embu, sister languages to Kikuyu) can be heard in the coffee-growing areas of Kianyaga, Gĩthũre, Kathũngũri, Marigiti. The Gichugu switch easily to other Kikuyu dialects in conversation with the rest of the Kikuyu. Phonology Symbols shown in parentheses are those used in the orthography. Vowels Consonants The prenasalized consonants are often pronounced without prenasalization, and thus are often realized as . Tones Kikuyu has two level tones (high and low), a low-high rising tone, and downstep. Grammar The canonical word order of Gĩkũyũ is SVO (subject–verb–object). It uses prepositions rather than postpositions, and adjectives follow nouns. Alphabet Kikuyu is written in a Latin alphabet. It does not use the letters l f p q s v x z, and adds the letters ĩ and ũ. The Kikuyu alphabet is: a b c d e g h i ĩ j k m n o r t u ũ w y Some sounds are represented by digraphs such as ng for the velar nasal . Sample phrases