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 +Kuria consonant phonemes Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Nasal Prenasalized plosive Plosive/affricate Fricative Approximant Tap/flap Trill
Vowels +Kuria vowels Front Back +ATR -ATR +ATR -ATR Close Mid Open
All vowels contrast length, and can be either short or long.
Alphabet Kuria alphabet (Kenya)Rhonda L. Hartell, ed. 1993. The Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO and Summer Institute of Linguistics 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. (revised text of a thesis) S. M. Muniko, B. Muita oMagige and M. J. Ruel (ed.), Kuria-English dictionary, LIT, Hambourg, 1996, 137 p. 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