Kamba - Kikamba

1. Classification / Classification

Kamba belongs to the Central-Kenya Group of Bantu (Guthrie E55). (Webbook)

Ethnologue lists the classification as: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, E, Kikuyu-Kamba (E.20)

2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique

It is spoken in an area southwest of Nairobi, Kenya. (Webbook)

3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs

According to Ethnologue:

• 2,448,300 (1989 census).
• 600,000 second-language speakers

4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte

Heine (1980) states that Kamba is a four-dialect cluster. (Webbook)

According to Ethnologue the four dialects are:

• Masaku
• South Kitui
• North Kitui
• Mumoni

Lexical similarity 67% with Gikuyu, 66% with Embu, 63% with Chuka, 57% to 59% with Meru.

5. Usage / Utilisation

Kamba is a major language in Kenya and is broadcast over the Voice of Kenya. (Webbook)

Literacy rate (according to Ethnologue):

• L1: below 1%
• L2: 25% to 50%

6. Orthography / Orthographe

6.1 Status / Statut

The orthography status of Kamba is unknown as of this writing. (Webbook) [needs updating]

It is Latin-based, and from the samples in 6.2, below, apparently uses some diacritics.

6.2 Sample Alphabet / Alphabet exemple

Samples on the "Language museum" site:

• Kamba http://www.language-museum.com/k/kamba.htm
• Kamba Masaku http://www.language-museum.com/k/kamba-masaku.htm

7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC

7.1 Fonts / Polices

7.2 Keyboard layouts / Dispositions de clavier

7.3 Content on computers & internet / Contenu en informatique et sur l'Internet

7.4 Localized software / Logiciels localisés

None known of.

7.5 Language codes / Codes de langue

• ISO 639-1: -
• ISO 639-2: kam
• ISO/DIS 639-3: kam

7.6 Locales / Paramètres régionaux

Locale data was submitted for this language in March 2006, for OpenOffice and CLDR.

CLDR:

• http://www.unicode.org/cldr/data/charts/summary/kam.html
• http://unicode.org/cldr/apps/survey?s=iDoVv.HVCp3e51Fx2CPhz7DmRSQ,&_=kam

7.7 Other / Autre

8. Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation

8.1 Individuals (experts) / Individuelles (experts)

8.2 Institutions / Institutions

8.3 On the internet / Sur la toile

9. Comments / Remarques

Would it be possible for a localisation strategy to treat Kamba and the several languages that are closely related as a group? (see #4 above)

10. References / Références

Dwyer, David (1997), Webbook of African Languages, http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/hiermenu.html (page on "Kamba," http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/Kamba_root.html )

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Kamba," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kam

SIL International, "ISO 639 Code Tables," http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp

U.S. Library of Congress, "ISO 639.2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages: Alpha-3 codes arranged alphabetically by the English name of language," http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php

Wikipedia, "Kikamba language," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikamba_language

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