Meru - Kimeru

1. Classification / Classification

Meru, or Kimeru, is a Bantu language.

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

2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique

Meru District, Eastern Province, northeast of Mt. Kenya in Kenya. (Ethnologue)

3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs

1,305,000 (1994 I. Larsen BTL) (Ethnologue)

4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte

Dialect survey work for Kenya languages is offered in Heine and Möhlig (l980). (Webbook)

According to Ethnologue, Meru has the following dialects:

• Meru
• Igembe
• Tigania
• Imenti
• Miutini
• Igoji

Lexical similarity 85% between Imenti and Tigania. 67% similarity with Chuka, 63% with Embu and Gikuyu, 57% with Kamba. (Ethnologue)

5. Usage / Utilisation

Meru is a local first language and one of the languages broadcast over the Voice of Kenya. (Webbook)

Literacy rate (according to Ethnologue):

• L1: 5% to 10%
• L2: 25% to 50%

6. Orthography / Orthographe

6.1 Status / Statut

Although Kimeru has seven vowels, only five are used in the (Latin-based) orthography. (Webbook)

6.2 Sample Alphabet / Alphabet exemple

A sample text is shown on the "Language Museum" site: http://www.language-museum.com/m/meru.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: -
• ISO/DIS 639-3: mer

7.6 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 Meru and the several languages that are closely related as a group for some purposes? (see #4 above)

10. References / Références

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

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

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, "Meru language," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meru_language

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