Kikuyu

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Swahili askari.[1]

Pronunciation

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This ũ is pronounced long.[1]

As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 10 with a trisyllabic stem, together with gĩting'ũri, ndigithũ, kĩĩgunyĩ, and so on.

  • (Kiambu)
  • (Limuru) IPA(key): /mòːðìɣáɾíꜜ/
As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including biribiri, cibũ (chief), gĩkabũ (pl. ikabũ), gĩtara, ithanwa, ithandũkũ, kĩng'aurũ, mũthũ, mwatũka, mbũkũ, ndigithũ, njata, rũbutu (pl. mbutu), thaburia, and so on.[2]
  • (Murang'a) IPA(key): /mòːðìɣáɾíꜜ/
The same underlying pattern as that of mũrataguo (thy friend).[3]
  • (Ndia) IPA(key): /mòːðíɣáɾì/
The same underlying pattern as that of gĩkorora and nyamĩndigi.[3]
  • (Nyeri) IPA(key): /mòːðìɣáɾíꜜ/
The same underlying pattern as that of mũthandũkũ (box) and carahani.[3]

Noun

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mũthigari class 1 (plural athigari)

  1. soldier
    Synonym: thigari
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(Nouns)

See also

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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 thigari” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 508. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  2. ^ Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1981). "A Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns: A Study of Limuru Dialect." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 22, 75–123.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kagaya, Ryohei (1982). "Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns in Three Dialects: Murang'a, Nyeri and Ndia." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 24, 1–42.