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Historical African Languages Database (HALD)

English-Kikuyu Vocabulary (1904)

This is a bilingual dictionary of English and Kikuyu compiled by Andrew Wallace McGregor in Kenya.

Figure 1. Andrew Wallace McGregor

Brief Notes on Language

Kikuyu, or Gĩgĩkũyũ, is a Bantu language spoken in central Kenya by about 6 million people. It is part of the Central Kenya Bantu language family, which also includes Kamba, Embu, and Meru.

Kikuyu is referenced as:

kik in Ethnologue (https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kik/)

E.51 Kikuyu, Gikuyu in Maho’s updated Guthrie Classification Codes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuyu_language

Language Sources

McGregor collected words near Kabeti (Fort Smith) in the Kikuyu district of Kenya in 1901 and 1902 while a missionary for the Church Missionary Society.

Editorial Notes

McGregor described it as difficult to search for every word of a new language from "very unwilling and unintelligent natives." No other mention of his research process is described. He adopted the othography developed by the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain (English consonants, Italian vowels). All verbs are presented in the infinitive form, and he presents some minimal remarks on phonology to aid pronunciation. Closely related words are arranged as parent-child entries.

Type of Language Resource

This is a vocabulary with minimal one-to-one word or phrase pairings, organized alphabetically in English. It provides parts of speech and the plural prefix for Kikuyu words to indicate noun class. The editor explains how to identify the plural form of nouns, including how to substitute the plural prefix for the singular prefix. No other gramatical information or notes.

ENTRY TEMPLATE

[Headword, {usage note}] [part of speech abbreviation.] [{“ alternative word, part of speech.}] [one to three tabs shown by periods] [Translation {(usage note)}] [(noun class plural marker).]

Figure 2 Template notes

Minimal Examples

Abashment, n. . . Thoni

Indian, n. . . . Muhindi (A-).

Maximal Examples

Abate, to . . . Korutaruta. Kothirathira. Konyihanyiha.

Abuse, to (by words) . Koruma. Korumana. Korteeta.

“ (by act) . . Korutira muru.

Abode, n. . . . Nyumba. (s. & p.) Muchiyi (Mi-). Keturi (Ma-).

Admit, to . . . . Kotonyia. (concede) Kuitikia. (confess)

Ignore, to . . . Korora (negatively). Kotiga.

Importance, adj. . . -nene. -gochil.

'In prep. . . . Theni. -ini (suffix to noun).

Abbreviations

We have often expanded abbreviations in the database. However, users consulting the images may find the abbreviations table below helpful.

Bantu Noun Class Treatment

There is no discussion or tables of noun classes. However, the editor does provide the plural prefix marker of nouns through which noun classes can be inferred.

HALD Bantu Noun Class Table

The following chart adapts the conventional treatment of noun classes in Kikuyu to HALD’s standardized chart. A capitalized N in this chart represents a nasal prefix, which usually presents as /n/ but may also present as /ŋ/,/mb/, or /ny/.