Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Gikuyu language

Gikuyu language

9.1
A language spoken by the Kikuyu people in central Kenya
  • noun
: idioma gikuyu
  • The Gikuyu language is taught in some Kenyan schools to preserve cultural heritage.

Examples

  • Many children in Kenya learn the Gikuyu language at home.

  • Many traditional stories have been preserved in the Gikuyu language.

  • He is fluent in both English and Gikuyu language.

  • The Gikuyu language is rich in proverbs.

  • Many traditional stories have been preserved in the Gikuyu language.

  • The Gikuyu language is taught in some Kenyan schools to preserve cultural heritage.

  • Many children in Kenya learn the Gikuyu language at home.

Synonyms

Gikuyu
vsGikuyu language
1 9.9

A language spoken by the Kikuyu people in central Kenya

is the longer full form of the name rather than the shorter form

Surface Forms

Gikuyu language singular
Gikuyu languages plural

Morphology

Gikuyu + language

The phrase is fully compositional: 'Gikuyu' identifies the specific ethnolinguistic group or its speech form and 'language' denotes a linguistic system, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to the Gikuyu language spoken by the Kikuyu people. This naming pattern ('X language') is cross-linguistically common and non-idiomatic, so the meaning is immediately transparent.

Etymology

Gikuyu language comes from the name of the Gikuyu people, also called 'Kikuyu', who live in central Kenya. That's why Gikuyu + language simply means the language those people speak.