| Luhya | |
| Also Known As: | Luyia |
| Nativename: | Oluluhya |
| States: | Kenya |
| Ethnicity: | Luhya |
| Speakers: | million |
| Date: | 2019 census |
| Ref: | e27 |
| Script: | Latin |
| Familycolor: | Niger-Congo |
| Fam2: | Atlantic–Congo |
| Fam3: | Volta-Congo |
| Fam4: | Benue–Congo |
| Fam5: | Bantoid |
| Fam6: | Southern Bantoid |
| Fam7: | Bantu |
| Fam8: | Northeast Bantu |
| Fam9: | Great Lakes Bantu |
| Fam10: | Masaba–Luhya |
| Iso3: | luy |
| Iso3comment: | (includes all languages spoken by ethnic Luhya, not just the following)[1] |
| Lc1: | lrm |
| Ld1: | Marama |
| Lc2: | lwg |
| Ld2: | Wanga (Hanga) |
| Lc3: | lks |
| Ld3: | Kisa |
| Lc4: | lto |
| Ld4: | Tsotso |
| Lc5: | lkb |
| Ld5: | Kabras |
| Lc6: | nle |
| Ld6: | (East) Nyala |
| Glotto: | cent2288 |
| Glottoname: | Central Luyia (incl. some Nyore) |
| Glottorefname: | Central Luyia |
| Glotto2: | kabr1240 |
| Glottoname2: | Kabras |
| Guthrie: | JE.32 |
Luhya (; also Luyia, Oluluyia, Luhia or Luhiya) is a Bantu language of western Kenya.
The various Luhya tribes speak several related languages and dialects, though some of them are no closer to each other than they are to neighboring non-Luhya languages. For example, the Bukusu people are ethnically Luhya, but the Bukusu dialect is a variety of Masaba. (See Luhya people for details.) However, there is a core of mutually intelligible dialects that comprise Luhya proper:[2]
A comparison between two dialects of Luhya proper, and to two other Bantu languages spoken by the Luhya:
| English | Kisa | Logoli | Nyole | Wanga | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I (me) | eshie | nzi/ inze | ise | esie | |
| words | amakhuwa | makuva | amang'ana, amakhuwa | amakhuwa | |
| chair | eshifumbi | indeve/ endeve | indebe | eshisala | |
| head | omurwe | mutwi | omurwe | om'rwe | |
| money | amapesa | mang'ondo | amang'ondo, am'mondo, etsilupia | amapesa, irupia |
| English | Luhya | Kikuyu | Kinyarwanda | Lingala | Luganda | Shona | Swahili | Zulu | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| children | abana, baana, otwana, orwana, vaana | twana | abana | bana | baana, abaana | vana | wana | abantwana | |
| dog | imbwa | ngui (pron. gui) | imbwa | mbwa | mbwa, embwa | mbwa, imbwa | mbwa | inja | |
| fire | omuliro | mwaki | umuriro | moto | omuliro | moto | moto | umlilo |
The following is the phonology of the Luwanga dialect:[3]
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | u uː | ||
| Mid | e eː | o oː | ||
| Open | a aː |
| Bilabial | Labio- dental | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | plain | p | t | k | ||||
| prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑɡ | ||||
| Affricate | ts | tʃ | ||||||
| Fricative | plain | β | f | s | ʃ | x | ||
| prenasal | ⁿz | |||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||||
| Trill | r | |||||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |||||