Kenya

Kimvita

also: Mombasa Swahili

The historical Swahili variety of Mombasa and the Kenyan coast. The classical literary Swahili of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Sheng

The youth vernacular of urban Kenya, especially Nairobi. A code-mixed register drawing on Swahili, English, and various Kenyan languages.

Oromo

also: Afaan Oromoo

A Cushitic Afroasiatic language and the most-spoken language of Ethiopia, with around 37 million speakers. The official working language of the Oromia Region, written in Latin-based Qubee.

Somali

also: Soomaali

A Cushitic Afroasiatic language and the official language of Somalia. Also widely spoken in Somaliland, Djibouti, the Somali Region of Ethiopia, and north-eastern Kenya.

Maasai

also: Maa, Olmaa

A Nilotic language spoken by the Maasai people across southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. Closely related to Samburu and Camus within the Maa cluster.

Luo

also: Dholuo

A Western Nilotic language of the Luo people of western Kenya around Lake Victoria. Related to Acholi and to the Dinka and Nuer of South Sudan.

Kikuyu

also: Gikuyu, Gĩkũyũ

A Bantu language and the largest indigenous language of Kenya, spoken across the central highlands around Mount Kenya. Around 8 million speakers.

Kamba

also: Kikamba

A Bantu language of south-eastern Kenya, closely related to Kikuyu. Around 4 million speakers across Machakos, Kitui, and Makueni counties.