Kihehe (also Hehe or Ikihehe) is a tonal Bantu language spoken in Iringa Region in south-central Tanzania. With over 1 million speakers, Kihehe is one of the most spoken languages of Tanzania, but it is nevertheless losing speakers (https://ethnologue.com/language/heh/). It belongs to the Atlantic-Congo branch of the Niger-Kordofanian language family and is given Guthrie’s number G62 (Hammarström 2019). G60 designates a geographical zone grouping together six closely related Bantu languages (Guthrie 1948): Kisangu (G61), Kibena (G63), Kipangwa (G64), Kikinga (G65), Kiwanji (G66), and Kikisi (G67) (Simon & Charles 2017). However, Kihehe’s closest relative is Kibena, spoken in Njombe Region.
Kihehe (Ikihehe) ni lugha ya Kibantu yenye viini toni inayozungumzwa katika Mkoa wa Iringa, kusini-kati mwa Tanzania. Inakadiriwa kuwa na wazungumzaji zaidi ya milioni moja. Pamoja na kwamba Kihehe ni miongoni mwa lugha zenye wazungumzaji wengi zaidi nchini Tanzania, lakini inapoteza wazungumzaji kwasababu hairithishwi kwa watoto (https://ethnologue.com/language/heh/). Lugha hii inanasibishwa na tawi la Atlantic-Congo la familia ya lugha za Niger-Kordofanian na imepewa namba ya Guthrie G62 (Hammarström 2019). G60 inaashiria eneo la kijiografia linalojumuisha lugha nyingine sita za Kibantu zinazohusiana kwa karibu na Kihehe (Guthrie 1948). Lugha hizo ni Kisangu (G61), Kibena (G63), Kipangwa (G64), Kikinga (G65), Kiwanji (G66), na Kikisi (G67) (Simon & Charles 2017). Hata hivyo, lugha inayokaribiana zaidi na Kihehe ni Kibena, inayozungumzwa katika Mkoa wa Njombe.
How to use the dictionary
Kihehe lacks a distinct written orthography but speakers utilize the Kiswahili orthographic system when writing and that is the system we use here. In addition, we have generally followed the practices of Swahili dictionaries in formatting the entries. All of the nouns are listed with their singular noun class prefix. Adjectives and possessive pronouns are listed without prefixes, and thus their entries are presented using a hyphen. The adjective and possessive prefixes match with the noun that they go with when used in context. Verbs are similarly written as bound stems with a hyphen and need appropriate inflectional prefixes/suffixes to be pronounced. For more information about the structure of Kihehe, please see “Grammar.”