Hehe - Kihehe

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Categories: Languages, Tanzania

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  1.   1.  Classification / Classification
  2.   2.  Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
  3.   3.  Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
  4.   4.  Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
  5.   5.  Usage / Utilisation
  6.   6.  Orthography / Orthographe
    1.   6.1  Status / Statut
    2.   6.2  Sample Alphabet / Alphabet exemple
  7.   7.  Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
    1.   7.1  Fonts / Polices
    2.   7.2  Keyboard layouts / Dispositions de clavier
    3.   7.3  Content on computers & internet / Contenu en informatique et sur l'Internet
    4.   7.4  Localized software / Logiciels localisés
    5.   7.5  Language codes / Codes de langue
    6.   7.6  Other / Autre
  8.   8.  Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation
    1.   8.1  Individuals (experts) / Individuelles (experts)
    2.   8.2  Institutions / Institutions
    3.   8.3  On the internet / Sur la toile
  9.   9.  Comments / Remarques
  10. 10.  References / Références

1.  Classification / Classification

Hehe (Kihehe) belongs to the Bena-Kinga group of Bantoid (G62) of Benue-Congo. (Webbook?)

Ethnologue? lists the Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, G, Bena-Kinga (G.60)

2.  Where Spoken / Localisation géographique

It is spoken in Tanzania south of the Great Ruaha River. (Webbook)

3.  Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs

750,000 (1994 UBS) (Ethnologue)

4.  Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte

No dialect survey has come to our attention. Derek Nurse discusses Hehe in "Description of Sample Languages of Tanzania" (1979) and suggests that Hehe may be mutually intelligible with Bena. To this point, Mary Odden (personal communication, 1985) states that "both my Kihehe informant, Margaret Fivawo, and Enoch Waketi, my Hibena speaker, agreed that although Hibena spoken along the border of the two areas is mutually intelligible with Kihehe, other Bena dialects were not." (Webbook)

According to Ethnologue: Lexical similarity 65% with Bena (closest), 59% with Pangwa, 56% with Sangu, 50% with Kinga, 48% with Wanji.

5.  Usage / Utilisation

Hehe is a local language. (Webbook)

6.  Orthography / Orthographe

6.1  Status / Statut

Not known, though this would be a Latin-based orthography.

6.2  Sample Alphabet / Alphabet exemple

7.  Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC

7.1  Fonts / Polices

7.2  Keyboard layouts / Dispositions de clavier

7.3  Content on computers & internet / Contenu en informatique et sur l'Internet

7.4  Localized software / Logiciels localisés

None known of.

7.5  Language codes / Codes de langue

  • ISO 639-1: -
  • ISO 639-2: -
  • ISO 639-3: heh

7.6  Other / Autre

8.  Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation

8.1  Individuals (experts) / Individuelles (experts)

8.2  Institutions / Institutions

8.3  On the internet / Sur la toile

9.  Comments / Remarques

10.  References / Références

Dwyer, David (1997), Webbook of African Languages, http://africa.isp.msu.edu/afrlang/hiermenu.html (page on "Hehe," http://africa.isp.msu.edu/afrlang/Hehe_root.html )

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Hehe," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/heh

SIL International, "ISO 639 Code Tables," http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp

U.S. Library of Congress, "ISO 639.2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages: Alpha-3 codes arranged alphabetically by the English name of language," http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php

Wikipedia, "Hehe language," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hehe_language

< Hausa | Major Languages | Idoma >

Categories: Languages, Tanzania