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The Gusii language (also known as Ekegusii) is a Bantu language spoken in Kisii County and Nyamira County counties in Nyanza Province, Kenya, whose headquarters is Kisii Town (between the Kavirondo Gulf of Lake Victoria and the border with Tanzania). It is spoken natively by 2.2 million people (as of 2009), mostly among the Abagusii. Ekegusii has only two dialects: The Rogoro (upper-side) and Maate (lower-side) dialects. Phonologically, they differ in the articulation of /t/. Most of the variations existing between the two dialects are lexical. The two dialects can refer to the same object or thing using different terms. An example of this is the word for cat. While one dialect calls a cat ekemoni, the other calls it ekebusi (a word that comes from the sound used to call a cat in Gusii culture). Another illustrating example can be found in the word for sandals. While the Rogoro word for sandals is chisiripasi (a loanword from the English word "slippers"), the Maate dialect word is chitaratara (adapted from the sound made by sandals when one walks while wearing them). Many more lexical differences manifest in the language. The Maate dialect is spoken in Tabaka and Bogirango. Most of the other regions use the Rogoro dialect, which is also the standard dialect of Ekegusii.
| + Phonetic inventory of vowels in Gusii ! !!Front vowel!!Central vowel!!Back vowel | |
| Close vowel | u |
| Close-mid vowel | o |
| Open-mid vowel | ɔ |
| Open vowel |
| +Phonemic inventory of consonants in Gusii |
| +Phonetic inventory of consonants in Gusii |
The following morphophonology occur:
The Gusii language has the consonant 'b' not realized as the bilabial stop as in 'bat' but as bilabial fricative as in words like baba, baminto, abana.
| 1 | omo-aba | omonto | person/human | abanto | people/humans | |
| 2 | omo-eme | omotwe | head | emetwe | head | |
| 3 | e-ch | eng'ombe | cow | chiombe | cows | |
| 4 | ege-ebi | egekombe | cup | ebikombe | cups | |
| 5 | ri-ama | ritunda | fruit | amatunda | fruits | |
| 6 | o-o | obwoba | cowardness | obwoba | cowardness | |
| 7 | e-e | ekegusii | ekegusii | ----------- | ----------- | |
| 8 | ama-ama | amabere | milk | amabere | milk | |
| 9 | omo-i-seke | omoiseke | girl | aba-i-seke | girls | |
| 10 | -------------- | ------------ |
| 1 | eyemo | 1 | 11 | ikomi nemo | 10+1 |
| 2 | ibere | 2 | 12 | ikomi na ibere | 10+2 |
| 3 | isato | 3 | 13 | ikomi na isato | 10+3 |
| 4 | inye | 4 | 14 | ikomi na inye | 10+4 |
| 5 | isano | 5 | 15 | ikomi na isano | 10+5 |
| 6 | isano nemo | 5+1 | 16 | ikomi na isano nemo | 10+5+1 |
| 7 | isano na ibere | 5+2 | 17 | ikomi na isano na ibere | 10+5+2 |
| 8 | isano na isato | 5+3 | 18 | ikomi na isano na isato | 10+5+3 |
| 9 | kianda | 9 | 19 | ikomi na kianda | 10+9 |
| 10 | ikomi | 10 | 20 | emerongo ebere | 20 |
| Bwakire buya |
| Obotuko obuya |
| omotwe |
| ogoto |
| amache |
| mogoroba |
| sokoro |
| komanya |
| gokama |
| etigere/ebunda |
| ense |
| menya |
| inka |
| rero |
| risase/omobaso |
| esese |
| -tenena |
| -manya |
| -rora |
| rogoro |
| enyancha |
| eroro |
| omorwani |
| amabere |
| esibeni |
| esike |
| omosubati |
| gesa/rigesa |
| rera |
| tara |
| Rigereria |
| mambia |
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