itarara

itarara

Kikuyu

itarara (Python sebae)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ìtá(ː)ɾàːɾáꜜ/

Benson (1964) shows that the first and second a are pronounced long,[1] while Yukawa (1981:122, 1985:199) claims that only the second one is long.[2][3]

As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 8 with a trisyllabic stem, together with ngũngũni, batĩrĩ, and so on.

• (Kiambu) Yukawa (1981, 1985) classifies this term into groups including kĩĩhuruta, njegeeke, gĩtumumu in common.[2][3]

• (Limuru) As for Tonal Class,  Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including gĩcigĩrĩra, gĩtumumu, mindira, ngũngũni, and so on.[2]

Noun

itarara class 5 (plural matarara)

1. python[4][5][6], especially (African) rock python[1][7] (Python sebae)

References

1. “itarara” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 433. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
2. Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1981). "A Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns: A Study of Limuru Dialect." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 22, 75–123.
3. Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1985). "A Second Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 29, 190–231.
4. Koigi wa Wamwere (2002). I Refuse to Die: My Journey For Freedom, p. 74. Seven Stories Press.
5. Leakey, L. S. B. (1977). The Southern Kikuyu before 1903, v. I, p. 461. ISBN 0-12-439901-0
6. Muiru, David N. (2007). Wĩrute Gĩgĩkũyũ: Marĩtwa Ma Gĩgĩkũyũ Mataũrĩtwo Na Gĩthũngũ, pp. 9, 33.
7. Ehret, C. and E. D. Elderkin and D. Nurse (1989). "Dahalo lexis and its sources", p. 8. In Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 18, pp. 5–49. Schriftenreihe des Kölner Instituts für Afrikanistik, University of Cologne.