Editing Gusii language (section)

{{Short description|Bantu language spoken in western Kenya}}
{{For|the Abagusii or |Gusii people}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Gusii
|nativename=''Ekegusii''
|states=[[Kenya]]
|region=[[Nyanza province|Nyanza]] [[Kenya]], Kisii County & Nyamira County, [[Rift Valley Province|Southern Rift Valley]], parts of Kericho County & Bomet County
|ethnicity=[[Abagusii]]
|speakers= [[L1 speakers|L1]]: 2.2 million
|date=2009 census
|ref=e22
|speakers2= [[L2 speakers|L2]]: 500,000
|familycolor=Niger-Congo
|fam2=[[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic-Congo]]
|fam3=[[Volta-Congo languages|Volta-Congo]]
|fam4=[[Benue–Congo languages|Benue–Congo]]
|fam5=[[Bantoid languages|Bantoid]]
|fam6=[[Southern Bantoid]]
|fam7=[[Bantu languages|Bantu]]
|fam8=[[Northeast Bantu]]
|fam9=[[Great Lakes Bantu]]
|fam10=[[East Nyanza languages|East Nyanza]]
|fam11=Nyanza Mara
|fam12=North Mara
|dia1=Ekegusii Proper
|dia2=Bogirango Maate
|script=[[Latin script|Latin]] (after European contact)
|iso3=guz
|glotto=gusi1247
|glottorefname=Gusii
|guthrie=JE.42
|notice=IPA
}}

The '''Gusii language''' (also known as '''Ekegusii''') is a [[Bantu language]] spoken in Kisii and Nyamira counties in [[Nyanza province|Nyanza]] [[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.