Introduction

Ikizu, with its closely related dialect of Sizaki, is an Eastern Bantu language spoken by a group of about 55,000 who live in the Mara region of Tanzania south of the Zanaki people. Specifically, the Ikizu and Sizaki people live mainly in the Chamriho division of the Bunda district of the Mara region.

The Ethnologue classifies the Ikizu language as Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, J, Logooli-Kuria (E.402).  Alternate names for the language are Ikiikiizu, Ikikizo, Ikikizu, Kiikizu and Kizu. Ikizu shares considerable lexical similarity with two other language varieties: the dialect Sizaki (95%) and Zanaki (87%).