Taita language

Not to be confused with Sagala language (Tanzania).

Taita
Kidawida
Native to	Kenya
Ethnicity	Taita people
Native speakers	unknown (400,000 cited 1992 – 2009 census)
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Bantu Northeast Bantu Chaga–Taita Taita languages Taita
Dialects	Taveta Sagala Kasigau
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: dav – Taita tvs – Taveta tga – Sagala
Glottolog	tait1249  (Taita–Sagalla) tave1240  (Taveta)
Guthrie code	E.74,741 (G.21)

Taita, or Dawida, is a Bantu language spoken in the Taita Hills of Kenya. It is closely related to the Chaga languages of Kenya and Tanzania. The Taveta (Dabida) dialect was once erroneously classified as close to Pare. The Saghala (Northern Sagala, Sagalla) variety is distinct enough to be considered a language separate from Taveta.

The Dawida and Saghala varieties of Taita contain loanwords from two different South Cushitic languages, called Taita Cushitic, which are now extinct. It is likely that the Cushitic speakers were assimilated fairly recently, since lateral obstruents in the loanwords were still pronounced as such within living memory. However, those consonants have now been replaced by Bantu sounds.