Language encodes the values and norms in a given society. As a culture changes, so does the language. For example, in Gîkûyû, certain words have become near obsolete in the wake of cultural mutations. The words kîrîîgû and mûirîîtu described an uncircumcised and a circumcised girl respectively. However, the near-disappearance of the rite among girls has meant the disappearance of the term kîrîîgû in Gîkûyû.1 The two opposites are no longer valid in society, therefore the language had to adjust. In comparison, the opposites kîhîî-mwanake (uncircumcised boy-circumcised boy) holds strong, for the rite is still valued for boys among the Gîkûyû.