Rwanda-Rundi

Last updated
Rwanda-Rundi
Region Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, DR Congo, Tanzania, Kenya
Ethnicity Hutu, Tutsi, Twa, Ganwa, Ha, Shubi, Hangaza, Vinza
Native speakers
20 million (2001–2007) [1]
Dialects
Official status
Official language in
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda
(as Kinyarwanda)
Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi
(as Kirundi)
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
kin   Rwanda
run   Rundi
haq   Ha
suj   Shubi
han   Hangaza
vin   Vinza
Glottolog rwan1241

Rwanda-Rundi is a group of Bantu languages, specifically a dialect continuum, spoken in Central Africa. Two dialects, Kirundi and Kinyarwanda, have been standardized as the national languages of Burundi and Rwanda respectively. These neighbouring dialects are mutually intelligible, but other dialects which are more distant ones may not be. The other dialects are spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinyabwisha in North Kivu, Kinyamulenge in South Kivu), Uganda (Rufumbira, spoken by the Bafumbira in Kisoro District), and Tanzania; Ha, with one million speakers, is the most widely spoken.

Contents

Comparison of Kinyarwanda and Kirundi

Kinyarwanda and Kirundi are very similar in many aspects, but differ in several ways as well.

Tonal marking

Both languages are tonal languages. High and low tones (or H and L) are the essential tones and, having a phonemic distinction on vowel length, when a long vowel changes from a low tone to a high tone it is marked as a rising tone and when a long vowel changes from a high tone to a low tone, it is marked as a falling tone. This is often illustrated in Kirundi in Meeussen's rule. Propositions have also been made that tones can shift by a metrical or rhythmic structure.

Symbol1Explanation Kinyarwanda Kirundi Part of speech English (definition)
Plain vowel
(a, e, i, o, u)
Short vowel
Low tone
(gu)saba Verb ask, request
umugezi Noun stream, river
(gu)shyika(gu)shikaVerbarrive
ikiraroNounbridge
gusa Incomparable adjective only, just
Acute vowel
(á, é, í, ó, ú)
Short vowel
High tone
inkáNouncow
intébechair
igitítree, stick, wood
urugóyard, corral
urutúgushoulder
Circumflex vowel
(Kinyarwanda)
(â, ê, î, ô, û)
Short vowel
High tone
inkâinkáNouncow
intêbeintébechair
igitîigitítree, stick, wood
urugôurugóyard, corral
urutûguurutúgushoulder
Circumflex vowel
(Kirundi)
(â, ê, î, ô, û)
Short vowel
High tone (on the accent vowel in Kinyarwanda)
amáaziamâziNounwater
(gu)téeka(gu)têkaVerbcook
izíikoizîkoNounhearth
(ku)ryóoha(ku)ryôhaVerbtaste good
(gu)kúunda(gu)kûndalove, like
macron vowel
(Kirundi only)
(ā, ē, ī, ō, ū)
Long vowel
Low tone (both letters in low tone in Kinyarwanda)
igisaaboigisāboNoungourd
icyeegeeraicēgēraplant
(ku)giisha(ku)gīshaVerbmake go
ingoonaingōnaNouncrocodile
uruuhourūhogourd (utensil)
Caron vowel
(Kirundi only)
(ǎ, ě, ǐ, ǒ, ǔ)
Long vowel
High tone (on the accent vowel in Kinyarwanda)
ububaáshaububǎshaNounability
AbeégaAběga Plural noun Tutsis, Tutsi clan
umuhiígiumuhǐgiNounhunter
umukoóbwaumukǒbwagirl
umuúnsiumǔsiday, date
Diaeresis vowel
(Kirundi only)
(ä, ë, ï, ö, ü)
Long vowel
High tone
No equivalent tonal patternbäkoze Verb they did
mwëse Noun all of you
narï nzi Verb I thought, I knew
böse Noun all of them
warüzi Verb you thought, you knew
1 These symbols are only used in transcription, for example in a dictionary, but in other forms of writing, plain vowels are used and letters are not doubled (unless if the word itself is spelt in that way).

Spelling

Formation Kinyarwanda Kirundi Part of speech English (definition)
c+ycyanecane Adverb very
cyanjyecanje Possessive pronoun, possessive adjective mine, my
icyubahiroicubahiro Noun respect
ntacyontaco Indefinite pronoun nothing
j+y-jya-ja Prefix, verb go
njyewenjewe Object pronoun me
yanjyeyanjePossessive pronoun, possessive adjectivemine, my
sh+y-shyira-shiraPrefix, verbput, place
indeshyoindeshoNounheight
nshyansha Adjective new
b+y
v+y
umubyeyiumuvyeyiNounparent
-gorobye-gorovyePrefix, verbbecame evening
-ibye-ivyePrefix, possessive pronoun, verbhis (multiple objects), stole

Word formation

There are many instances in which the two speech varieties of both languages have words that are slightly different. However, these differences do not continually recur. One has to memorize such differences as "-anga" in Kinyarwanda in contrast to "-anka" in Kirundi (meaning to dislike or hate), because the shift from "g" to "k" is extremely rare, with proof being words like "inka" (cow), "inkono" (pot) and many other words where "nk" is common in both dialects. Such minor variations involve different consonants, vowels or vowel lengths, tones or affixes.

Summary Rwanda Rundi Part of speech English (definition)
Consonants impyisiimfyisi Plural noun hyena, jackal
(kw)anga(kw)anka Verb dislike, hate
amagamboamajamboPlural nounwords
umunsiumusiNounday, date
ijosiizosineck
Vowels ibiyobeibiyobaPlural nounpeanuts
(ku)yogoza(ku)yogezaVerbannihilate
(ku)reba(ku)rabasee, look
Vowel length/-riinganira//-ringanira/ Prefix, verb be of equal length
/-pima//-piima/measure, weigh
/-sáagura//-sáaguura/be in excess
Tone /umukonó//umukóno/Nounsignature
/mugufí//mugúfi/ Adjective short
/ikiguzí//ikigúzi/Nounprice, value
Formationnyirabukweinabukwe Noun mother-in-law
nyirakuruinakurugrandmother1
MixedumugatiumukateNounbread
1 In both Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, nyogokuru is more commonly used to mean "grandmother".

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References

  1. Rwanda and Rundi: Nationalencyklopedin "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007;
    others: Lewis, M. Paul; Gary F. Simons; Charles D. Fennig, eds. (2015). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (18th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.

Sources