Kinyarwanda language
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| Kinyarwanda | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Rwanda | |
| Region: | Central Africa | |
| Total speakers: | 7 million | |
| Language family: | Niger-Congo Atlantic-Congo Volta-Congo Benue-Congo Bantoid Southern Narrow Bantu Central Kinyarwanda |
|
| Official status | ||
| Official language of: | Rwanda | |
| Regulated by: | no official regulation | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | rw | |
| ISO 639-2: | kin | |
| ISO 639-3: | kin | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
Kinyarwanda is the chief spoken language in Rwanda. It is also spoken in the east of D.R. Congo and in the south of Uganda (Bufumbira-area). Kinyarwanda is a tonal language of the Bantu language family (Guthrie D61). Kinyarwanda is closely related to Kirundi spoken in the neighboring country, Burundi and to Giha of western Tanzania.
The inhabitants of Rwanda and Burundi belong to three different ethnic groups (Although the validity of the ethnic nature is debatable; see [1]): Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The fact that these ethnic groups share the same language is assumed to be the result of the Hutu outnumbering the latter two groups (see Hutu for a more complete historical perspective).
Contents |
[edit] Pronunciation
a [ɑ]
b [b/β]
c [c]
d [d]
e [e]
f [f]
g [g]
h [h]
i [i]
j [ʤ]
k [k]
l [l]
m [m]
n [n]
o [o]
p [p] (stands alone only in foreign loanwords)
r [ɾ]
s [s]
t [t]
u [u]
v [v]
w [w]
y [j]
z [z]
sh [ɕ]
nt [nh]
mp [mh]
nk [ŋx]
cy [kj]
jy [gj]
ny [ɲ]
'ki' and 'ke' can be pronounced interchangeably as [ki] and [ke] or [ci] and [ce] according to speaker's preference
An 'a', 'e', or 'i' at the end of a word followed by a word starting with a vowel often follows a pattern of omission (observed in the following excerpt of the Rwandan anthem) in common speech, though the orthography REMAINS THE SAME.
e.g. 'Reka tukurate tukuvuge ibigwi wowe utubumbiye hamwe twese Abanyarwanda uko watubyaye berwa, sugira, singizwa iteka.' would be pronounced as 'reka tukurate tukuvug' ibigwi wow' utubumiye hamwe twes' abanyarwand' uko watubyaye berwa, sugira singizw' iteka.'
[edit] Grammar
[edit] Nouns
Kinyarwanda has ten noun classes:
- Class I: singular (u)mu-, plural (a)ba-
- Class II: singular (u)mu-, plural (i)mi-
- Class III: singular (i)(ri)-, plural (a)ma-
- Class IV: singular (i)ki- or (i)gi-, plural (i)bi-
- Class V: singular (i)n-, plural (i)n-
- Class VI: singular (u)ru-, plural (i)n-
- Class VII: singular (a)ka-, plural (u)tu-
- Class VIII: singular (u)bu-, plural (u)bu-
- Class IX: singular (u)ku-, plural (a)ma-
- Class X: singular (a)ha-, plural (a)ha-
When preceded by a demonstrative, the vowel prefix is dropped. (e.g. umu- → mu-). Class I is used for words representing humans.
[edit] Verbs
All Kinyarwanda verb infinitives begin with gu- or ku- (morphed into gw- or kw- before vowels). To conjugate, the infinitive prefix is removed and replaced with a prefix agreeing with the subject. Then a tense infix can be inserted.
- Class I: singular a- (morphs to y- before vowels), plural ba-
- Class II: singular u-, plural i-
- Class III: singular ri-, plural a-
- Class IV: singular ki- (morphs to cy- before vowels), plural bi-
- Class V: singular i-, plural zi-
- Class VI: singular ru-, plural bi-
- Class VII: singular ka-, plural tu-
- Class VIII: singular bu-, plural bu-
- Class IX: singular ku-, plural a-
- Class X: singular ha-, plural ha-
The prefixes for pronouns are as follows:
- 'I' = n-
- 'you' (sing.) = mu-
- 'he/she' = y-/a- (i.e. the singular Class I prefix above)
- 'we' = tu-
- 'you' (pl.) = u-
- 'they' (human) = ba- (i.e. the singular Class I prefix above)
Tense markers include the following.
- Present ('I do'): - (no infix)
- Present progressive ('I am doing'): -ra- (morphs to -da- when preceded by n)
- Future ('I will do'): -za-
- Continuous progressive ('I'm still doing'): -racya-
The past tense can be formed by using the present and present progressive infixes and modifying the apect marker suffix.
[edit] Example translations
| Yego | Yes |
| Oya | No |
| Ndabizi | I know |
| Simbizi | I don't know |
| Amazi | Water |
| Ndashaka amazi | I want water |
| Urushaka ikawa | Do you want coffee? |
| Bite Byawe? | How are you? (Informal) |
| Witwa nde? | What is your name? |
| Toilete iri hehe? | Where's the bathroom? |
| Nitwa… | My name is… |
| Amahoro | Peace |
| Murakoze | Thank you |
| Amakuru | How are you? (formal) |
| Nimeza | (I'm) fine |
| Igicucu | Stupid person |
| Nkunda abaturage b'u Rwanda | I like Rwandan people |
| Ndi... | I am... |
| Abana | Children |
| Igiparu | Good conversation |
| Inka | Cow |
| Muraho | Hello |
| Murabeho | Bye |
| Ijororyiza | Good night |
| Mwaramutseho | Good morning (Did you wake up well?) |
| Inyenzi | Cockroach(es) |
| Umupanga | Machete |
| Izuba | sun |
| Ingurube | Pig |
| Inzu | House |
| Itsembabwoko | Genocide |
[edit] References
- Jouannet, Francis (ed.) (1983). Le Kinyarwanda, langue bantu du Rwanda. Paris: Société d’Études Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France (SELAF).
- Kimenyi, Alexandre (1980). A Relational Grammar of Kinyarwanda. University of California Press.
- Habumuremyi, Emmanuel et al. (2006). IRIZA-STARTER 2006: The 1st Kinyarwanda-English and English-Kinyarwanda Dictionary. Kigali: Rural ICT-Net
[edit] External links
