| Rwanda-Rundi | |
|---|---|
| Region | Rwanda,Burundi,Uganda,Tanzania |
| Ethnicity | Hutu,Tutsi,Twa,Ganwa,Ha,Shubi,Hangaza,Vinza |
Native speakers | 20 million (2001–2007)[1] |
| Dialects | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Rwanda(asKinyarwanda)  Burundi(asKirundi) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:kin – Rwandarun – Rundihaq – Hasuj – Shubihan – Hangazavin – Vinza |
| Glottolog | rwan1241 |
Rwanda-Rundi orWest Highlands Kivu is a group ofBantu languages, specifically adialect continuum, spoken in Central Africa. Two dialects,Kirundi andKinyarwanda, have been standardized as thenational languages ofBurundi andRwanda respectively. These neighbouring dialects aremutually intelligible, but other dialects which are more distant ones may not be. The other dialects are spoken in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo (Kinyabwisha inNorth Kivu),Uganda (Rufumbira, spoken by theBafumbira inKisoro District), andTanzania;Ha, with one million speakers, is the most widely spoken.
Kinyarwanda andKirundi are very similar in many aspects, but differ in several ways as well.
Both languages aretonal 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 inKirundi inMeeussen's rule. Propositions have also been made that tones can shift by a metrical or rhythmic structure.
| Symbol1 | Explanation | Kinyarwanda | Kirundi | Part of speech | English (definition) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainvowel (a, e, i, o, u) | Short vowel Low tone | (gu)saba | Verb | ask, request | |
| umugezi | Noun | stream, river | |||
| (gu)shyika | (gu)shika | Verb | arrive | ||
| ikiraro | Noun | bridge | |||
| gusa | Incomparableadjective | only, just | |||
| Acute vowel (á, é, í, ó, ú) | Short vowel High tone | inká | Noun | cow | |
| intébe | chair | ||||
| igití | tree, stick, wood | ||||
| urugó | yard, corral | ||||
| urutúgu | shoulder | ||||
| Circumflex vowel (Kinyarwanda) (â, ê, î, ô, û) | Short vowel High tone | inkâ | inká | Noun | cow |
| intêbe | intébe | chair | |||
| igitî | igití | tree, stick, wood | |||
| urugô | urugó | yard, corral | |||
| urutûgu | urutúgu | shoulder | |||
| Circumflex vowel (Kirundi) (â, ê, î, ô, û) | Short vowel High tone (on the accent vowel in Kinyarwanda) | amáazi | amâzi | Noun | water |
| (gu)téeka | (gu)têka | Verb | cook | ||
| izíiko | izîko | Noun | hearth | ||
| (ku)ryóoha | (ku)ryôha | Verb | taste good | ||
| (gu)kúunda | (gu)kûnda | love, like | |||
| macron vowel (Kirundi only) (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) | Long vowel Low tone (both letters in low tone in Kinyarwanda) | igisaabo | igisābo | Noun | gourd |
| icyeegeera | icēgēra | plant | |||
| (ku)giisha | (ku)gīsha | Verb | make go | ||
| ingoona | ingōna | Noun | crocodile | ||
| uruuho | urūho | gourd (utensil) | |||
| Caron vowel (Kirundi only) (ǎ, ě, ǐ, ǒ, ǔ) | Long vowel High tone (on the accent vowel in Kinyarwanda) | ububaásha | ububǎsha | Noun | ability |
| Abeéga | Aběga | Plural noun | Tutsis, Tutsi clan | ||
| umuhiígi | umuhǐgi | Noun | hunter | ||
| umukoóbwa | umukǒbwa | girl | |||
| umuúnsi | umǔsi | day, date | |||
| Diaeresis vowel (Kirundi only) (ä, ë, ï, ö, ü) | Long vowel High tone | No equivalent tonal pattern | bäkoze | 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 intranscription, for example in adictionary, 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). | |||||
| Formation | Kinyarwanda | Kirundi | Part of speech | English (definition) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c+y | cyane | cane | Adverb | very |
| cyanjye | canje | Possessive pronoun,possessive adjective | mine, my | |
| icyubahiro | icubahiro | Noun | respect | |
| ntacyo | ntaco | Indefinite pronoun | nothing | |
| j+y | -jya | -ja | Prefix,verb | go |
| njyewe | njewe | Object pronoun | me | |
| yanjye | yanje | Possessive pronoun, possessive adjective | mine, my | |
| sh+y | -shyira | -shira | Prefix, verb | put, place |
| indeshyo | indesho | Noun | height | |
| nshya | nsha | Adjective | new | |
| b+y v+y | umubyeyi | umuvyeyi | Noun | parent |
| -gorobye | -gorovye | Prefix, verb | became evening | |
| -ibye | -ivye | Prefix, possessive pronoun, verb | his (multiple objects), stole |
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 | impyisi | imfyisi | Pluralnoun | hyena, jackal |
| (kw)anga | (kw)anka | Verb | dislike, hate | |
| amagambo | amajambo | Plural noun | words | |
| umunsi | umusi | Noun | day, date | |
| ijosi | izosi | neck | ||
| Vowels | ibiyobe | ibiyoba | Plural noun | peanuts |
| (ku)yogoza | (ku)yogeza | Verb | annihilate | |
| (ku)reba | (ku)raba | see, look | ||
| Vowel length | /-riinganira/ | /-ringanira/ | Prefix,verb | be of equal length |
| /-pima/ | /-piima/ | measure, weigh | ||
| /-sáagura/ | /-sáaguura/ | be in excess | ||
| Tone | /umukonó/ | /umukóno/ | Noun | signature |
| /mugufí/ | /mugúfi/ | Adjective | short | |
| /ikiguzí/ | /ikigúzi/ | Noun | price, value | |
| Formation | nyirabukwe | inabukwe | Noun | mother-in-law |
| nyirakuru | inakuru | grandmother1 | ||
| Mixed | umugati | umukate | Noun | bread |
| 1 In both Kinyarwanda and Kirundi,nyogokuru is more commonly used to mean "grandmother". | ||||
| National | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
