From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rundi (commonly seen in its native form, Kirundi) is a Bantu language (D62 in Guthrie's classification) spoken by some 8.7 million people in Burundi and adjacent parts of Tanzania and Congo-Kinshasa, as well as in Uganda. 84% of the speakers are Hutu, 15% are Tutsi and 1% are Twa.
Rundi is closely related to the Rwanda language, the principal language of neighbouring country Rwanda, and to Ha, a language spoken in western Tanzania. Rundi and Rwanda are mutually intelligible.
The inhabitants of Rwanda and Burundi belong to three different ethnic groups: Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa (a pygmy people). 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).
Rundi is frequently cited as a language where Meeussen's rule, a rule describing a certain pattern of tonal change in Bantu languages, is active.
| Example translations |
| Ego |
Yes |
| Oya |
No |
| Uravuga icongereza? |
Do you speak English? |
| Bite? |
What's Up? |
| Mwaramutse |
Hi/Good Morning |
| Ikirundi n'ikinyarwanda bisa nk'igi czek n'igi slovak |
Rundi and Rwanda are closely related like Czech and Slovak |
| Amata |
Milk |
| Ejo |
Yesterday |
| Eejo° |
Tomorrow |
| Nzoza ejo/Nzoz'ejo |
I will come tomorrow |
| Ubu |
Now |
| Faransa/Ubufaransa |
France |
| Ngereza/Ubwongereza |
England |
| Leta zunz'ubumwe z'amerika |
United States of America |
| Ubudagi |
Germany |
| Ububirigi |
Belgium |
°N.B. eejo is pronounced the same as ejo:
the other e is written for differentiation. |
[edit] References
- Meeussen, A.E. (1959) Essai de grammaire Rundi Annales du Musée Royal du Congo Belge, Série Sciences Humaines - Linguistique, vol. 24. Tervuren
[edit] External links
