Rwanda-Rundi

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]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta-Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Southern Bantoid Bantu Northeast Bantu Great Lakes Bantu Rwanda-Rundi
Dialects	Rwanda (Kinyarwanda) Rundi (Kirundi) Ha Shubi Hangaza Vinza Kinyabwisha Kinyamulenge Rufumbira
Official status
Official language in	Rwanda (as Kinyarwanda)  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.

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

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.

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.

Rundi edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kinyarwanda edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Zorc, R. David; Nibagwire, Louise (2007). Kinyarwanda and Kirundi Comparative Grammar. Dunwoody Press. Preface p. iv and p. 2. ISBN 978-1-931546-32-4. Retrieved June 3, 2012.