#kirundi

[gwendolynlerman]

Languages of the world

Kirundi (Ikirundi)

Basic facts

Number of native speakers: 8.8 million

Official language: Burundi

Language of diaspora: Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Uganda

Script: Latin, 32 letters

Grammatical cases: 0

Linguistic typology: agglutinative, SVO

Language family: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern Bantoid, Bantu, Northeast Bantu, Great Lakes Bantu, Rwanda-Rundi

Number of dialects: 3

History

1940s - standardization of the spelling system

Writing system and pronunciation

These are the letters that make up the alphabet: a b c cy d e f g h i j jy k l m mp n nk nt ny o p r s sh shy t u v w y z.

Kirundi has two tones: high and low, and displays Meeussen’s rule, according to which there is a lowering of the last tone of two adjacent high tones, resulting in the pattern high-low.

Grammar

Nouns have eighteen classes, two numbers (singular and plural), and no cases. Vowels change frequently when forming the different classes.

Adjectives may precede or follow nouns. Some personal pronouns contract when used before certain prepositions.

Verbs are conjugated for tense, mood (conditional, imperative, indicative, and subjunctive), aspect, person, and number. Personal pronouns may be joined to them before or after the time infix.

Dialects

There are three dialects: Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The former two are very similar, but Twa is more distinct. However, all three are mutually intelligible.

[djsonyt]

View this post on Instagram

🚨 @lhiroyd 🚨 son NOUVEL EP "KIRA" est MAINTENANT disponible PARTOUT 🌍✨ (lien dans la bio) Je compte sur vous pour faire vivre ce projet comme jamais, on a hâte de lire vos retours 🙏🏽🔥💿 Merci aux Compositeurs pour la magie ✨ @sampouchkine @lukygomes @shamanbeatz33 @majeur_mineur @justkyan235 @kdagr8est Merci à ceux qui on accompagné @lhiroyd et @nextupmusicgroug dans cette aventure 🌀 @readyornot_paris @jeuneajamais @alterkdistribution Merci aux Ingé qui ont rendu le projet aussi QUALI ✨ @ammar.1g @thelonius_mooch @opseek_mixed_it Art: @noon.vincent @got_itnow Bonne écoute l'équipage 🤎 FORCE 💪🏽 #nouvelep #kira #newmusicfriday #album #burundi #kirundi #happy #rich #life #love #hit #artwork #label #cartoon #graphicdesign #popurbaine #rap #drill #hiphop #afropop #afrobeat #dance #spotify #deezer #applemusic #napster #france #orleans #paris #studio (à Orléans, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPIQhjAAOtr/?utm_medium=tumblr

[ayearinlanguage]

A Year in Language, Day 183: Kirundi Kirundi, sometimes just called Rundi, is the national language of Burundi, a small African country south of Rwanda. Kirundi is a Bantu language closely related to Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda. As the two exist on a dialect continuum and have a high degree of mutual intelligibility the two are sometimes considered two standards of a common "Rwanda-Rundi" language. You likely noticed the common ethnonym "Rundi" in Kirundi and Burundi. This patter is very common in Bantu peoples/languages which mark gender as a prefix. The "bu-" in Burundi is the plural form of the gender that includes humans, it's related to the "ba" of Bantu and the "bo" of Botswana. The "ki-" of Kirundi is another prefix whose linguistic relatives can be seen in the closely related "Kinyarwanda" and the less closely related "Kiswahili" (the Swahili word for itself).

[thelanguagelover]

LOTS OF HELP NEEDED: Do you speak Somali, Farsi, Arabic, Kirundi, Kunama, Karen, Swahili, Nepali, French (Francophone Africa), Tigrinya, Mashi, or Amharic?

I am volunteering with a refugee organization here in my city and one of the problems we are facing is communicating with refugees who speak little to no English while we are doing our volunteer projects. I am going to be creating a video series where native speakers will teach very basic words and phrases to non-native speakers of the previously listed languages. In these videos, native speakers will be saying these phrases at native speed and then slowed down so that non-native speakers can repeat and learn. We will be teaching phrases such as “nice to meet you”, “how are you”, “my name is ___”, etc. This will not be a full teaching course.

I wanted to do this because I feel like the refugees will feel more welcome here if everyone can communicate with each other, even if it’s just saying hello and goodbye to each other in their language every time we work together. :D Plus, it’s always fun to learn a little bit of another language!

If you speak any of these languages, please translate the following phrases and write the phrases with the latin alphabet as well (if you are able to!) as these mini-courses will be geared toward native English speaking volunteers. In addition, if there are any other phrases that you think are fun or culturally relevant or what have you, feel free to add those in as well. :)

Welcome

Hello

Nice to meet you

How are you?

I am fine

What is your name?

My name is ___

Yes

No

Let’s go

Are you okay?

See you later

Goodbye

Okay

Thank you so much for your help, it is much appreciated! If you have more questions, please do not hesitate to leave a message in my ask box.

[gwendolynlerman]

Discovering the World

Burundi 🇧🇮

Basic facts

Official name: Republic of Burundi/République du Burundi/Repuburika y’Uburundi/ (English/French/Kirundi)

Capital city: Gitega

Population: 13.1 million (2023)

Demonym: Burundian

Type of government: unitary presidential republic

Head of state and government: Évariste Ndayishimiye (President)

Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $11.55 billion (2023)

Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 39.2% (medium) (2013)

Human Development Index: 0.420 (low) (2022)

Currency: Burundian franc (BIF)

Fun fact: Jogging is banned in the country because it could be a cover for subversion.

Etymology

The country’s name comes from the Kingdom of Urundi, whose name is derived from the Kirundi word for “another one”. The Belgians renamed it by adding a b-.

Geography

Burundi is located in Central Africa and borders Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.

There are three climates: warm-summer Mediterranean in the east, monsoon-influenced subtropical highland in the center, and tropical savanna in the rest. Temperatures range from 17 °C (62.6 °F) in winter to 30 °C (86 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 21 °C (69.8 °F).

The country is divided into eighteen provinces (provinces/iprovense). The largest cities in Burundi are Bujumbura, Gitega, Ngozi, Rumonge, and Cibitoke.

History

1st millennium BCE-6th century CE: Urewe culture

1680-1966: Kingdom of Burundi

1885-1918: German East Africa

1916-1962: Territory of Ruanda-Urundi

1962: independence

1972: Ikiza

1976: coup d’état

1987: coup

1993: genocide

1993-2005: Burundian Civil War

2015: coup

Economy

Burundi mainly imports from Saudi Arabia, China, and Uganda and exports to Germany, Pakistan, and Kenya. Its top exports are coffee, tea, and sugar.

The majority of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Services represent 45.8% of the GDP, followed by agriculture (32.9%) and industry (21.3%).

Burundi is a member of the African Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the East African Community.

Demographics

Hutus represent 85% of the population, while Tutsis and Twa account for 14% and 1%, respectively. The main religion is Christianity, practiced by 93.4% of the population, 63.7% of which is Catholic.

It has a positive net migration rate and a fertility rate of 5 children per woman. 14.4% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 67.4 years and the median age is 17.7 years. The literacy rate is 68.4%.

Languages

The official languages of the country are English, French, and Kirundi. However, only Kirundi is spoken by the vast majority of the population, while less than 10% speak French.

Culture

Burundi is known for its drumming tradition. Before a couple marries, the groom’s family gives the bride a dowry.

Men wear a cotton shirt and pants. Women wear a colorful piece of fabric wrapped around their body (imvutano) and a headdress.

Architecture

Traditional houses in Burundi have bamboo, mud, and reed walls and straw roofs. Their shape is reminiscent of a beehive.

Cuisine

The Burundian diet is based on beans, corn, sweet potatoes, rice, and vegetables. Typical dishes include boko boko harees (a bulgur and chicken dish with onions and spices), ibiharage (fried beans), kele wele (fried banana cubes), maharagwe (bean soup), and ugali (corn or cassava flour porridge).

Holidays and festivals

Like other Christian countries, Burundi celebrates Ascension Day, Assumption Day, All Saints’ Day, and Christmas Day. It also commemorates Eid al-Adha, New Year’s Day, and Labor Day.

Specific Burundian holidays include Unity Day on February 5, which is aims to reconcile ethnic differences between the Tutsi and Hutu; Cyprien Ntaryamira Day on April 6, which commemorates the former president’s death; Independence Day on July 1; Rwagasore Day on October 13, which commemorates the prince’s assassination, and Ndadaye Day on October 21, which commemorates the former president’s assassination.

Unity Day

Other celebrations include Umuganuro, the sorghum festival, and Umukozo Festival, which features dancing and music.

Umukozo

Landmarks

There are no UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Landmarks include Gishora Hill, Karera Falls, Lake Tanganyika, Queen of the World Cathedral, and Rusizi National Park.

Karera Falls

Famous people

Beni Bertrand Binobagira - swimmer

Diane Nukuri - athlete

Jean-Pierre Ndgijimana - actor

Jean-Pierre Nimbona - singer

Khadja Nin - singer

Leila Nda - model

Marie-Louise Sibazuri - activist, teacher, and writer

Melchior Mbonimpa - writer

Mohammed Tchité - soccer player

Sada Nahimana - tennis player

Mohammed Tchité

You can find out more about life in Burundi in this article and this video.

[claudiomodesto-blog]

Neste domingo às 10:30h participe do Penúltimo dia da Jornada de Jejum e Oração | Cavando Poços para o Futuro pelo facebook.com/clmodesto. #southamerica #southafrican #Kirundi #burundian #colombia #kenya #myanmar #indian #Moçambique #indianwedding #estadosunidos #uganda #mayotte #malawianwedding #gâmbia #Lesotho #Tanzania #Angola #Togo #Paquistão #Itália #Portugal #França #Pontosdeluz (em Comunidade Cristã do Alto da Lapa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLQZ54BM8GH/?igshid=h8bl91y47hib

[languageinfo]

KIRUNDI

Kirundi (Rundi), is a Bantu language spoken by 9 million people in Burundi and next to parts of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also in Uganda. It is the official language of Burundi. Kirundi is mutually intelligible with Kinyarwanda and Han (spoken in Tanzania), an official language of Rwanda, and the two form part of the wider dialect continuum known as Rwanda-Rundi.

Kirundi is natively spoken by the Hutu, including Bakiga and other related ethnicities, as well as Tutsi, Twa and Hima among others have adopted the language.

COMMON PHRASES:

1) Good afternoon / Goodmorning

1) Mwiriwe

2) See you! / Goodbye

2) N'agasaga

3) Hello, Goodmorning.

3) Bwakeye / Mwaramutse

Area Kirundi is spoken ⬆️

[universal-translation-services]

What is the Official Language of Burundi?

Official Language Burundi

Often times we forget that life isn’t the same for everyone around the globe. Despite seeing the news regularly, none of us can imagine the horrors of life some people have to face every day. It is true that every country has problems and people are suffering in every part of the world. But there is a huge difference between first world problems and third world problems. There are places where basic necessities aren’t available easily, children can’t go to school without putting their lives at risk, and healthcare facilities are non-existent. In such places, generations upon generations of people have suffered at the hands of poverty and survived in high crime rate areas. The resilience of the people of those states is an inspiring story in itself. But that doesn’t mean that they should be expected to endure all the hardships that come their way, the world should treat them better. Many places require frequent charity work. But more often than not, we don’t learn about them and they end up getting ignored. From remote Asian countries to unsafe African states, the world is full of stories of struggles. There are states that haven’t known peace for decades. From international wars to internal unrest, things never became easy for the citizens of such states. A few examples of such states can be found in the Middle East. In the fight between rebels and the state, it is the innocent civilians that have had to face the consequences. The economy gets destroyed and people have no option left than to flee their country. African countries have lived through decades of horrors too. Although there are plenty of states that have gotten better in the last few years and improved their economic status, many are still struggling on different fronts. Burundi is one of such states that has suffered for a long time.

Burundi:

Officially known as the Republic of Burundi, the country has known more conflict than peace in all its years. Civil wars, political unrest, and poverty are the factors that have kept Burundi from progressing for a century. The country stayed under German rule for a long time until the First World War when Belgium took control of the territory. During the Second World War, the country became a United Nations Trust Territory but remained under the Belgian administrative authority. Even after gaining independence from Belgium, the country never found peace. First, it was political unrest and coups. And then came the Burundian genocides. Unfortunately, there were two of them due to the clashes between ethnic groups Hutu and Tutsi. The genocides and the civil war of 1992 took the lives of 250,000 people.After 1992, the situation didn’t take a better turn and things only resulted in more genocide taking the lives of 300,000 people. Many peace attempts have been made since then. Different countries of the continent the United Nations have attempted to bring peace in the country. But after a few years, things turned bad again in 2015 and haven’t gotten better since then. The country is still in a state of unrest and its citizens have suffered due to all the fighting and economic turmoil. The people of Burundi have faced hardships on all fronts. From child labor and sex trafficking to diseases and poverty, there are way too many challenges for them to face and not enough support from the government to fight these monstrous problems. Wildlife, lakes, and rainforests are the biggest attractions of the country but sadly tourism has not developed due to the unsafe conditions. Many states prohibit their citizens from traveling to Burundi.

What is the Official Language of Burundi?

Burundi is not as old as many countries of the world but it still had a lot of influence on its culture during its short history. The Germans, British, and Belgian people, all affected the culture and tradition of this land. As far as the languages of the land are concerned, they have also undergone some changes during the history of the country. Today, Burundi has three official languages: French, English, and Kirundi. Kiswahili is also recognized in the constitution. French is spoken by the small number of foreign residents who live in the land. Other people don’t know the language fluently. The French spoken in Burundi has taken loanwords from native languages like Kirundi. Almost 98% of the population is fluent in Kirundi. It is also recognized as the national language of the country in the constitution. Kirundi is also a Bantu language and is written in Latin script. It is also known as Rundi and shares some similarities with other languages of the continent. It has speakers in other African countries too including Tanzania and Uganda. Since it is spoken by all the ethnic groups of Burundi, the government is promoting its use in the hopes that it will improve unity among the people of the country. Afterall, cultures and languages have powers. When these powers are used for good, they can bring people together and help them bond for life. With a poverty rate of 74%, Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world. It has known nothing but war and misery. But after years of suffering, it is about time that things got better for the country. Everyone in the world should play their part to make things better for all the countries that have struggled for centuries. Read the full article