Beginning Kinyarwanda

Geographical Location of Rwanda: East-Central Africa
Bordering countries: Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Tanzania
Rwanda is a landlocked country between Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Tanzania. It has an area of 26,330 square kilometres ( about the size of Maryland or Massachusetts) and a population of approximately 10,180,000 people (July 2008 estimate). The average population density of over 253 persons per square kilometre in Rwanda is among the highest in Africa, but the level of urbanisation is less than 10%. Rwanda and its southern neighbour Burundi are considered to be twin states because of the similarities in size, historical heritage, cultural and demographic features.
Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending over rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile drainage systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an average elevation of almost 9,000 feet. On the western slopes of this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Rusizi River valley, which form the western boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and constitute part of the Great Rift valley. The eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of the eastern border region.
Although located only two degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda's high elevation makes the climate mild and temperate. The average daily temperature near Lake Kivu, at an altitude of 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) is 73o F (23o C). During the two rainy seasons (February-May and September-December), heavy downpours occur almost daily, alternating with sunny weather. Annual rainfall averages 80 centimeters (31 in.) but is generally heavier in the western and northwestern mountains than in the eastern savannas.

Rwandan Culture
The Rwandan culture includes not only the population of Rwanda but people in neighboring states, particularly Congo and Uganda, who speak the Kinyarwanda language. The important ethnic divisions within Rwandan culture between Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa are based on perceptions of historical group origins rather than on cultural differences. All three groups speak the same language, practice the same religions, and live interspersed throughout the same territory; they are thus widely considered to share a common culture, despite deep political divisions. The Rwandans in Congo and Uganda include both refugees, who generally maintain a strong linguistic identification with the Rwandan national state, and Kinyarwanda speakers who have lived outside Rwanda for generations and therefore have a distinct cultural identity within the wider national culture.

Known as the "land of a thousand hills," Rwanda is a mountainous country located on the far western edge of the Rift Valley, bordering on Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Tanzania. Rwanda rises from relatively flat plains in the east along the Tanzania border to steep mountains in the west along the continental divide between the Congo and Nile rivers. From the continental divide, the land drops sharply to the shores of Lake Kivu, which forms most of Rwanda's border with Congo. A range of high volcanoes forms Rwanda's northwest border. The mountainous topography continues in the North Kivu region of Congo, where almost half of the population identifies as Rwandan. A concentration of Kinyarwanda-speaking Tutsi, known as the Banyamulenge, lives in the high plains and mountains above Lake Tanganyika in South Kivu. The Bufumbira region of southwest Uganda is also Kinyarwanda speaking. The difficulty of travel and isolation resulting from the mountainous topography historically encouraged largely self-sufficient local communities and many local variations of the culture, but the modern centralized state implemented during the colonial period has encouraged a degree of cultural homogenization, at least within the borders of Rwanda.

Etiquette
With its long history of hierarchical social relations, Rwandan culture puts great emphasis on practices of etiquette that demonstrate respect and emphasize social rank both inside and outside the family. Within the family, chairs are traditionally reserved for men, while other family members sit on mats on the floor. Men eat first, with women and children eating after. Visitors are given the best chairs and the first choice of food and drink.
Rwandans have an elaborate system of salutation that varies depending on the relative social rank and familiarity of the greeters. Rwandans almost always shake hands upon encountering someone. When greeting someone of higher rank, a person extends his or her right hand while placing the left hand on the right arm in a sign of deference. Close friends and others of equal rank may embrace, holding one another by the shoulders and brushing their heads together first on one side then on the other.

Kinyarwanda Language
Kinyarwanda (Ikinyarwanda) is the central bantu language spoken by the natives of Rwanda which is precisely located in the Great lake region. There are other Kinyarwanda speakers in this region such as: Banyamurenge in the Southern Kivu in D.R. Congo, ethnic Banyarwanda in Masisi and Rutshuro in Northern Kivu in D.R. Congo, ethnic Banyarwanda known as Bafumbira in Southern Uganda in Kigezi District. Linguistically, there are similarities between Kinyarwanda, Kirundi which is the national language of Burundi and Giha spoken in western region of Tanzania. Basically, there is a total intelligibility between these dialects which justifies that they come from the same language. Actually, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi versions differ slightly in pronunciation. Eventually some words in Kinyarwanda are also different in Kirundi.

All Kinyarwanda speakers are estimated to be more than 20 million people. Taking into account of the highest number of Rwandan refugees scattered in many countries of the world after the genocide of Tutsi in 1994, It is clear that Kinyarwanda speakers may be more than the above estimate.

Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda is probably, after Kiswahili the second largest spoken language in the Bantu group. It is a sister to Kirundi, the national language of Burundi and Giha, another dialect spoken in Tanzania. Kinyarwanda belongs to the interlacustrine (Great Lakes) Bantu languages.

All of the Bantu languages are tonal, except perhaps Swahili. Tones are used to indicate differences in meaning. Grammatically, nouns belong to a number of classes, each of which has its pair of prefixes, one to denote the singular and the other the plural. Linguists have not yet discovered a logical basis for most of the many different noun classes. Although they are not based on sex, these classes have been compared to the genders of Indo-European tongues. The class prefix of a noun is attached to every word that is connected grammatically with this noun, whether adjective, verb, or other part of speech. We will explore the use of the ten classes of noun and learn how they are in agreement with adjectives, verbs, pronouns in different contexts.

The following examples from Swahili and Kinyarwanda illustrate the nature of such agreement. First in Swahili: m-thu m-zuri, "handsome man," but wa-thu wa-zuri, "handsome men"; mu-kono mu-fupi, "short hand," but mi-kono mi-fupi." Then in Kinyarwanda: umu-ntu mu-iza," handsome man," but aba-ntu ba-iza, "handsome men"; uku-boko ku-gufi "short hand," but ama-boko ma-gufi." The Bantu verb consists of a stem to which are added one or more prefixes (with the exception of the imperative) and also one or more suffixes. The verbal suffixes relate to person, number, negation, tense, voice, and mood. Suffixes added to certain stems can form nouns and verbs, especially of a derivational nature.

Kinyarwanda Phonetic and spelling
The following text is intended to alert the reader to the general characteristics of the pronunciation of Kinyarwanda. Because of dialect situation, some variations in pronunciation will be encountered. Please, remember that an acceptable pronunciation can be attained through careful attention to the speech of native speakers.
Like all other languages, Kinyarwanda is made of a certain set of sounds. Its spelling is based on the Latin alphabet. The consistent relationship between sounds and spelling lacks. Since this language is a tonal one, variations of pitch of voice as well as length of its syllables will completely change the meaning. The result is that written Kinyarwanda is often an inadequate and misleading representation of the spoken language.
Remember that each written letter is pronounced, unless it is a part of the consonant combinations. Kinyarwanda syllables appear under three forms: - It can be made of a single vowel or several ones (interjections) : e.g., u-mu-ga-bo (four syllables), aa ! (one syllable); - It can be made of consonant plus a vowel : e.g., u-mu-go-re (four syllables); - It can be made of consonant combinations plus a vowel : e.g., i-mbwa (two syllables).

Vowels:

  • a is broad as in far
  • e is almost like a in hay
  • i is almost like ee in bee
  • o is almost like o in obey
  • u is like oo in food

Consonants

  • d, f, g, h, k, m, n, p, s, t, v, w are pronounced practically the same as in English
  • b has a very soft sound with the lips barely touching, unless it it preceded by m when it is quite hard. It does not have the rather explosive quality that it has in English
  • c always has the sound of ch as in church
  • j has a very soft sound, like z in azure
  • l is used mainly in words of foreign origin. However, in many books where one might expect ri, li is written. But the sound is that same as for r (see below)
  • r has a slight trill sound, as if you tried to say d, l, and r at the same time. The tongue should just flip against the roof of the mouth
  • y as in you. (In combination with other consonants, see below). It is never a vowel like y in baby or by
  • z as in zone
  • q and x do not exist in Kinyarwanda

Combinations:
• bw is pronounced 'bg', and even written 'bg' in some older books, but be careful not to put a vowel sound between these two letters
• nn in a past stem is pronounced rather as if there were a slight i after the n's - it has been described as ning (as in sing)
• rw is pronounced as if there were a soft g between the r and w, thus uRwanda is pronounced 'ur-gwanda'
• ry also has a slight d sound between the r and y, but not very strong
• sw or sy - there is a slight k sound between the letters
• by, cy, dy, jy, shy, ty are all special sounds which must be learned from a Rwandan

Pronunciation:
Notes: Kinyarwanda is a tonal language but the tones are not usually indicated in writing.
Sample text
Abantu bose bavuka bakwiye kwubahwa kimwe. Bose bavukana ubwenge n'umutima, bagomba kugilirana kivandimwe.

Purpose and Methodology
This Manuel has been prepared with the intention to make available the basic teaching material which, I believe, will be very useful to Kinyarwanda instructors as well as the students having the desire to learn Kinyarwanda at Harvard University in the department of African and African American Studies languages. Every chapter of this Manuel will comprise of the main topic, related vocabulary, dialogue, grammar, one or two activities, exercises. Students will be more involved in all the components of each lesson in an interactive and practical manner.