FSI - Kirundi Basic Course

7/27/2019 FSI - Kirundi Basic Course

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F O R E I G N S E R V I C E I N S T I T U T

K I R U N D I

B ASIC C O U R S E

D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T


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K I R U N D I

B ASIC C O U R S K

This work was compiled and pub-

lished with the support of the OHice

of Education, Deportment of Health,Educotion and Welfare, United States

of America.

Based on Ki rundi Te xts and Ex erci ses Pro vided by:

RAYMOND SET UK URU,

Terence Nsanze and Daniel Nicimpaye

Organized and edited by:

EARL W. STE YI CK

FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTEWASH ING TON, D.C.

0 E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E


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KIRUNDI

FOREIG N SER VICE INS TI T UTE

B ASIC C O U RSE SERI E S

LLO YD B . SWI F T

Acting Editor

For sale by the Supertntendent of Documents, US G o ve rnment Prxnttng OfftceWashtngton,D C 204 02 Puce $2 75


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BASIC COURSE

PREF ACE

Kirundi, together with its companion language, Kinyarwanda, is one of the most important

of Bantu languages. This hook is intended to give the student a start in Kirundi, providinghim with dialogues that relate to some of the first situations in which he is likely to use the

Language, as well as with systematic practice in all major points of grammar.

guages, prepared by the Foreign Service Institute, under an agreement ivith the Officeof Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, under provisions o f the National Defense

Education A ct.

The present volume isone of a series of shortBasic Courses in selected A frican lan

The analysis on ivhich this course is based is contained in A. E. Meeussen's Essai de

Grammaire Rundi. Dic ti onaries by F. M. R odegem and Eliz abeth E. Cox we re also of greatvalue. Pa rt of the manuscript was checked at Michigan State University by Charles Kraft,David McClure and D. Kamatari. The contr ibutions of these scholars are gratefully acknowL

edged.

Nsanze and Daniel Nicimpaye provided the dialogues and other texts, as weLL as the exercise

material. Setukuru also provided data for use in the construction of notes on sounds and gram

mar, checked theentire manuscript, and voicedthe tape recordings which accompany the course.

The manuscriptwas also checked by Gregoire Ndinze.

W. Stevick. Th e t ape recordings were prepared in the Language Laboratory o f the Fore ignService Institute, under the direction of Gabriel Cordova.

Kirundi Basic Courseis the work of many colaborators. Raymond Setukuru, Terence

General organizing, editing and the preparation o f notes were the responsibilit y of Earl

Howard E. Sollenberger, DeanSchool of Language and Area Studies

Foreign Service Institute

Department of State


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KIRUNDI

TABLE OP CONTENTS

A learner's synopsis of Kirundi struct;ure.................. xiii

Unit 1

Dialogue: Exchanging greetings and getting acquainted. . . 5

Notes:

2.

1 . T h e us e o f t he t er ms . . . . , . . 1O

Pitch in yes-no questions..................... 16

3. Anticipated high tone in final posit;ion....... 17

4

5. The immediat;e tense........................... 19

6.

7

8.

9.

The use of subJect prefixes................... 18

Absolut;e per sona l p ro n ou ns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Locative prefixes............................. 21

The copula / n i / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

The combination /n/ plus /r/.................. 22

g /

Vocabulary supplement:

1. Names for members of various ethnic groups.... 27

2.

3. Some obJects which frequently require speci

Places where p eopl e w or k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0

fication of ownership...................... 31

Unit; 2

Looking f o r w o rk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Dia logue:

Notes:

l. The singular and plural forms of personalpro nouns , 3 6

2. ObJect; prefixes................ 373. Th e tones of certain nouns borrowed from

European languages and Swahili............. 38


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BASIC COURSE

1 nfinitives................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

5. The verb forms that; cont;ain t;he root / -z i / . .

6 The grammatical dimension of >linkage>,..... 42

Vocabulary supplement;:

43

46

48

l. Some common act;ivities.....................

2. Some common occupations....................

Days of t h e w e e k .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . , . . . .

Unit; 3

D ialogue: Where do people live and work?.............. 5 2

Notes:

2.

l. The alternat;ion of nasal consonant;s......... 54

Substant i v e p hr as e s .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

The alternat;e forms of concordial prefixes

with various adjective stems.............. 60

The locative enclitic /-"-he/. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62T he subsecutive prefix...................... 625.

Vocabulary supplement;:Place names. . . , . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . , . . . , , . . . . . . . . 63

Unit' 4

Dialogue: Getting help in the language............. .. 75

Notes:

1. The use of tone in the Kirundi verb........ . 7 7

2. The non-tonal features of negative

indicat;ive forms.............. 783. Th e tones of immediate indicative verbs ,

affirmative and negative.................. 78

4 . Th e t;onal pat;t;erns of certain reduplications 80

5 . The con co r d t; h a t i s used when t he an t ece de n t

is quoted material...... ................. 8 0


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KIHUNDl

Unit; 5

Dialogue: Arranging for help in language st;udy....... 86Notes:

l. Ob je ct; prefixes again................... . 882. Ad je ct;ives used in noun positions.......... 893. Th e di fference between perfective and

imperfective verb stems.................. 894. Th e tr anslation equivalents of many English

a dje c t i v es . o 91


Names of languages; verbs for >heavy,

light, easy, hard, expensive


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BASIC COURSE

Notes:

1. The tones of words used with / na / and ,with

2. Or dinal numerals.......................... 125

Unit; 8

Dialogue: More about family relationships.......... 135


136Numbers f r o m 1 - 2 0 . . . . . . .

Notes:1. The pronunciat;ion of /miroongo/ be f o r e

v owel s . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

2 . V ow e l l en g t h i n t h e co ns t r u c t i on wi t h /na/

plus a n umera l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

3. Possessives used without; nouns............ 139

The tone of the copular / ni/ and / si% .. 14O


Some useful adjectives.. 141

Unit; 9

Dialogue: M or e about family relationships........... 152

Notes:

1. Pa rt icipial verb forms, immediate,

affirmative...................... ...... 155

Unit 10

162Review ..


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KIRUNDI

Unit; 11

D i a l o g u e :

Not;es:

Getting street; direct;ions...,...,,,.... . . 175

1. Imperatives................... .......... 1782. Co pu lar forms used in specifying

1ocations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1783. Th e negative imperative . . . . . . 179

Unit 12

Dialogue: More street directions .............

. . . . . . 186Notes:

l. Relative verb forms............ ......... 191

2 . Re l a t i ve pr o no uns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Unit 13

Dialogue: Planning a short; t;rip ....... .... , . . . . . . . 20 0

Notes:

1. The non-immediate future tense........... 204

Unit; 14

Dialogue: Buying food............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Vocabulary supplement':

Some foodstuffs and their qualities. .... 2]7

Not;es:

1. Non-indicat;ive negative verbs............ 219

2. The use of relative verb forms in

indirect; discourse..................... 220


Words that; occured in the indirect dis

course versions of some dialogues...... 228-30

v i i i


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BASIC COURSE

Unit 15

Dialogue: Buying clothing. ... . ..... ............. 232


Legal t e nd e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . 234

2. Ro ut;ine daily occurrences................. 234

Notes :

1 . T h e h od i e r n a l t ens e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Unit ; 16

Dialogue: Buying food at t;he door.. ...... . . . . . 245

Notes:

1. The t;one of words like /irXgi/............ 247

2 . T h e h e s t e r na l t ens e . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . . . 248

Unit; 17

zatings o 265Dia logue:Not'es:

1 Autonomous verb forms.. ... . . . . . . . . . . . 2672. The infinit'ive as a substantive........... 269

Unit; 18.

.... 2 7 8Dialogue: W ork in the kit;chen.........

Notes:

1 . The sub j u n c t i v e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Unit 19Dialogue: Rest;aurant and kitchen......... . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Notes:

1. Th e pr esent'at;ive forms.................... 297

2 . T h e d e fe c t i v e v e r b / - r i / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

3. The defective verb /-te/. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302ix


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KIRUNDI

Unit 20

Revie; . . . . . . , . . . . , . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Unit 21

324Dialogue: C aring for children...... ....

Notes:

l. The particle /nba. /....2 . The n on - p er s on a l p os s e ss i v es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

3. Th e de monstrative series with. the stem

3 27

/ rVa/

The use o f / - r i i n d a / as t h e f i r s t v er b i na phrase. 329

5. The conditional tense...................... 330

6. Adhortative forms.......................... 332

328

Unit 22

Climate and weather.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341D i a l o g u e :

Notes:

1. The periphrastic progressive tense........ 344

2. Stem extensions........................... 345

The applicative extension................. 346

The reciprocal extension.. ... .. ........ 347

Unit 23

D ial og ue : S e a so na l c r o p s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Notes:

1. The per sistive tense......... . . . . . . . . . . 360

2. Th e inceptive tense .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

3. Po ssessive phrases used in noun slots..... 362

4. Two contrasting demonstratives............ 365

5. T he u s e o f Cl a s s 8 f or mi x e d a n t e c e d e n t s . , 365


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BASIC COURSE

Unit; 24

Dialogue: The geography of Burundi.....

. . . . 379


Some common f a u n a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

Not es:

1 . T h e v e rb /-ca/ followed by a parti

f orm e 384c i p i a l

2 . T h e v e rb /-ba/ followed by a parti

c i p i a l

3 . T h e wo r d

4 . Th e wor d

5 . The wor d

0 rm 386

clau se . . . 3 87

y 387

387

/ ni/ plus /uko/ plus a

/k imwe/ .

/hagati/ /hagati/ . . . . . .

Unit ; 25

Dialogue: A visi t to a fri end's home..


397

A rticles found in the house.. ............. 400

Notes:1 . T h e c o n s t r u c ti on / n i - ba/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401

2 . S e n t e n c e s w i t h / - r i na.. . / . . . . . . . . . . 402

3 . Th e abb reviation of personal names.. ...... 402

Unit ; 26

Car t r o ub l e . 411D i a l o g u e :

Not;es:

l. A sp ec ial use of the verbal extension

/ - -an-/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

2 . T he v o c a t i v e u s e of n ou n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

3. A question followed by a verb that; in

cludes the subsecut;ive prefix / -ka- / . . . . 419

Xi


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KZRUNDI

4 . T h e e xt e n s i o n s i n t h e s t em / -k i r i z a / . . . . . . 419

5. Forms that contain two object prefixes.... 420

Unit 27

Basic sentences : The go vernment of Burundi.......... 430

Notes:

1. Me thod of pluralizing unassimilated

French n o u n s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

2. Pa s s i v e s t ems . . . . . . . . . 4 36

3 . T he c o n s t r u c t i o n >every y ears> . . . . . 437

A use of / na / w h i c h d o e s n o

to Eng l i s h >h ave>, , or >a nd >. . . . . 438

5. Two alternate ways of using Class 18...... 439

t c o r res pond

Unit 28

B asic dialogue: Miscellaneous topics................ 4 43

Notes:

l. A use of the concord for Class 17......... 4482 . A use o f / - t i / .

3. Abstract nouns of Class 14...............

4. Negative infinitives..............

5. The hodiernal relative after / n i /

452

454

4 55

Unit 29

Shor t d i a l og ues . . 458

Uni t 30.

S hort texts, with questions and answers.............. 4 7 6

498Glossary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


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BASIC COURSE SYNOPSIS

A LEARNER>S SYNOPSIS OF KIRUNDI STRUCTURE:

Kirundi is the principal language of Burundi. I t s ha res a

high degree of mutual intelligibility with Kinyarwanda, the lan

guage of Rwanda. C o nsi dered together, the cluster Kirundi

Kinyarwanda ranks third among Bantu languages, after Swahili and

Lingala, with respect to number of speakers. There are however

two important differences between Swahili and Lingala on the one

hand and Kirundi-Kinyarwanda on the other: (1) Swahili and Lingalaare spoken over very wide areas, and a high proportion of their

speakers have some other Bantu language as the mother tongue;

Kirundi-Kinyarwanda is spoken in a relatively small area, as the

fi.rst language. (2) Swahili and Lingala are relatively free of

troublesome complexities for the learner; Kirundi and Kinyarwanda

are full of them. The two books in this series which are con

cerned with Swahili and Lingala set out the grammar of those lan

guages in the form of a series of individual notes, distributed

throughout the units of the course. The present volume presents

the details of Kirundi grammar in the same way. In addition,

however, this synopsis has been prepared, first of all to provide

orientation for those who plan to use the entire book, and sec

ondarily for the student whose desire is to learn as much as pos

sible about the language in the shortest time. O nly the mos t

important features of the grammar are mentioned at all, and the

vocabulary used in the examples has intentionally been kept small.

The exercises, with answers given in square brackets at the right,

are not intended to make this synopsis into an auto-instructional

program, but only to give the reader an opportunity to participate

if he desires to do so, and to keep constant check on his under

standing of the text.x i i i


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SYNOPSIS KIRUNDI

The analysis on which this synopsis is based is found in

Essai de Grammaire Rundi, ( Tervuren: Muse e Royal , 1959 ) by A.E.

Meeussen. Certain. key ideas concerning style of treatment have

been acquired over the years from many teachers and colleagues,

especially William E. Welmers .

The p roblems which are faced by a non-Bantu student ofKirundi may be classified under the three traditional headings of

phonology, morphology, and syntax. >Phonology< has to do with all

aspects of pronunciation, but without consideration for the gram

matical function or the dictionary meaning of what is pronounced.

~Morphology> is a description of the

guage (prefixes, roots, stems, etc. )they combine with one another within single

c ont i nu e s t h i s d es c r i p t i o n u p t o t h e l e ve l s of wh a t a r e u su a l l y

ca lled >ph ras es> and


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BASIC COURSE SYNOPSlS

The order in which these components o f t h e v er b hav e been

named is the order in which they occur within a word.

The mostcentral of the three is the root:

> we cl i m b

climb> and>go> are used in English. P u rther investigation of Kirundi

would disclose no basis for recognizing any more divisions w i t h

in either of these forms; they are therefore what the linguist

calls HOOTS. Every language has a large stock of roots.

What; is the root in each of these verb forms:

t ubona . . .

t ugura . . .

t u gor o o r a . . .

!we se e . . . I

rwe bu y . . . t

~we i r o n . . . l

[-bon-]

[ -gur- ][ - go roo r - ]

Each Kirundi verb form has one and only one root . A r o ot

may have any of several shapes, some o f w h i c h a r e :

- C- ( s i n g l e c o n s o n a n t)-VC- (v owel an d co ns onant)-CVC (one shor t vo we l)- CVlV lC ( one l o n g v o w el )ViCVpC ( two vowel s , wh i ch

-duug

- and ik

> to g o f r o m >


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KIRUNDISYNOPSIS

What i s t he r oot i n eac h o f t hes e f o rm s?

t u v a . . .

bava. . .

b aZa. . .

baba. . .

bakor a . . .

b aand i k a . . .

w e go f r o m. . .

t hey g o f r o m . . .

t hey g o . . .

t hey l i v e . . .

t hey d o . . .

t hey w r i t e . . .

[-v-]

[-v-]

[ -b- ]

E-kor-]

[ - and i k - ]

I n e ac h g r o u p of t h r e e wor d s , state which two have roots

of the same general shape ( i . e . -CVC-, -VC-, etc.

):b ahuraba~ oroora [ -goroor-]

[-mesuur-]Bamesuura

baba

babona

bava [-v-]

By far the most common shapes for roots are -CVC and

- CVlV l C - .

In Kirundi, a verb root is always followed by one or more

s uf f i x es :

-som

-som-a

-som-ye


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BASIC COURSE smoPSxs

-som-eesh (a non-final suffix with causative(meaning) to cause to read )>to go>

>to caus e t o g o >

-geend

-geend-eesh

What is the final suffix in each of these forms ?

>they buy>

that we may g o >

tugoroora

bagura

bagure

tugeende

The second of each of these pairs of verb froms contains

one non-final suffix. What is it;?

babona

babonana

they see eac h o0 her > [-an-]

t u r i m a

turimiisha

>we cultivatewe cause to cultivate> [ - i i sh. - ]

Except in the simplest imperative forms, the root is pre

ceded by one or more prefixes of various kinds:

som-a

ba-som-a

n t i - ba - so m- a

t r e a d ) )

>they read>

< they don/

Verb prefixes will be dealt with more fully below.

j:n discussion of Kirundi verbs, it is expe di e n t t o u s e , i n

addition to >root>, the terms STEM and BASE . The ST E1'4 of a

Kirundi verb form is defined as the root plus all suffixes.

xvii


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SYNOPSIS KIRUNDI

The BASE of a Kirundi verb is defined as the root plus all suf

fixes except the final suffix.

Most kinds of Kirundi verb forms must contain, in addition

t o t h e s t em, a su b j e c t p r ef i x :

< I speak>

>you (sg) speakhe/ she speaks >

you (pl)>ba >theyI >

2 . u

3. a

I f /asoma/ is translated >he, she reads they read> j

[>I read

he/she goes>

x vi i i


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Different;iation. of person and number are familiar from t;he

study of non-Bantu languages. But these six prefixes are used

only when the subject; is personal. For non personal t;hird person

subjec ts (and for s ome per sonal o n es) Kirundi uses other subject

prefixes. J ust; which one is chosen depends on the identity of

t he n ou n t h at i s t h e su bj ec t :

inyama ziraziimvye

umukaat'e uraziimvye

ibiriibwa biraziimvye


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SYNOPSIS KIRUNDI

singular and one plural:/

i k i i n t u

i b i i n t u

i z i n a

amazing

etc.

umu~cuun wa

imi~cuun wa/

>orange t earsdrugs '

> clerk>

[ i k i i nt u ]

[umushuumba]

[umukaraani]

< things


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i b i r a a t o >shoes>

im inwe

i mipak a >boundar i e s >

>shoe>

>f inger> [umunwe]

[umupakaj

[ i k i r a a t o ]

> f ingers>

Matching of the subject prefix of the verb with the prefix

of the noun subject is called CONCORD. affects the

prefixes of several other kinds of words also. Nouns that are

alike with respect to the concordial prefixes that go with them

are said to be in the same CLASS . T h er e are eighteen such

tclasses< in Kirundi. (Remember that in thiss ense t h e s i n g ul a r

form /ikiintu/ and the plural /ibiintu/ > t h i n g s > a r e

in different >classes Where is my ma i ze ? >

[same c lassj

caanje

Ikiraato caanj e k irihe?

I g i t a b o caanje k i r Xhe ?

> Where is my s h o e ? >

> Where is my b o o k ? >[same c lassj

Ikiraato caaw e kirxh e ?

~I k i i n a ~za a we r i r Xh e '? Where i s my c l o t h ? that w e sh o u l d r e c ei v e t h em>(e.g. / i bi i nt u / < thi n g s < )

( e .g . / i m p u u zu / > c lo t h e s


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Class 1 (3 sg. pe rs onal )

Class 2 (3 pl . p er sonal)

-mu

-ba-wu

34

78

-ya

- k i

- b i

- y i

10 -Z1 .

Z1.

- r u

12

13

14

15

16

18

tu 'tu

mu

Choose the correct object prefix for t;he second sentence

in each pair . The class number for the noun object; is given

i n p a r e n t ; h e s e s .

Baguriisha ibitooke. (8)>They se l l bananas .

Ba gu r i i sh a . [ -b i - ]

E-yi-]

[ - z i - ]

[-ya-]Ba gu r i i sh a .

x x i i i


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SYNOPSIS KIRUNDI

What is the grammatical term for the underlined part of

each word?

[object prefix]

[ subj ec t p r e f i x ]

[s tem]

[non-final suffix]

[subject prefix]

[object prefix]

[final suffix]

[base]

Babigu ra .

Babig ur a .

Bab ibona .

Babigu r i i s ha .

Tub ikeneye .

Tuyikeneye.

Baz igoroora.

Babi~u r i i sh a .

Pick out the part of each word that is named by the gram

matical t er m:

>they s e l l

>we l au nd e r >>we don>t l a u nd er >

>they no t hav i ng gone

[ they dont wo rk jn ti du k o r a

Dimension 2: M o od . This is a four-way contrast. T he o ve r t

representation of three of the four categories is found in the

tones; the fourth is characterized by a vowel before the subject

prefix. All 60 set s are c ommi t t e d o n t h i s d i men s i o n . T h e f o u r

categories differ with respect to the syntactic positions in

which they are used : i n dic ative forms are used in main clauses,

xxvi


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relative forms as modifiers of substantives, autonomous forms as

substantives, and participial forms in other dependent verb posi

t i ons .

Most; typically, the relative form has a tone on the syllable

after the beginning of the root.

Choose the better rough translation for each verb, and say

whether it is INDICATIVE, or RELATIVE:

babona t they s e e > [ >who see

babona [> they see> : I ND . ]t they see>who sec t

t he goes> [ the goe s t . . IN D. ]ageendawho goest

/

>he goes t [ t . . . who goes < : REL . ]ageenda who goes t

/

bamesuura [ t . . . wh o l aunde r t : REL . ]>they launder>who l a un de r t

t the y b e g i n >who begin>

[ t t he y b e g i n t : I ND . ]bataangura

t t he y a r e ex p e n s i v e > [tthey are expensivet ]ziziimvye whi ch a r e ex p e n s i v e t

/

t t h ey a r e ex p e n s i v e > [twhich are expensivet ]z i z i i m v y ewhi ch a r e ex p e n s i v e t

xxv i i


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SYNOPSIS KIRUNDI

/

biziimbuutse [>which are cheap>]which are cheap they see> [>they s e e i n g < : PART. ]>they se e i ng he laundershe launder ing >

[ : IND. ]amesuura

>he laundersyou are a b l e you being ab l e >

/

> you being ab l e >

[>you bein g ab l e> :PARTushobora

/

>you ( pl . ) ar e abl e >< you being ab l e >

[ >you ( p l . ) b ei ng abl e >:PART.]

mushobora

Choose the nearest translation, and say whether each verb

form is INDICATIVE, RELATIVE, or PARTICIPIAL:

babona

/

who seethey seeing . . . wh o se e> :REL. ]babona

xxv i i i


30/588


babona who seethey see>

4t hey se e i ng >

[> they see>: IND. ]

i z i i m b u u t s e > it i s che a p i t b e i n g c h e a p :PART. ]wh ich i s chea p >

bashobora [ . . . w h o a r e a b l e < :>they are a b l e >

>they bei ng ab l e REL.]

The aut;onomous mood has an extra vowel before the subject

prefix. Choose the better t;ranslation, and state whether each

form is RELATIVE, or AUTONOMOUS:

babona who see>>ones who see>

[< . . . wh o se e> :REL. ]

l

who see>> ones t ;hat; are ex pe nsi ve >

[ >ones th at a r e ex p en s i veAUT.]

iziziimvye

who seek>

>ones who se ek > ones who i r on >

[ > .. . w h o i r on < : R E L . ]bagoroora


31/588

SYNOPSIS KIRUNDI

State whether the words in each pair differ according to

NEGATION, (Dimension 1 ) or as t o MOOD(Dimension 2 ):/ /

bageenda, batageenda

b ageen da , n t i b a g e e n d a

bageenda, bageenda

zitaziimvye, zitaziimvye

/

[NEG. ]

[NEG.]

[MOOD]

[MOOD]/

D imens io n 3 : T i me r e l a t i on s . T hi s i s t r ea t e d i n Me eu s s e n > s

tables as a seven-way distinction. The mo rphs which represent

the members of the contrast are prefixes made up of vowels and

consonants except that the hodiernal-hesternal distinction depends

on tone. These prefixes stand just before the object prefix or before

the stem if there is no object prefix. All 60 sets are committed

o n t h i s d i me n s i o n . Th e mea n i n g s h a v e t o d o wi t h ma t t er s s om e o f

which are usually classified as >tense>, some as


32/588


phrases with would or might.

All seven of these forms are classed together wit;hin a

s i ng l e d i me n s i o n b e c a u s e t h e y a r e mu t u a l l y ex c l u s i v e wi t ; h o n e

another. A l so, as has already been point;ed out, they are all

r ep re se n te d b y p r e f i x es ( or , i n 0h e c a s e o f t h e i mm e d i a t ; e t e n s e ,

lack of a prefix ) i n o ne and t h e sam e s l o t i n t;he ve r b s t r uc t; u r e .

The tense t'hat; refers t;o past act;ions within t;he present

day ( the t e ns e) i s c h a r ac t e r i z e d by an /-a- / i mmediately after the subject; prefix:

l l d o . . . . I

>I d i d . . . . (sometime today )nkor a . . .

nakoze . . .

Most; subject prefixes have a slightly different form when they

s t an d b e f o r e a v owe l :

you (sg .

~you (sg.

) went...(sometime today ).>

) go

) went ; . . . . (s omet ime t od ay ) . >

Choose the better approximate translation, and state whether

Nataanguye . . . .

the verb is IMMEDIATE t;ense, or HODIERNAL tense:

>I beg i n . . . I worke d. . . (sometime today ).>

[ hodi er na l ]

[ immediate]N kor a k a z i .

xxxi


33/588

KIRUNDISYNOPSIS

T wakoze k az i .

Nkoze . . . .

Naboonye . . . .

>We work. >>We worked.. . (sometime today)>

>I see.I saw. ..(sometime t;oday )>> I>ve jus t don e . . .I di d . . . (sometime today ).>


34/588


immediate ) FUTURE:

[IMM. ][FUT.]

[FUT. ]

bageendabazoogeenda

t u z o o s h i k a

For purposes of this synopsis, the persistive, inceptive,

and conditional forms will be omitted.

Dimension 4: Im erfective vs. perfect;ive as ect. This is

a two-way contrast;. The overt representat;ion of the cont;rast is

found at; t;he very end of the verb form: each imperfect;ive ends

in some consonant plus /-a/, while the corresponding perfective

ends in /-e/; t'his /-e/ is preceded either by a consonant; dif

ferent from t;hat; of the imperfect;ive, or by the imperfect;ive

consonant; plus /y/ . Some verbs have irregularly formed per

fect;ives, however. Perfective forms are used when t;he action

is regarded as being complet'e, imperfectives are used for act;ions

in progress, or actions mentioned wit;haut regard to complet;eness,

but; t;he English translat;ion is not a reliable guide as t;o which

a c ti o n s ar e i c onside red c omp le te< i n Ki r und i . I n a l l , 44 s e t; s

a r e c o m m i t t e d on t ;h i s d i me n s i o n ; t h e s e t s t h a t a r e n o t , a r e t h e

inceptives and the fut;ures (Dimension 3 ), which ha ve t h e c on

sonants and final vowels o+ the imperfectives.

Stat;e whet'her each of these verbs is PERFECTIVE, or

IMPERFECTIVE:

ndahageze

u r akeneye

uzoo t aangu r a

ndoondera

[ PERF.]

[PERF.]

[IMPERF.]

[ IMPERF.

>I

>you needdi sj u n c t < f o r m s . Fo r ms t h a t a r e n o t d i s j u n c t a r e >conjunct;>.

Only ten sets are committed with respect; to t;his dimension. The

signif'cance of the distinction is grammat;ical: t he c o n j u n c t

must be followed by some kind of object or other word to which it,

is closely tied. Th e di sjunct; may be used without a following

object', or with a following object; where t;here is no close con

nect'ion between verb and object.

Place a period after each disjunct form, to signify that; it

can be i-.he last word in a sentence. Place th ree do ts ( . . . ) a f t e r

t;he conjunct forms, to signify that; it must be followed by some

thing furt;her.

/

navuzenaravuze

t ur i i y e

i 'ura r i i y e

>we we>ve eaten>

< I spo ke ( befor e t o d a y ) I spoke ( b ef or e t o d a y ) cloth>]impuuzu

mtoto

n t ibaba

ingoma

wamshinda

mgeni

mugeenzi

inka

[ > they don< t r es i d e< ]

['drum'J

[(a form of address )][>cat t le>]

(3) A third group of consonants consists of the two

SEMIVOWELS, /w/ and /y/. Most nasals, obstruents, and combina

tions of nasals plus obstruents, also occur followed by /w/ and

/y/

( 4) Th e sou nds / r / a n d /h/ may be followed by semivowels,

but may not be preceded by any consonant.

Which of the following look as though they might be Kirund'

words?

[ >admini s t r a t i o n > ]

[n ine>]

x i i i


44/588


The pronunciat;ion of t;he consonant;s.

Obstruents. Th e pro nunciation of the obstruent consonants

of Kirundi will be described wit;h reference t;o four sets of

physical characterist;ics:

l. On e se t of physical charact;erist;ics has to do with the

part;s of t;he t;ongue and mouth that are involved in formation of

each sound. P h onetic symbols, based as closely as possible on

the Kirundi spelling system, are given in square brackets.

a. Bilabial (i.e. both lips). The bi labial sounds of

Kir un di a r e s y m b o l i z e d [ p ] , ['b j , [ 1 ] .b. Lab i o d e nt ;al ( i . e . l ow e r l i p and u p p e r t eet h : [ f ] , [ v ] .

c . Ap i co d e nt a l ( ti p o f t ong u e a t ; u pp er t eet h ) : [ t ] , [ d ] ,

[ s ], [ z ] , e t c .

d . Pal a t a l ( middl e o f t ong u e a t ha r d pa l at e ) : [ c ] , [ s h j ,

[jj. (NB The symbol sh is to be regarded as a unit;, and

not as representing s plus h. This compound symbol has

b een c h o s e n i n or d er t ;o av o i d c on f l i c t ; wi t h t h e estab l i sh e d

spelling of Kirundi. )e. (Dorso)vel ar s ( b a c k o f t on g u e a t t h e s of t ; p a l a t e ) : [ k ] ,

[gl.Prevelars : (like the velars, but' a lit;tie farther

forward in the mouth ) : [ k ' ] , [ g' ] .

2. A second set of physical characteristics has to do with

the kind of closure which the sound requires.

a. Som e have momentary but; complete stoppage of the air

stream. Thes e are called STOPS. Some of the stops of

Kirund i a re symbol i zed by [p ] , [ b ] , [ t ] , [ d ] , [ k j , f k ' ] ,

[g ] , [g ' ]

x l i i i


45/588

KIRUNDISYNOPSIS

b. Some have audible friction, but without complete

stoppage, at some point. They are called PRICATIVES.

Some fr i ca t i ves are : [ f j , [ v ] , [ s ] , [ z j . [ sh ] .

3. A th ird set of physical characteristics has to do with

strength of articulation.

a. ST RONG( >fo r t i s ) ar ti c u l a t i o n : [ b] , [ v ] p [ d ] , [ z ] , [ g ] p[ g ] p [ / ] .

4. The last pair of physical characteristics are presence

and absence of voice vibration during the production of the sound.

a . Some voiced sounds are: [ b ] , [1 ] , [v ] , [ d ] , [g ] , [ z ] ,

[ g], [ j ] . Some voiceless sounds are: [p ] , [ f ] , [v ] , [ d] ,

[g], [z ] , [ i ] .

The relationships among these four sets of physical characteristics, in the language as it is actually spoken, may be shown

most clearly by a series of diagrams.

pt b

e4

s vetc.

Diag r am l a .

x l i v


46/588


In Diagram la, the area within the upper circle stands for

all stops, and the lower circle for all fricatives. That is

to say, any sound that requires stoppage should be shown within

the upper circle, and any that requires friction within the

l owe r o n e . Th e c i r cl e s a r e s h o wn a s ov e r l ap p i n g b e c a u s e of

a group of sounds called AFFRICATES, which consist of a stoppage

followed by a friction.

As the next step in developing a visual representation of

i-,he relationships among Kirundi obstruents, we may remove the

circles, leaving a single straight-line axis:

STOPS: p , t , b , etc.

AFFRICATES' p f, t s , b v , et c .

FRICATIVES: f , s , v , et c .

Diagram lb.In the same way, voicing vs. voicelessness a nd s t r ong vs .

weak articulation may for Kirundi be combined on a single axis:

ppf

sh

etc.

bv

etc ~ ei - .c

Diagram 2.

xlv


47/588

SYNOPSIS KIRUNDI

A third axis shows points of articulation, from the ones

farthest forward in the mouth to those that are farthest back:

ketc .

e tc . ~ v e l a r c

etc .f etc. ~ p al a t a l

e tc . ~ p r ev e l ar

~ den t a letc.~ labiodental

~ bilabial

Diagram 3These three dimensions may be combined as in Diagram 4.

In Diagram 4, solid lines connect points that stand for sounds

that actually occur in Kirundi. D a shed lines are added to help

the viewer see the diagram in

between narrow and heavy solid lines stands for a kind of infor

mat io n w h i c h h a s n o t b e en m e n ti on e d u p t o t h i s p o i n t .

perspective. Th e di stinction

In any language, certain pairs or groups of sounds that are

physically distinct from another are treated as though they were

the same. O t he r pairs or groups of sounds, even though separated

from one another by comparatively small physical differences, may

be treated as distinct from one another. J ust wh ich groups of

sounds are treated in which way depends on the language. S o for

example, in EnElieh we eay that ~z'ingin and ~ri ~i~n are different

words, and we are very clearly aware of the difference between the

consonant sounds in the middle of them. I n Jap anese, the same two

sounds are treated as interchangeable, they never distinguish wordsfrom one another, and a native speaker of Japanese normally does

not notice the difference between them. In Di agram 4 , t hen , heavy

s o li d l i n e s c on n e c t s ou n d s t h a t ar e , wi t h i n t h e e c on o my o f K i r u n di ,

treated as non-significant variants of a single unit. ( In l i n

x l v i


48/588


velar

[a'

I

[g]

[g'prevelar I

J II I

II

I

I

//

//

//

//I

[

'[d)/

[dg

//

/[s ]

//

//

/

I/

' ~ pa l a t a l

/

//

J

[dz]

/

//

J

//

[dz

//

//

/[es]/

J

/

//

//

/

/

[s] [z] [z] dent;al/

//

/

//

///[p

a /

IIII

I/

//

J

//

/

[pf

I

I

L

/

I

//

//

[f [v [v . ~ l a b i o d e nb a lII

I/

IJ

[4 ~ bi l abial

Diagram 4.

The obstruent's of Kirundi: phonetic and phonemic relat;ionships.

x l v i i


49/588

KIRUNDISYNOPSIS

guistic terminology, they are >allophones> of a single . )Thus, the voiced fricative [z ], the voiceless [z], the voiced and

voiceless affricates [dz], [dz] are all members of a single Kirundi

phoneme, usually written / z/ . Not e t h e pa r al l el r el a t i on s h i p s

among / g/ ( [ j ] , [ j ] , [ dj ] , [ dj ] ) , a nd /v / ( [ v j , [ v ] , [ b v j , [ bv ] ) .

The phoneme /b/ includes the voiced stop [b], but also the voiced

bilabial fricative [ b] . Th e ph o n e m e/ d / i n c l u d e s [ d ] , wh i c h l i k e

[b] is a voiced stop, but the other allophone of /d/ is an unvoiced,

weakly articulated stop [d], rather than a voiced fricative. The

diagram thus summarizes in graphic form not only the symmetries

but also the violations of symmetry which are to be found in the

relationships among the obstruent consonants of Kirundi.

The consonant phonemes of Kirundi are pronounced as follows:

[~h] After m : A very heavy puff impuuz u >clothve f i n i sh e d >

preceded by very brief complete

stoppage of the air at the lips,

and a l s o a t t h e en t r an c e t o t h e

nasal passages. [Technically,

a voiceless, heavily aspirated

bilabial stop, alternating freely,

w ith a s t r on g [ h] - l i k e so u nd . ]

>paper>

>boundary>

[p"] In other ositions: momentary u rup aapuro

complete stoppage of the air umupaka

stream at the lips, followed

by a noticeable puff of air.

[ Techn i c a l l y , a v oi c el e s s ,

fortis, aspirated bilabial stop.]

x l v i i i


50/588


[' h] Aft;er n : A very heavy puff i ki intu

< there i s n o t


51/588

KIRUNDISYNOPSIS

area near t h e b ou ndary of

the sof't and hard palates.

[Technically: a voiceless,

heavily aspirated prevelar

stop, alternating freely

with a strong [h]-like

sound.]

["h] Between n and o ther kuroonka

Uowels: As above, except i nkoofeero


52/588


tbreads

t t o d o t

[k~] Before other vowels and not umukaate

aft er n : As above , ex - gukor acept t'hat stoppage is at

the soft palate. [ T ec h

nically, a voiceless, fortis,

aspirat;ed velar stop.]

/

imboga

igit;aambara >fabr i cI l o o k f or >

abaandi >other (people)>[d] Af t ;er n : Complet ;e

stoppage bot h b et ;ween

the tongue tip and the


53/588

SYNOPSIS KIRUNDI

upper teeth, and at the

entrance to the nasal

passages . Voi ce v i b r a

tion continues throughout

the s toppage. [Techni

cally, a voiced lenis aPico

dental stop.]

/

[dj In other os itions: either

[d j , a s a b ov e, o r a s t op

during which the voice is

i n t e r r u p t e d . [Technically,

a voiceless, lenis apico

dental stop.j

umuduga

daata

>automobilet;o speak t;o [go ] f r om >

/z/ inzoka [z] After n : V ery much like

English z in ~laze, hut per

haps farther forward t;oward

the tongue tip and the back

o f t h e u p p e r t ; e e t ; h. [Tech

nically, a voiced apicodental

fricative ].

akazi > work Bug umbura to go to d ie ~/pf/the puff of air ) p l us K i r un d i

[f]. [Technically, a voice

less fortis labial affricate.]

/ ts/ [ ts ] L i k e K i r und i [ t ] (wi thout g u t s i i n d a the puff of air ) p l us K i r un d i

[ s ] . [ Tec h n i c a l l y , a v oi c eless fortis apicodental

affricate.]

r

[ c ] L i k e Ki r un d i [ sh ] p r e c e d e d

by momentary stoppage at

the same position. [Tech

nically, a voiceless, fortis

palatal affricate.]

gucura

umuceri

/c/

[ m ] V e r y m u c h l i k e E n g li s h m .

[Technically, a bilabial

nasal continuant.]

lv i

ubumanuko >south


58/588


/n/ [n] Like English n except that ubumanuko >south>stoppage in the mouth is

made farther forward to

ward the tip of the ton

gue and th e bac k o f t h e

upper teeth. [Technically,

an apicodental nasal

con t inuan t . ]

/ny/ [g ] B e f ore k . L i k e

in English ~sin er (ans

not in ~fin er). Stoppage

nkora t I d o >gutaangura >to beginto d r i n k here>

heehe


60/588

BASIC COURSE

INTRODUCTION

/

/

/ /

/ /

/

Ce livre ne constitue

qu>un el ement; d>un co ur s

elementaire de Kirundi .

L>autre element indis

p ensab le a ce cour s , es t;

u ne p e r s o n n e q u i p a r l e l a

langue ei-,puisse aider

1>etudiant. De plus, il

ex is te une se r i e de b an des

magnetiques qui pourraient

l u i e t r e u t i l e s . Hn t;o u t; e

f ranch ise , ce co ur s es t un

abrege et n e co u vr e qu e l es

elements fondamentaux de la

langue. A la fin de ce cours,

1accord grammaticaux.

3 . He s h ou l d be ac c us tomed

to taking increasing amounts of'

responsibility in the process of

learning more of t;he language,

with the help of Barundi who are

not professional language teach

l i x


61/588

KIRUNDI

/

/

3. Il doit avoir acquis

i>habitude de prendre de plus

en plus de responsabilites

pour ameliorer ses connais

sances de l a l angue en

r e ch e r c h a n t 1 >a i d e d e Ba r u n d i

qui ne se r a i en t pas

necessairement professeurs de

meti e r .

/

/

/

Ce sont ces trois buts

que 1


62/588

BASIC COURSE

/ /

d>initiative, d>imagination

et daugmenter sa part

de responsabilite dans

1>utilisation des exercices

pratiques. A insi , par exemple,

il ne se contentera pas de

repeter comme un perroquet.

Des q u > i l n Unite

I et tout le long du cours,

des suggestions particulieres

pour 1>emploi de ces textes.


63/588


64/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

/

/

/ /

M aniere d e r esen t;e r ch a u enouvel le se r i e de hasesde base.

1 . L avoir appris

a les prononcer parfaitement'.

Il ne doit meme pas y jeter un

coup dil les regarde

trop t;ot, il entendra presque

certainement; ou croira en

t;ender des sons semblables aceux re pr es ent;es par ce s memes

lett;res en anglais ou dans une

aut;re langue europeene. S>il

attend dils sont; reellement

prononces par so n i ns t ; r uc t eur .

/

A r o ce dure f o r use w i t h eachnew se t o f bas i c sen t en ces .

1. Th e student should not look

a t; t ;h e s e n t e n c e s u n t i l a f t e r h e

has learned t;o pronounce them

very well. H e sho uld not even

glance at them briefly. If he

looks at t;hem too soon, he will

almost certainly >hear> or

think he hears th e s ound s for

which t;he letters st'and in Eng

lish or in some ot;her European

language. If he wa its unt il

after he has learned to pro

nounce the Kirundi, he will have

given his ear an opportunity to

hear th e s ou nds as t h ey a r e

really pronounced by his tutor./

2. L i s t en i n t; o t h e s e n t en c e s .2. Maniere d>ecouter lesphrases.

L>instructeur doit commencer

par lire a haute voix deux ou

trois fois la liste des phrases

de base. L>etudiant doit

ecout;er soigneusement sans

essaye r de r ep e t e r . L >i ns t r uc

teur doit toujours parler a

une v i t e s s e n or m a l e . I l do i t

eviter de parler plus lentement

The tutor should begin by

reading t;he ent;ire list of basic

sent;ences aloud t'wo or t'hree

t i me s. Th e s t u d e n t sh o ul d l i s

ten carefully, wit;hout trying

to repeat;. The tutor should

speak at all t;imes at; a normal

c o nv er s a t i on a l s p e e d . He

should avoid speaking more

/ /


65/588

UNIT l KIRUNDI

slowly or more distinctly than

he would ever speak with other

persons for whom Kirundi is themother tongue. The st udent


66/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

U ruund i .

R waanda Uruund i .

ya Rwaanda Uruund i .Nkora

Nkora ku u b aan k i

N kora kuu ba anki y a Rw aanda Uruu ndi .

b) Si un eleve continue a

f a i r e d e s e r r e u r s d e p r o n o n c i a

t;ion , 1> in s t r uc te u r do i t ; l e

corriger en repet;ant correctement le mo t q u e 1 < el ev e a mal

prononce. Ainsi, par exemple:

b) If a student still makes

a mistake in pronunciation, the

t;utor should correct him by

repeating correctly the wordt;hat the student has mispro

n ounced. So , f or exa mp l e :

/ /

Tutor:

Student:

Tut;or:

Student: Ndahageze.

Tutor:Student: Nda h ag eze vub a.

Ndahageze vuba.

Ndahakeze vuba. (a mistak e )Ndahageze.

Ndahageze vuba.

Trait;er ainsi toutes les

p h ra se s d u d i a l o g ue .

4 . M a n i e r e d > a r en d r e l e 4. Learnin t;he meanin s ofs ens des hr ases . the sen ten ces .

Jusqu>ici 1il repete. Si on lui donne

t;rop t;ot la signification des

phrases, il aura une forte

tendance a l eu r don ner un e

int;onat;ion anglaise.

Up t;o this point;, t;he student

has not been told the meanings

of the sent;ences he is practicing.

If he is told the meanings too

soon, he will have a very strong

tendency to use English intona

t;i ons on t h e sen t ence s .3


67/588

KIRUNDIUNIT 1

/

Main tenan t 1> ins t ruc teu r

donne la premiere phrase et

demande a 1> el eve de r e p et erapres lui. E n su ite il lui

donne la phrase anglaise equi

valente et 1 > ) dans l e sphrases


68/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

/

/

anglaises equivalentes aux ex

p ress ions en k i r und i . Les

crochets [ ] renferment desmots anglais qui n>ont pas

d) . Square

brackets [ ] enclose Engl i shword s w h i c h ha v e n o c o u n t e r p a r t

in the Kirundi, but which are

n eeded i n o r der t ;o ma ke g ood

t r an s l a t i o ns i n t o i d i oma t i c

Eng li sh . Par en t he ses ( )enclose words which are English

counterparts of something in

the Kirundi sentence, but which

would not ordinarily be used

in the English equivalent.

Parentheses with single quotes

are used to indicate a literal

English version of a sentence

/

Dialo u e 1 .

[ ~ ~ ]1A Bwaakeeye. (A morning greeting. )

i za good

/ /

wellneeza

2B[Bwaakeeye neeza.

i zina (5, 6 )

(Reply t o t he abo ve .)

name

(a prefix agreeing with/izina/)

aanje

ni i s , a r e


69/588

UNIT 1 KIRUNDI

]3A Izi na ryaanjye ni bury name is John. (>I am

c a l l ed J ohn .ve just recently arrived here.

that is it (agreeingwith /igituma/)

n ico

i g i t uma (7, 8) reason

ntaar i (a negative auxiliaryverb )

(this form will not becompletely analyzed )

bwaakubone

(2 sg. object prefix )

to see-bona (-boonye)

[ - ~ -]8B A . Nico gituma ntaari AhJ T ha t>s th e r eas on [w hy ]

I ha v en ' t s e e n y o u [ b ef or e ] .[ ~ w ]

bwaakubone.

N i n e e z a . I t < s g o o d ( >wel l < ) [ t o s ee y o u ] .9B


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KIRUNDIUNIT 1

Dialo u e 2 .

10C Nd . U mun yaameerika . I~m an American.

e i

i

[ w r l11C W ew ur . U mu nya ameerika?

[ ]12D Oya . Nd Umunyaa fir ika.

Are ~ou an Ame r i c an ?

No, I m a M un ya rw an da .

Dialo u e 4 .

[ 315G Uk ora muri


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BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

Footnotes

1. T he s y mb ol ( ) is placed before stems that take the full set

of concordial prefixes but not person-number or tense prefixes.

These stems are called ADJECTIVES.

2. Numbers in parentheses after a noun indicate the sets of pre

fixes which are used with that noun and in words which agree with

it. Th e number before the comma refers to the singular, the

number after it to the plural.

3. The hyphen placed before a stem in the buildups indicates

that the stem takes inflection for person-number and for tense.

Such stems are called VERBS.

4. For most ver bs, two stem forms are given . Th e fi rst of the

two, called the


73/588

KIRUNDIUNIT l

It is suggested that the student practice once or twice

reading through Dialogues 2 and Q both with and without pauses

between the words. For purposes of memorization, the elided

form should be used exclusively.

6. Each sentence in a dialogue is preceded by a number and a

letter. The numbers run serially through all the dialogues of a

single unit, and may be used for referring to individual senten

ces. The letters indicate the speaker. After the dialogue has

been learned, the instructor and individual students may thus

take turns assuming >Role A,< >Role B>, e t c .

l. A note on the use of the terms < i tch> and < t on e>.

In order to understand many of the notes in this course,

i s n e ce ss ar y t o di s t i ngu i s h cl ea r l y b et w e e n < p i t c h < and

The word PITCH, as used here, will refer to the funda

mental frequency of vibration of the vocal cords-to placement on

a musical scale. The indication of absolute pitch would be useless;

RELATIVE PITCH is shown graphically within square brackets. Syl

lable boundaries are represented as breaks in the line. Vowel

length is represented by the length of the line segments:

i nz i r a

kuduuga

abaandi

n i neeza

[ 7[

][ ~ ][ ~ ]

path

t o c l i mb

o t he r s

i t >s n i c er

10


74/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

>Pitchto break a piece off>.~ vuvura, with pitches [ ~ ] mean s >to walk haltingly in

the dark~.

Pitch, then, may be the only audible difference between two words

of entirely different meanings. To say the same thing in tech

nical terms, Kirundi has LEXICALLY SIGNIFICANT distinctions of

p i t c h .

But even more important than the lexical function of

Rundi pitch is its place in the grammatical system of the language.

Compare the following six forms, all of which have first person

plural subjects, and contain the same stem /-kubuura/ >to sweepa.

The differences among them are of a grammatical nature:

] >we swept [ t oda y ] ~ ( c an not b e t hetwaakubuuyelast word in the

sentence )[~ w ] >we swept [ t o da y] > ( can be th e l as ttwaakubuuye

wor d i n t h e sen tence)

]

]


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KIRUNDIUNIT 1

twaakubuuye [~ ] >we swept [b ef o r e ( cannot b e t h elas t word)

]


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BASIC COURSE UNIT l

A tone is not a physical entity. It is an abstraction

which is made for the purpose of clearer and more efficient;

description of the physical phenomena of pitch, and more especially

for discussion of the contrasts among various pit;ch patterns.

Each tone has one or more physical realizations in terms of p1tches.

In Kirundi, as in many other Bant'u languages, the pitch

phenomena are best described in t;erms of two tones, called LOW

HIGH. Low tone is quite simple: its t'ypical realization is as

a level, relatively low pitch:

[ ] ~to force, to fill with a1r >guhagaguhaaga ] ~to he lp~

But in addition to tone, a full description of the pitch

phenomena of Kirundi requires at least two additional concepts.

Both have to do with the placement of the tones along t;he time

a x i s .

The first of these concepts is the


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UNIT l KIRUNDI

The second concept having to do with the location of the

peak of a high tone on the time axis is


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BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

first and the second pitch point of a short vowel at the same

t im e .

(2) If high tone occurs on the first pitch point, the

first part of it spills over onto the preceding vowel.

This >spillover< may consist of a rising pitch on the

preceding syllable, as shown in the preceding figures. But it

may also be realized in any of the ways indicated in this figure:

syllable with which thehigh tone is primarilyassoc iated.

On long (two-mora ) vowels, there are still only two,

and not four pitch points; a high tone may occur at the begin

ning of the first mora, or near the end of the second mora:

[ - ~ ]/

>ch i ld renothers


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KIRUNDIUNIT l

High tone may occur on both the pitch points of the same

long vowel. This DOUBLE HIGH TONE is realized as high level with

a short dr o p a t t h e ve ry end.

abaantu bo ose > all p e o p l e >

The t e r m


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BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

These two sentences illustrate the fact that; the exaggeration of

pitch in yes-no questions applies to all the highs in the sen

t enc e, no t J u s t t o Ch e l as t ; .Some sentences contain no highs at all. For example:

Umunyarwaanda.

]Umunyarwaanda?

You are a Mu ny ar wanda .

Are you a Nu ny arw anda?

In this pair of sentences, the yes-no question may differ from the

statement in that it has a high pitch on the first syllable, or

in ending on a lower pitch than the statement, or in both of

these respec ts .

The sum of these ways in which yes-no questions differ from

statements with respect' to pitch will be termed YES-NO QUESTION

INTONATION. It will not be written with any special symbols in

0he writing system used in this book. Its presence can be in

ferred whenever a question mark follows a sentence that does not

contain some interrogative word such as /iki/ >what?> /ryaari/

>when'?>.

[For practice in employing the yes-no intonation side by

side with the corresponding declarative intonation, see vocabulary

supplements at the end of this unit;.]

3 A n ote on an tici ated hi tone i n fi nal osit io n.

Any sentence can be spoken with a DECLARATIVE INTONATION.

Compare these two sentences:

[ - ~ ]It


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KIRUNDIUNIT 1

[ Ni neeza? Is it fine?

The second of these sentences is a yes-no question. I n bo th t he

statement and the question, the pitch of /-za/ is low, even

though it is written with high tone. This same word does have

h i gh p i t c h wh e n i t i s n o t a t t h e en d o f t h e s e n t en c e :

[ ~ ~ -]Ni neeza ca ane .

The r el a t i o n s h i p b e t w e en t h e p i t ch e s o f t he f i nal sy l

lables of these two sentences is an example of' a general prin

ciple which may be stated as follows: When a short syllable

which in the middle of a sentence has high tone occurs at the

end of a sentence, then the pitch of that syllable itself is low.

If its high tone is of the >anticipated< variety, however, the

anticipatory rise in the preced1ng syllable is unaffected by the

declarative intonation.

It is very nice.

4.. A not e on t he us e o f sub ec t r e f i x e s .

Compare these two forms:

nkora.

ukora.

The semantic difference between first person singular

subJect and second person singular subJect is matched by the

difference between /n-/ (1 sg.) and /u-/ (2 sg.) These two

elements are called SUBJECT PREFIXES. Except for imperatives,

infinitives, and a few less important forms, every Rundi verbc ont ai n s a su b J e c t p r ef i x .

I work .

you (sg. ) wo rk .

[ Forpractice in using these two subJect prefixes, see

Vocabulary Supplements 1 and 2.

18


82/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

The prefixes which stand for personal subjects are given

h ere f o r r e f er e n c e :

F i r s t pe rs on

Second pe r so n

Th ird per son

Singular

n- or m

u- or w

a- or y

Plural

tu- or d u - or t'w

mu- or mw

ba- or b

The choice be tw een /n-/ and /m-/ for first person singular

depends on the sound that follows this prefix. The choice among

the variant; forms of the other prefixes is governed by principles

which will be discussed in Unit 2 , Not;e 4.

[For pract;ice in contrasting the prefixes /n-/ and /u-/, see

~vocabulary Supplement;s 1 and 2.]

5. A note on the immediate tense.

Unless t;hey are labelled ot;herwise, all verbs in the

first; few units of t;his course are in the same t;ense, which is

called the IMMEDIATE TENSE. The immediate tense may be usedwhen speaking about matters which are generally t;rue:

I work at; the port.Nkora ku k i v uk o .

It may also be used to refer t;o actions in the immediate pasti

Ndahageze vuba. I arrived here very recently.

It may even be employed for actions expected in the immediate

future, though no examples of this usage have occurred in Unit, 1.

It; should be noted that the immediate Cense is not

ordinarily used for actions which are in progress at the present.

For this meaning a verb phrase is used. See Unit 22 , Note

19


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KIRUNDIUNIT 1

Since no other verb forms have been introduced which are

in contrast with the immediate tense ( except f o r /ntaar i / a nd

/bwaakubone/, which are not to be made the subject of study att hi s t i m e), no exercises on this tense are provided in Unit l.

6. A no te on absolute personal r o no uns .

Sentence 6 contains the word /jeewe/:/ /

Jeewe nkora muri


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BASiC COURSE UNIT j

7. A note on the locative refixes.

Compare th es e se nt en ce s:/

Nkora muri >consulat americain /muri/, /mu-/, /mw-/.

If a noun begins with a consonant (/consulat/,/Yohaani /), then t;he long form of the prefix ( /muri / ) i s us ed .

If a noun begins with /i/ followed by the stem ( i . e .

Classes 5 , 9 , 10 ), then the locative prefix usually has the form

/mw-/ and the /i/ is retained.

Otherwise, the form of the prefix t'hat is used is

/mu-/ .

What; has been said about /mu-/, /muri-/ and /mw-/ alsoapplies to another locative prefix which has t;he forms /ku -/ ,

/kuri-/ and /kw-/. Both prefixes have to do with location. The

p re f i x /mu-j is more specific, and is


85/588

KIRUNDIUNIT 1

takes no prefixes of any kind. It is thus, from the point of

view of its form, a particle and not a verb.

The par t i c l e / ni/ has ant;icipated high tone on its

vowel if it is not the first word in the sentence an d do es n o t

follow a pause . I f it does stand at the beginning of the sentence

or after a pause, it has low tone. T his kind of tonal behavior

will be termed PROVISIONAL HIGH TONE, symbolized by writing an

acute accent before the syllable which has this characterist;ic.

No exercises are given for practicing the provisional high

t o ne , b u t t he s t u d e n t s h o u l d l i s t en f or f l uc t ; u a t i o n b e t w e e n l o w

and h igh t o nes on /ni/ in the speech of his inst;ruct;or, according

to whether a pause has been left before the word.

9 . A note on the combination n lus r

Compare t;he following forms:

Ndi Yoha an i . I am Jo hn .

Uri Y o h a a n i ? Are yo u J oh n ?

The verb stem in each of these sentences is the same; its

m ost common fo rm i s /- r i /


86/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

A r oc edu re fo r us e w i t h s ub stitution drills.

A large number of the practice

materials in this book are or

ganized in such a way that each

sentence is partly like the one

that immediately precedes it.

An example is to be found below

in the first group of sentences .

Comment utiliser les exercices

de substitution.

U n grand nombre d>ex erc i ce s dec e l i v r e so n t conatus de fanona c e q u e c h a q u e p h r a s e s o i t

en partie semblable a celle

qui la precede immediatement.

On peut en trouver un exemple

ci-dessous dans le premier

groupe de ph ra ses ay ant po ur

but un exercice pratique sys

temat ique.

1 . T h e t u t o r say s ea c h s e n

tence. The students repeat it

after him until they are able

to do so easily and correctly.

1 . L u n d e s e t u d i an t s

doit repondre par la deuxieme

p hr as e . L


87/588

KIRUNDIUNIT 1

a lo r s l e ~mot-clef~ de la

troisieme ligne, et ainsi de

s ui te j us qu

etc .

/

L c ue s> .

Pour reviser le meme exercice,

sans ins true teur, 1 > etudiant

For review of the same materi.al

with ou t a l i v e t u t o r , t h e/

24


88/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT

doit se servir detune carte

o paque dont u n de s c o i n s a

ete decoupe:

student, may make use of an

opaque card with a notch cut

out o f on e c o r n er :

/ /

U munyaameeri ka U r. U munyaameer ik a ?

Umuruundi

/ /

La carte ainsi placee, (voir

schema c i - de ssus ) l > e tud iant ,

doit donner la phrase qui

est cachee par le haut de la

car te . Quand il a donne la

p hrase, ou es say e de l a do n

ner, il fait descendre la

carte d>une ligne pour mettre

a jour la phrase qu>il devait

When the card is in this po

s i t i o n t h e s t u d e nt i s ex p e ct e d

to p roduce th e sen t ence wh i ch

is concealed by the top of the

card. Wh en he ha s do ne so ,

or a t t empte d t o do so , he t hen

pulls the card downward just

fa r enough to ex pose th e se n

tence that, he was to have pro

/

donner . duced:

/ /

Umunyaameerika1

Ur. Umunyaameerika?

Ur. Umur uund i?Umur uund i

Umunyarwaanda

25


89/588

UNIT 1 KIRUNDI

En procedant ainsi, il obtient;

a la fois la confirmation im

mediate {ou la cor rec t i on)de s a p ro p re r ep ons e e t l e

mot-clef suivant.

H aving done so , h e r ece i ve s

immediate confirmation or cor

rection of his own response and

is simultaneously presented

with the next; cue.

Si on retourne la carte de

maniere a avoir la partie

d ecoupee a dr o i t e , on peu t

se serv i r des p h rase s de l a

2 erne colonn e pou r d emander l e s

phrases equivalentes en Kirundi.

If t;he card is turned over so

that; the notch is on the right

hand side, the second column of

s entences may be u se d as a

second set o f cu es ./

A r oc edu re fo r us e w i t ht;ransformation drills.

The second group of material

for systematic practice con

sists of three columns. Col

umn 1 cons i s t s o f cue s, C o l um n

2 contains one series of sen

tences, and Column 3 contains

a different series of sent;ences.

Comment ut;iliser les exercicesde transformation.

C e groupe d>exer c i ce s se

compose de trois colonnes. La

colonne 1 comprend les mots

q3.efs, l a co l onne 2 co n t ' i e n t ;

une ser ie d e p hr as es , e t l a

colonne 3 cont;ient une dif

f e re n t e s er i e d e p h r a s e s .

In drill with materials of this

kind, Columns 1 and 2 should

be used as a substitution drill

(see t;he procedure outlined

above for substitution drills ).Then Col umns 1 an d 3 s hou l d b e

used together in the same way,

D ans un exer c i ce d e ce g en r e ,

les colonnes 1 et 2 peuvent

etre utilisees comme un

exercice de substitution

(voir les directives donnees

plus haut pour les exercices

de subst;itution ). Ensuite l es


90/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

colonnes 1 et 3 peuvent etre

utilisees de la meme fa non en

omitting Column 2. Finally,

the tutor gives the cue, one

sautant la colonne 2. Pinalement, student gives sentence from

1>instructeur donne le mot

clef, un etudiant donne la

p hr as e c o r r e s p o n d a n t e d e l a

colonne 2, e t un aut r e r ep on d

par une phr ase de l a col onn e 3 .

De cette fanon, les phrases

des exercices de substitution

sont combinees en une serie de

petites conversations de deux

l i gnes .

Column 2, and another replies

with the sentence from Column

3 . I n t h i s way , s en t en c es

f r om t h e s ubs t i t u t i on d r i l l s

are combined into a series

of little two line conversations.

r r

Vocabular su lement 1

Names for members of various ethnic rou s.

>Are you an Ameri ca n? ~

r ]Ur Umunyaameerika?Umunyaameerika>American'

A- lUr Um ur uund i?Umuruundi

f= jUr Umunyarwaanda?Umunyarwaanda

~Munyarwanda~

Umubo I: jUr Um ubo?

jUr Umum5s o?Umum5s o

27


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KIRUNDIUNIT l

[ w + ]Ur Umunyamugaamba?Umunyamugaamba

Umutuutsi

>Mutut s i >Ur U m u t u u ts i ?

]Umuhutu

>Muhutu>Ur Umuhutu?

]U r U m u t w a ?Umutwa

iMutwa>

/

Ur Umuzuungu?Umuzuungu>European>

]Ur Umubirigi?Umubirigi

Are you an Ameri ca n? >

[ ~ ]Ur Umunyaameerika?


92/588

BASIC COURSE UNITl

Umutuut;siBelgianAfr icanhome>

ib i ro (9, 8) Ukora mu bi r o ?Nkora m u b i r o .

>o f f i ce

Nkor a ku k i vuk o .[ ]Ukor a k u k i vuk o ?i k i v uk o (7, 8)

] [r

N kora mu g i sa ga r a . U kora mu g i sa ga r a ?ig i s aga ra (7, 8)


94/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT 1

Vocabular su lement 3.

i k i i n t u

i g i t a b o

ig i t uungwa

/ /

Nico kiintu caange. [

icaambarwa

o r: i k i f n g a

urubaangaangweJ J

Some ob ects which fre uentl re uire s ecification of ownershi

>this i s myt h i n g >

>domestic animal'

[ ] >book>

[ ~ ] ~c lo th ing>

Nico gituungwa caange.[ ~ ]

N ico g i t a b o c a a nJ e.

Nico caambarwa

caange.

Nirwo rubaangaangwe

rwaange.

Niryo kiinga ryaange [ ~ ]

Niyo pikipiki yaange. [ ] ~motorbike~

[ -~ ~ ] ~bicyc le>

i pi k i p i k i

Th c o rr e s p o n d in g p l u r a l s a r e :

i b i i n t u >These are myth ings>Nivyo biintu vyaanJe.

Nivyo b i t uu ngwa vyaange.

N ivy o b i t abo v y aanJ e .

Nivyo vyaambarwa vyaange.

Nizo mbaangaangwe zaange.

Niyo makifnga yaange.

Niyo mapikipiki yaanJe.

ib i tuungwa

i b i t a b o

ivyaambarwa

mbaangaangwe

amakiinga

amapikipiki

N.B. The differences between/ikiintu/and/kiintu/ on t h e o n e h a n d ,and/nico/and/nirwo/on the other, should not concern the student at

The word /igaari/ or /igaare/ is also used for >bicyc le


95/588


96/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT

UNIT 2

Dialo ue l,

[1 sg. subject prefix]

[ t d i s j u nc t < p r e f i x ]

t;o do- g ir a ( - gi z e )

[ ~ ]( 'I have do ne ') good morning,!1A Ndag i ze bwaa kee ye .

[ ~ ~ ]2B Bw aa keeye nee za. ( Reply to 1 .

)]

3B N . am a k i?

[ ~ ~ ]4A N. aameeza.

How are yo u?

iI


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UNIT 2 KIRUNDI

-andik a ( -andi t se )- andik i i sh a (-andikiishije) to cause to write

imashi in i ( 9, 6 or 1 0 )

t o wr i t e

machine

8A Ndaazi kw aan dikiish I kno w how t o t ype ( ).a

[ ~ ]i mash i i n i .

[a prefix used here with

out an antecedent, tore fe r t o ma nner]

good- i z a

]9B Ni v y i i za . That's finef

t o b e i n n e ed o f

e

-kenera (-keneye)

umukaraani (1, 2)

[ w ~ ]

10B Nda ke ney umuk araa n i .-shobora (-shobotse )

- taangura (-taanguye)

I n ee d a c l e r k .

c l e r i c a l w o r k e r

t o be ab l e

t o b e g i n

ubu now

[11A Nshobor a gu t aan gu r ubu ? Can I beg i n now?a

nooya

[non-immediate future

p r e f i x ]-zoo

t o r et u r n

y est er d a y , t o mo r r ow

-garuka (-garutse)

ego (or :ego)


98/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT2

[12B Oya ge en d uzoo ga ru k N o, go [and ] (y ou wi l l ) comea a back tomorrow.

]ejo.

13A Nd i i k eb a anuye . Good bye!

Dialo u e 2.

[ -- - - - > r ]1 4C Ur ake ne y um uk ar aan i '? Do you need a c l er k ?e

[3 sg. personal objectp ref i x ]

-mu

[ ~ ~ - - - - - ]15D Ee g o n da mukeneye. Yes, I ne ed one. (>Yes, I n ee d

him.>) domestic servantumushuumba (1, 2)

16C Ur ak e ne y abashu umba? Do you need any domestic help?

[3 pl. personal objectp ref i x ]

-ba

[ ]17D Eego ndab ak en ey e. Yes, I nee d so me. ( )

Dialo u e 3 .

[-W18E Uraazi kwa andikiish Do you kn ow how t o t yp e ?a

i mash i i n i ?

[an object prefix withindefinite reference ]

35


99/588

UNIT 2 KIRUNDI

L ~ - ~ - jlgF Eego ndabiizi neeza. Y es, I kno w (it) very well.

- ]20E N i vyiiza. Uzootaangur Fine J Will you begin tomorrow?a

ego?

uwaambere Monday

]21F Oy a nzo ot aa ngura No, I


100/588

BASIC COURSE UNIT

means t;hat t h e st e m/- shuumba/ occurs in a singular noun of

Class 1, and in a plural noun of Class 2. ( For p r a c t i c e i n c on

trasting this pair of noun classes, see Exercise 2 . )

2. A no te on ob ect re fi xes .

C ompare th e wo r d s :

I n ee d . . .

I need h i m.

I need t h em .

Ndakeney e. . .

Ndamukeneye.

Ndabakeneye.

The forms /-mu-/ in the second sentence and /-ba-/ in the third

are OBJECT PREFIXES. An object prefix in Kirundi is in many ways

like an object pronoun in English, except that, the Kirundi object

prefix is included wit;hin the verb itself. I t stands immediately

before t ; he ro o t .

The choice of object prefix depends on the person and

number, or on the class, of the substantive for which the prefix

stands. Thus , /-mu-/ is used where the object is third person

singular personal. It;s most usual t;ranslation in English is

her>. The corresponding plural prefix is / -ba-/ .

For reference purposes, the personal object prefixes

a re g i v e n h e r e :

S ingu la r

-n- or-m-

-ku- or -gu or k w ~you (sg.)~

Plura l

- tu - o r - du- o r - tw you (p l . ) >

F i r s t ' p e r s o n

Second pe r so n

-mu- or - mw- >h im , h e r < -ba >them>Third per s on

Non-personal object prefixes are list;ed in the synopsis p. x x i i .

37


101/588

UNIT 2 KIHUNDI

The choi ce am ong /-ku-/, /-gu-/, /-kw-/ for the second

person s i ng u l a r , and among/-tu-/, /-du-/, /-tw-/ for the first

person plural are governed by the same principles as those set

f or th ( Unit 2 , Not e 4 ) for the infinitive prefix.

3. A no te on the tones of certain nouns borrowed from Euro eanlan ua es and Swahili.

Units 1 and 2 contain a number of nouns that' are ob

viously borrowed from a European language or from Swahili:

[ ~ ] >bank ~ ] houseboy conjunc t> and


107/588

UNIT 2 KIRUNDI

[ ~ ]-mesuura (-mesuuye }

]Uraazi kumesuura?Ndaazi kumesuura.

[ -< - ]- ]-andika ( -and i t s e ) Ur aaz i kwaa nd i k a ?Ndaaz i kw aan d ika .

>to wr i t e to read>

[~~ ]f ~ ]Ndaazi k u r i ma . Uraaz i k u r i ma ?- r ima ( - r i m y e)

to cause to cultivate'

]Ndaazi kurimiish

[ ~ ]a

[ w ]Uraazi kurimiish

f -> ]a

isuka (9,6)shoe~ isuka?isuka.

>I know how t o c u l

hoe.< (> . . .cause ahoe to cultivate~ )

tivate with a

-geendesha ( -geendeshe j e )' to cause t o g o >

umuduga (3,4)

f ~ ] f - ~Ndaazi ku ge endees h Ur aazi kuge e nd eesh

f - ~ ]umuduga?

a a

]umuduga.

cloth, clothes>

to b u i l d I will return on

Saturday.>

Nzoogaruka ku w ag at aa

ndatu.>I will return on

Sunday.>

Nzoogaruka k u wam uun gu .

>I will return on

Monday.day< : t h e p r ef i x /ka-/ or /ga-/ is used in ordinal

numerals: the remaining elements in the above words are the

morphemes f or >2-6>, for >Godfi r s t < (mbere ).48


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BASIC COURSE UNIT 2

Comment utiliser les exercises A roc edure for use with prac

de co nv er s a t i on .

Les ex erc i s es de c o nv e rs a t i onq ui s u i v e nt l e s ex er ci s e s s y s

tematiques ont pour but

d>offrir une pratique guidee

de conversation, sous forme

de c ou r t s d i a l ogues bas es s u r

le vocabulaire et les points

de grammaire deja etudies .

tice conversations.

The practice conversations which

follow the systematic drills

are intended to provide oppor

tunities for guided practice

in short connected dialogues.

These materials contain no new

words or grammatical features./ w / /

The first column consists of an

English summary of one side of

the dialogue. Th e mi ddle

column contains the Kirundi ex

pressions that are needed for

t hat side of the dialogue. T h e

tnird column contains the other

1>autre rGle de la meme conver- side of the same conversation.

s at i o n .

La premiere colonne consiste

e n un re sume d>un r8 l e d u

d ia l o g u e . L a c o l o n ne du

mi l i e u c on t i e n t l e s e xp r es

sions kirundi qui correspondent

a ce meme role du dialogue.

La troisieme colonne contient

/

1 . L


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KIRUNDIUNIT 2

side of the conversation. The

s t u d en t h ea r s an d u n d e r s t an d s

this, and goes on to reply in

accordance wi t h t he sec on d

English instruction. T he y pr o

ceed in this way to the end of

t he d i al o gu e .

repond alors avec la ligne

suivante de la troisieme colonne

de la conversation. L>etudiant

ecoute et comprend la phrase

et repond suivant les direc

tives donnees en anglais. Ils

continuent ainsi gusqu>a la

fin du dialogue.

/

2. Recommencer en p r o c ed ant ,

de la meme f anon ju sq u>a ce

que 1>e leve pu i sse p r en dre l e

premier role du dialogue sans

hesitations et sans fautes.

2 . T h e ab ov e p r oc edu re s hou l d

be repeated until the student

can take the first side of the

dialogue without hesitation and

without mistakes./

3. L>instructeur doit ensuite 3. Then the tutor should take

prendre le premier role et

1instruc- gi ven to the tutor.

teur ,

the first role, and the student

should take the role f'ormerly

4. Les deux roles sont tenus 4 . B oth ro le s in the dialogue

p ar des c l e v e s . a re t a ken b y s t u d e n t s ./

Practice Conversation l.

You ask ano t her pe r so nwhat k i nd of ' wor k h edoes. Yo u a s k wh et he rh e knows how to t y pe.

aU kor akaz i nyaba k i ?

Uraazi kwaandikiish

imashiini?

N d u m u k a r a a n i ./

a

/

Eego, n d a b i i z i .

50


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BASIC COURSE UNIT 2

Practice Conversation 2.

Ukora muu baanki?You ask t h e s am e pe rs onwhether h e w o rk s i n abank. You as k ab outhis tribal or regional

o r i g i n .Ur. Umubo?

i

Oya. N k or a mu r i>consulat amer ica in


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UNIT 3 KIRUNDI

UNIT 3

Dialo u e 1 .

aha

-bona ( -boonye) t o see

here ( >th i s , > l oc a t i v eclass 16) cf. U ni t 1,Stc. 7.

a locative prefix

t her e i s , t h e r e ar ehari

umuuntu (1, 2) person

fewke

[1A Mbo n a h i Bujuumbura

1har abaa ntu ba ke .

I see that here in Bugumbura

t here a re f ew peo p le .a a

now, then ( expl et i v e )noone

othernd iV' where? (enclitic )--he

[2A Noon abaa n d i Bar uun d i Now where d o t h e ot her Rund i

people work?e

1bakorKhe?

i i n s h i many, much

to work for, at, etc.-korera (-koreye)upugo (11), intro (10) farm

t he i raabo

/ / and they (Cl. 2)nabo

52


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BASIC COURSE UNIT 3

prefix, used

w hen one verb f o l l owsanother.

[ - ~ - ~

-]3 B Ab e e n s h i b a k o r er i n g o Many work on their farms,' and

others work in other towns.a

z aabo~ aba and i nabo

]bagakora mu biindi

]

bisagara./

Lki what?

]4A Muu ngw iw aabo bakor ik i? W hat ; do they do on their

0 a farms?

/ /

-baaza (- baage )

-cura ( cuze )

t o work wood, t o car ve

to work metal

/

na/

and

l i k e , asnka

[5 B B ar a r i ma , a b aa n d i They farm, [and] some work in

wood or metal, and so forth( >and o t he r [ t hi ng s ] l i k ethose.< )

" ]bakabaaza, bagacura,

[ ~ ~ ]n ibii nd i nk iivyo .

a a

53


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KIRUNDIUNIT 3

Dialo u e 2 .

your (sg.)aawe

[ - ~ > ]6 C Um uk a raan i w aa w ar aa z i D oes your c l e r k k n ow [ h ow ]

t o t y p e ' ?e

0

kwaandikiish imashiinl?

[ ~ m ~ ]7D Eeg a r abi i zi neeza .

- tu ruka ( turuts e )

a

Yes, he k no ws ( i t ) we l l .

to come f rom

[ i ]8C At u r ukKhe '? Where does he come from?

[ ]9D At ur uk i Ngoozi . He comes from Ngozi.

a

l. A note on the alternation of nasal consonants.

Compare Sentence 1, Unit 3 with Sentence 6, Unit 2, and

Sentences g a n d 6 , U n it 1 :

mbona...

n doonder a . . .

>I am looking for...other> ~ this , t he s e child> is /umwaana/.

With the prefixes for Classes f and 8, the substitution

of /y/ for /i/ would result in sequences which do not occur in

Kir u n d i :

/ki-/ Cl. 7 plus / iza/ woul d g i v e +/ ky-/ ./bi-/ Cl, 8 plus / iza/ would g i v e +/by-/ .

In place of an expected +/ ky-/ , K i r u nd i u ses / c - / :

c i i z a


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KIRUNDIUNIT 3

4. A note on the locative enclitic --he

Compare the tones of /-turuka/ in:

aatu ru k i Rwaa n da

aturukKhe

he comes f rom Ruanda

where do es h e com e f r om?

The par t i c l e /-"-he/ never occurs as a separate word, yet it is

not an integral part of the