Kinyarwanda

For the 2011 film based on the Rwandan genocide, see Kinyarwanda (film).

Kinyarwanda
Rwandan
Ikinyarwanda
Native toRwanda, Uganda, DR Congo
EthnicityBanyarwanda
Native speakers
15 million (2014–2022)[1]
Dialects
  • Bufumbwa
  • Ikinyabwishya
  • Igikiga
  • Ikinyamurenge
  • Ikirera
  • Urufumbira
  • Urutwatwa
Latin
Official status
Official language in
 Rwanda
Language codes
ISO 639-1rw
ISO 639-2kin
ISO 639-3kin
Glottologkiny1244
JD.61[2]
Linguasphere99-AUS-df
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PersonUmunyarwanda
PeopleAbanyarwanda
LanguageIkinyarwanda

Kinyarwanda,[3] Rwandan or Rwanda, officially known as Ikinyarwanda,[4] is a Bantu language and the national language of Rwanda.[5] It is a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language that is also spoken in adjacent parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Uganda, where the dialect is known as Rufumbira or Urufumbira. Kinyarwanda is universal among the native population of Rwanda and is mutually intelligible with Kirundi, the national language of neighbouring Burundi.[6] Kinyabwishya and Kinyamulenge are mutually intelligible dialects spoken in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces of neighbouring DR Congo.

In 2010, the Rwanda Academy of Language and Culture (RALC)[7] was established to help promote and sustain Kinyarwanda. The organization attempted an orthographic reform in 2014, but it was met with pushback due to their perceived top-down and political nature, among other reasons.[8]

  1. ^ Kinyarwanda at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ Pronounced /ˌkɪnjərəˈwɑːndə/, /-ruˈændə/, /-ruˈɑːndə/, /ˌkiːnjə-/; Kinyarwanda: Ikinyarwanda [iciɲɑɾɡwɑːndɑ]
  4. ^ Official Gazette n° Special of 24/12/2015, p. 31, https://www.aripo.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/RWANDA_CONSTITUTION_NEW_2015_Official_Gazette_no_Special_of_24.12.2015.pdf
  5. ^ "Rwanda", Ethnologue, 27th Ed.
  6. ^ "Rundi", Ethnologue, 27th Ed.
  7. ^ Official Gazette n° Special of 27/07/2012, p. 37, https://docplayer.net/14679534-Ibirimo-summary-sommaire.html
  8. ^ Niyomugabo, Cyprien; Uwizeyimana, Valentin (20 March 2017). "A top–down orthography change and language attitudes in the context of a language-loyal country". Language Policy. 17 (3): 307–318. doi:10.1007/s10993-016-9427-x. ISSN 1568-4555. S2CID 151319065.