Kinyarwanda, sometimes referred to as simply Rwanda, is one of the official languages in the country of Rwanda and is also spoken in parts of southern Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kinyarwanda is one of the four official languages in Rwanda and is spoken by over 90% of the population.
Kinyarwanda is a tonal language, which means that high and low tones are used to distinguish the meaning of words and grammatical features.
According to research done by UNESCO, it is estimated that if nothing changes, half of the 6000+ languages spoken today will go extinct by the end of the century. One of those endangered languages could be Kinyarwanda. The main reason behind this is that nowadays more and more people are speaking it with a blend of either English, French or Swahili. Over time this can slowly cause parts of the language to be forgotten.
Luckily, this concern has already been brought up throughout the years and there are attempts already being made to preserve the language. Suggestions have been made to introduce the language as a course in universities and to make it mandatory for children to study it for the first 2-3 years of school.
As of today, over 20 million people speak Kinyarwanda which means that even though the written format might be in danger, spoken Kinyarwanda is still very much alive and likely not going anywhere anytime soon.
For people who have never heard Kinyarwanda before, learning the language can be a challenge. The hard part is actually listening and understanding it in the beginning. This is due to the fact that the locals tend to blend words together. When a word ends in a vowel and is followed by a different word starting with a vowel, you’re supposed to drop one of the two letters and blend the two words together.
The language structure is also different in many ways when compared to English. For instance question words almost exclusively go at the end of your sentence. Instead of “what do you do” in kinyarwanda the question translates to “You do what?”. Another difference is that adjectives go after nouns, which will actually make things easier for Spanish speakers.
All in all, learning Kinyarwanda is no easy task, but with enough patience and practise you’ll start getting the hang of it. Having someone to practise with is key and will certainly speed up the process significantly.
As with any other language, there are different approaches you can take depending on your own preference. You can watch videos online or buy books, but the easiest method is finding a teacher. Having someone who’s fluent in the language will certainly speed up your learning process.
TutorExtra offers courses in over 1000 subjects, including Kinyarwanda. Browse through our website and find the perfect tutor for you.
✅ Experts available : | 1 |
✅ Average price : | £50/hr |
✅ Session format : | Online |
✅ First lesson free : | Yes |