For the 2011 film based on the Rwandan genocide, see Kinyarwanda (film).
Kinyarwanda
Rwandan
Ikinyarwanda
Native to
Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, DR Congo, Tanzania
Ethnicity
Banyarwanda
Native speakers
15 million (2014–2022)[1]
Language family
Niger–Congo?
Atlantic–Congo
Volta-Congo
Benue–Congo
Bantoid
Southern Bantoid
Bantu
Northeast Bantu
Great Lakes Bantu
Rwanda-Rundi
Kinyarwanda
Dialects
Bufumbwa
Ikinyabwishya
Igikiga
Ikinyamurenge
Ikirera
Urufumbira
Urutwatwa
Writing system
Latin
Official status
Official language in
Rwanda
Language codes
ISO 639-1
rw
ISO 639-2
kin
ISO 639-3
kin
Glottolog
kiny1244
Guthrie code
JD.61[2]
Linguasphere
99-AUS-df
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Person
Umunyarwanda
People
Abanyarwanda
Language
Ikinyarwanda
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 Burundi and adjacent parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda (where there is a dialect known as Rufumbira or Urufumbira) and Tanzania. 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]
^Kinyarwanda at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
^Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
^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
^"Rwanda", Ethnologue, 27th Ed.
^"Rundi", Ethnologue, 27th Ed.
^Official Gazette n° Special of 27/07/2012, p. 37, https://docplayer.net/14679534-Ibirimo-summary-sommaire.html
^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.
Kinyarwanda, Rwandan or Rwanda, officially known as Ikinyarwanda, is a Bantu language and the national language of Rwanda. It is a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi...
Capitals and Governors :: Nigeria Information & Guide". Nigeria (in Kinyarwanda). Retrieved 2020-02-04. "List of the 36 States of Nigeria and their Capitals"...
Kinyarwanda is the national language of Rwanda, and the first language of almost the entire population of the country. It is one of the country's official...
divided into 30 districts (Kinyarwanda: uturere, sing. akarere). Each district is in turn divided into sectors (Kinyarwanda: imirenge, sing. umurenge)...
The Banyarwanda (Kinyarwanda: Abanyarwanda, plural; Umunyarwanda, singular) are a Bantu ethnolinguistic supraethnicity. The Banyarwanda are also minorities...
du Rwanda; Kinyarwanda: Inteko Ishinga Amategeko y’u Rwanda) has consisted of two chambers since 2003: The Senate (French: Sénat; Kinyarwanda: Sena) (Upper...
The Tutsi (/ˈtʊtsi/), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (Kinyarwanda pronunciation: [ɑ.βɑ.tuː.t͡si]), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes...
the Niger–Congo language family. Rwanda-Rundi is subdivided into the Kinyarwanda and Kirundi dialects, which have been standardized as official languages...
largest religion in the country; the principal and national language is Kinyarwanda, spoken by native Rwandans, with English, French and Swahili serving...
(100,000; ? L2 speakers) Swahili, Kinyarwanda, English, and French are official languages Kinyarwanda (Kinyarwanda) (10 – 12 million) Swahili (Mwini dialect)...
qu Romansh Rumantsch rm Romanian română ro Russian русский ru KinyarwandaKinyarwanda rw Sanskrit संस्कृत sa Yakut саха sah Sami (Northern) davvisámegiella...
2013 yes yes Kannada 2011 yes yes Kazakh 2014 yes no Khmer 2013 yes yes Kinyarwanda 2020 yes no Konkani 2022 no no Korean 2006 yes yes Krio 2022 no no Kurdish...
(known as Inyangamugayo, which means "those who detest dishonesty" in Kinyarwanda) who preside over the genocide trials were elected by the public. After...
Irish isiXhosa isiZulu Italian Japanese K’iche’ Kannada Kazakh Khmer Kinyarwanda Kiswahili Konkani Korean Kyrgyz Latvian Lithuanian Luxembourgish Macedonian...
The flag of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: ibendera ry'Urwanda, French: Drapeau du Rwanda) was adopted on 25 October 2001. The flag has three colours: blue, yellow...
The African Great Lakes (Swahili: Maziwa Makuu; Kinyarwanda: Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and...
minutes Countries United States United Kingdom South Africa Italy Languages English French Kinyarwanda Budget $17.5 million Box office $33.9 million...
Yup'ik." In Dixon & Aikhenvald (2000) Kinyarwanda: Kimenyi, Alexandre (1980). A Relational Grammar of Kinyarwanda. University of California Press. p. 160–72...
Global Information
Rwanda
