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Languages Of Burundi
Burundi traditionally had two official languages: Kirundi and French. English became the third official language of the country in 2014. Of these, only Kirundi is spoken by the vast majority of the population. It is recognised as the national language by the Burundian constitution of 2005. Burundi is unusual among African states in having a single indigenous language shared by its entire population. In one estimate, 98 percent of Burundians speak Kirundi. Under Belgian colonial rule (1919–62), Kirundi was taught whereas under German rule (1894–1916) Swahili had been encouraged. In recent years, the Burundian government has promoted the use of Kirundi language as way to unify the country's different ethnic groups. The country is considered part of '' Francophonie''. As a legacy of Belgian colonial rule, French has an important role in government, business, and the educated classes but only between 3 and 10 percent of the population speak the language fluently. Burundian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bujumbura - Flickr - Dave Proffer (1)
Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's normal capital. In late December 2018, Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would follow through on a 2007 promise to return Gitega its former political capital status, with Bujumbura remaining as economical capital and center of commerce. A vote in the Parliament of Burundi made the change official on 16 January 2019, with all branches of government expected to move to Gitega within three years. History Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post in German East Africa in 1889. After World War I it was made the administrative center of the Belgium, Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. The name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura when Burundi became independent in 1962. Since independence, Bujumbura ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constitution Of Burundi
The Constitution of Burundi was adopted by referendum on February 28, 2005 and promulgated on March 18, 2005. On May 12, 2017, a draft revision of the constitution of Burundi was announced. The final draft was announced on October 25, 2017, and provides for the creation of a post of Prime Minister, the transition from a five-year to a seven year presidential term, the term limit will be one consecutive and the threshold of adoption of the laws would go from two thirds to the absolute majority. With these changes, the Arusha Accords are ''de facto'' abrogated. In January 2018, during the campaign for the referendum, the Burundian authorities arrested opponents of the changes. Finally, the text also provides for the possibility of restoring the monarchy. The referendum was held on 17 May, 2018. The constitutional reform was promulgated on 7 June, 2018. See also * Constitution of the Kingdom of Burundi References External links Text of the 2005 Constitution {{Constitution ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culture Of Burundi
The culture of Burundi is based on local tradition and common influence with its neighbors. Music Traditional drumming of ''karyenda'' is an important part of Burundian cultural heritage, as indicated by the world-famous Royal Drummers of Burundi. Traditional dance often accompanies the drumming, which is frequently seen in celebrations and family gatherings. Some Burundian artisans have special songs to accompany different stages of their work. Media Literature and oral tradition During the 1972 genocide, many Burundians involved in higher education were killed, stalling written culture. This combined with the lower literacy rate have encouraged an adherence to Burundi's strong oral tradition, which relays history and life lessons through storytelling, poetry, and song. This is evident in ''kivivuga amazina'', an improvisational poetry contest played by cattle herders, in which they boast their abilities or accomplishments. Sports Football is a popular pastim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islam In Burundi
Islam is a minority religion in Burundi where approximately 90 percent of the national population are followers of Christianity. Between 2–5 percent of the population identifies as Muslim, according to a 2010 estimate by the United States Department of State. The same year, the Pew Research Centre estimated that there were 230,000 Muslims in Burundi, equivalent to 2.8 percent of Burundi's 8.4 million inhabitants. Religion History Islam first arrived in Burundi from the East African coast with Arab traders in the late 19th century. The Arabs were prevented from entering the Kingdom of Burundi by a successful campaign of resistance led by ''mwami'' (king) Mwezi IV Gisabo. However, they did establish settlements at Ujiji and Uvira close to the country's current borders. The number of Muslims in Burundi increased under German colonial rule (1894–1916) and the German administration favoured the use of Kiswahili, spoken mostly by the Muslim population, over Kirundi. By the outb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Great Lakes
The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in the world by area, Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume and depth, and Lake Malawi, the world's eighth-largest fresh water lake by area. Collectively, they contain 31,000 km3 (7400 cu mi) of water, which is more than either Lake Baikal or the North American Great Lakes. This total constitutes about 25% of the planet's unfrozen surface fresh water. The large rift lakes of Africa are the ancient home of great biodiversity, and 10% of the world's fish species live in this region. Riparian countries in the African Great Lakes region include: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Lakes and drainage basins The following are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East African Community
The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda. Évariste Ndayishimiye, the president of Burundi, is the current EAC chairman. The organisation was founded in 1967, collapsed in 1977, and was revived on 7 July 2000. In 2008, after negotiations with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the EAC agreed to an expanded free trade area including the member states of all three organizations. The EAC is an integral part of the African Economic Community. The capital of the EAC is Arusha, Tanzania. The EAC is a potential precursor to the establishment of the East African Federation, a proposed federation of its members into a single sovereign state. In 2010, the EAC launched its own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Pidgin
A French creole, or French-based creole language, is a creole for which French is the lexifier. Most often this lexifier is not modern French but rather a 17th- or 18th-century koiné of French from Paris, the French Atlantic harbors, and the nascent French colonies. This article also contains information on French pidgin languages, contact languages that lack native speakers. These contact languages are not to be confused with non-creole varieties of French outside of Europe that date to colonial times, such as Acadian, Louisiana, New England or Quebec French. There are over 15.5 million speakers of some form of based French based creole languages. Haitian Creole is the most spoken creole language in the world, with over 12 million speakers. History Throughout the 17th century, French Creoles became established as a unique ethnicity originating from the mix of French, Indian, and African cultures. These French Creoles held a distinct ethno-cultural identity, a shared anti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Language
A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language (first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later. A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a foreign language. A speaker's dominant language, which is the language a speaker uses most or is most comfortable with, is not necessarily the speaker's first language. For example, the Canadian census defines first language for its purposes as "the first language learned in childhood and still spoken", recognizing that for some, the earliest language may be lost, a process known as language attrition. This can happen when young children start school or move to a new language environment. Second-language acquisition The distinction between acquiring and learning was made by Stephen Krashen (1982) as part of his Monitor Theory. According to Krashen, the ''acquisition'' of a language is a natural process; whereas ''learning'' a language is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lingala
Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in Angola, the Central African Republic and southern South Sudan. Lingala has 15–20 million native speakers and about 25 million second-language speakers, for a total of 40–45 million speakers. History Prior to 1880, Bobangi was an important trade language on the western sections of the Congo river, more precisely between Stanley Pool (Kinshasa) and the confluence of the Congo and Ubangi rivers. When in the early 1880s, the first Europeans and their West- and East-African troops started founding state posts for the Belgian king along this river section, they noticed the widespread use and prestige of Bobangi. They attempted to learn it, but only cared to acquire an imperfect knowledge of it, a process that gave rise to a new, strongl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loanword
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because they share an etymological origin, and calques, which involve translation. Loanwords from languages with different scripts are usually transliterated (between scripts), but they are not translated. Additionally, loanwords may be adapted to phonology, phonotactics, orthography, and morphology of the target language. When a loanword is fully adapted to the rules of the target language, it is distinguished from native words of the target language only by its origin. However, often the adaptation is incomplete, so loanwords may conserve specific features distinguishing them from native words of the target language: loaned phonemes and sound combinations, partial or total conserving of the original spelling, foreign plural or case forms or indecli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francophonie
Francophonie is the quality of speaking French. The term designates the ensemble of people, organisations and governments that share the use of French on a daily basis and as administrative language, teaching language or chosen language. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important as part of the conceptual rethinking of cultures and geography in the late 20th century. Denominations Francophonie, francophonie and francophone space are syntagmatic. This expression is relevant to countries which speak French as their national language, may it be as a mother language or a secondary language. These expressions are sometimes misunderstood or misused by English speakers. They can be synonymous but most of the time they are complementary. * "francophonie", with a small "f", refers to populations and people who speak French for communication or/and in their daily lives. * "Francophonie", with a capital "F", can be defined as referring to the governments, gover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German East Africa
German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozambique. GEA's area was , which was nearly three times the area of present-day Germany and double the area of metropolitan Germany at the time. The colony was organised when the German military was asked in the late 1880s to put down a revolt against the activities of the German East Africa Company. It ended with Imperial Germany's defeat in World War I. Ultimately GEA was divided between Britain, Belgium and Portugal and was reorganised as a mandate of the League of Nations. History Like other colonial powers the Germans expanded their empire in the Africa Great Lakes region, ostensibly to fight slavery and the slave trade. Unlike other imperial powers, however they never formally abolished either slavery or the slave trade and preferre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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