Nkore (also called Nkole, Nyankore, Nyankole, Orunyankore, Orunyankole, Runyankore and Runyankole) is a

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language *Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for Nationali ...

language spoken by the Nkore ("Banyankore") of south-western Uganda in the former province of

Ankole Ankole (Nkore language, Runyankore: ''Nkore''), was a traditional Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom in Uganda and lasted from the 15th century until 1967. The kingdom was located in south-western Uganda, east of Lake Edward. History Ankole Realm, K ...

, as well as in Tanzania, the

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

. Runyankole is mainly spoken in the Mbarara, Bushenyi, Ntungamo,

Kiruhura Kiruhura is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the largest town in Kiruhura District and the site of the district headquarters. Location Kiruhura is approximately , by road, northeast of Mbarara, the largest city in the Ankole sub-r ...

, Ibanda, Isingiro,

Rukungiri Rukungiri is a town in Rukungiri District of the Western Region of Uganda. It is the site of the district headquarters. Location Rukungiri is approximately , by road, north of Kabale, the largest city in the Kigezi sub-region. This is about , ...

and parts of Kitagwenda districts. There is a brief description and teaching guide for this language, written by

Charles V. Taylor Charles V. Taylor (30 November 1918 – 2009) was an Australian linguist and the author of at least 19 books on topics ranging from African linguistics to ecclesiastical history. He was also known as a Bible teacher and a frequent Christian maga ...

in the 1950s, and an adequate dictionary in print. Whilst this language is spoken by almost all the Ugandans in the region, most also speak English, especially in the towns. (English is one of Uganda's two official languages, and the language taught in schools.) Nkore is so similar to Kiga (84–94 percent lexical similarity) that some argue they are dialects of the same language, a language called Nkore-Kiga by Taylor.

Phonology

Runyankore has a five-vowel system: * Sounds /i, u/ can be heard as �, ʊwhen short or lax.

Orthography

* a - * b - * c - ͡ʃ* d - * e - * f - * g - /d͡ʒ* h - * i - * k - /t͡ʃ* m - * n - * o - * p - * r - * s - * t - * u - * v - * w - * y - * z - * ai -

i̯ The voiced palatal approximant, or yod, is a type of consonant used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . The equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is j, and in the Americanist phonetic n ...

* ei - �i̯* gy - ʲ* ky - ʲ* mp - ��p* mw - ��w* nd - ��d* ng - �* ny - �* oi - �i̯* sh - �* ts - ͡s* zh - � D and P are only used in the digraphs ''ND'' and ''MP'' and in loanwords. G and K are ͡ʒand ͡ʃbefore I, and elsewhere.

Basic greetings

The greeting ''Agandi'', implying, "How are you?" but literally meaning "other news!", can be replied with ''Ni marungi'', which literally means "good news!". The proper greetings are ''Oraire ota?'' or ''Osiibire ota?'', literally translated "How was your night?" and "How was your day?". "Good night" is ''Oraare gye'' and "Good day" is ''Osiibe gye''. Here are a few names one might use in a greeting: *Madam – ''Nyabo'' *Sir – ''Sebo'' *Child – ''omwana'' *Boy – ''omwojo'' *Girl – ''omwishiki''

Food

*Matooke or Bananas - ''Ebitookye'' *Maize Meal or corn bread – ''Obuhunga'' *Beans – ''Ebihimba'' *Meat – ''Enyama'' *Millet Bread – ''Oburo''

Other words and phrases

*No: Ngaaha (ing-gah-ha) or Apaana (ah-pah-nah) *Yes: Yego (yegg-oh) *Thank you: Yebare (Ye-ba-re) *Thank you very much: Yebare munonga (Ye-ba-re mu-non-ga) *You're welcome (literally: Thank you for appreciating): Yebare kusiima (ye-ba-re koo-see-mah) *I like/love you: Ninkukunda (nin-koo-coon-dah) or ninkukunda munonga (nin-koo-coon-dah moo-non-gah) *My name is ____: Eizina ryangye niinye ______ (ey-zeen-ah riya-gye ni-inye___) or ndi _____ (in-dee ______) *I am from _____: Ninduga_____ (nin-doog-ah_____) *It's how much shillings/money? Ni shiringi zingahi? (Knee shi-rin-gee zin-gah-hee) or ni sente zingahi? *Good morning. How are you? Oraire ota (orei-rota) Replies: I'm fine Ndaire gye (ndei-re-jeh) or Ndyaho (indi-aho) *Good morning. Did you sleep well? Oraire gye? (orei-reh-jeh) Reply: Yes, yourself? Yego, shan’iwe *Good afternoon. How are you spending your day? Osiibire ota (o-see-bee-rota) Replies: Nsiibire gye (insi-bi-reje) *You are spending your day well? Osiibire gye (Osi birejge) Replies: Yes- Yego (yegg-oh) or nsiibire gye *Good afternoon. How has your day been? Waasiiba ota (wasib-wota) Reply: Fine, good, I've spent it well – Naasiiba gye (nasi-baje) *Good night: oraregye Standard English–Runyankore/Rukiga Dictionary – Mwene Mushanga, Ph.D. Banyankore Cultural Foundation, Mbarara, Uganda, 2004 English to Runyankole Easy Reading Handbook, Vincent Busulwa, 2000 Staff of Bishop Stuart Core Primary Teachers' College, Mbarara, Uganda

References