The following column from the Kigali paper, The New Times, was seen on AllAfrica.com at http://allafrica.com/stories/200702210967.html . This is one of several items re International Mother Language Day that I'll post now.
Re this article, Kinyarwanda may be unique in some respects but it is also very closr to Kirundi (apparently mutually intelligible). An earlier article from the same paper (see message #328) also mentioned the closeness of Kinyarwanda with a language of Kenya, Kimaragoli. So perhaps one may consider it both a national language and a regionally important crossborder language... DZO Rwanda: The Uniqueness of Kinyarwanda The New Times (Kigali) http://www.newtimes.co.rw/ GUEST COLUMN February 21, 2007 Posted to the web February 21, 2007 Linda Mbabazi Kigali Today is International Mother Language Day and Rwanda is unique in this aspect. Kinyarwanda is Rwanda's local and also national language, which is spoken by millions of people within and without. Consequently, the language has dominated other languages in the country like English, French, which were expected to be the official languages. According to history, Rwanda, a small, hilly country in Central Africa, over 500 miles from the nearest coast, writing did not reach her until the colonisation by Germany, and then Belgium at the end of the nineteenth century. The account that follows the pre-colonial history of the country is therefore far from certain, especially since the history of Rwanda has probably been distorted by various groups to serve their own interests. Now, a lot of confusion exists over why those groups speak the same language, yet they have different historical backgrounds. What could have been the language of each of these groups before they created Kinyarwanda? Or which group originally spoke it? Could we commit ourselves and say that it was the Twa, since history tells us that they were the first inhabitants? But how sure shall we be, because sometimes historians also exaggerate when stating this. However, it appears that soon after the amalgamation of these groups, they decided on one language to speak, because I doubt whether initially these groups were speaking the same language. Today, those groups are often described by foreigners as tribes, but according to the African traditional, tribes are defined according to their unique languages and customs. In contrast, Rwanda has existed as a single political entity with one language (Kinyarwanda), one culture, religion and one leader. The beauty of one language I have travelled in many places of Africa but there is hardly any other country where inhabitants have just a single unifying language like Rwanda. Perhaps what I am not well conversant with is how language is considered in other societies, but for Rwanda's case, language is considered as a large integral part of culture. In this case, Rwandans are proud of their culture, and they strongly cling to it, thus the attempt to regard Kinyarwanda as both the official and national language despite the fact that English and French are also taught and used in the country. In other parts of Africa the intricate cultural ties are slowly diminishing, because the white man is spreading his culture, thus promoting their selfish interests. Fortunately, Rwandans have insisted on their language, and they are not ready to promote any foreign language. Kinyarwanda, as a unifying language countrywide, brings together Rwandans and binds them as one, despite the hard times of ethnic cleansing the country underwent more than a decade ago and during the 1994 Genocide. Kinyarwanda at official functions In administrative meetings at all levels, officials use Kinyarwanda to address issues, because the problems being addressed have deep roots in the social cultural and economic status of our society. Amazingly, even when President Paul Kagame is launching any function, he addresses the congregation in Kinyarwanda, regardless of who understands or do not understand language, and he uses in English in rare cases. However, because of this rich resource, as a preservation of our culture and medium of instruction of informal education from the elders to the youth, it has given Rwandans a unique identity worldwide as a polite reserved people. I want to challenge you if you think that I am exaggerating. Have you ever hard any of our Ministers or Mayors addressing the population in either English or French? So, do you think they are not educated, and perhaps they don't know those languages? The only reason here is, Rwandans are proud of their language, and therefore sees no reason why they should promote foreign languages at the expense of theirs. But I am sure you have every hard leader in our neighbouring countries addressing or giving their speeches in foreign languages. You may say Kinyarwanda is over spoken and there is little knowledge of English and French compared to our neighbouring countries, like Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo but there are more advantages in using it. Therefore, as February 21, sees us celebrating Mother Language Day, just say, long live Kinyarwanda. Copyright © 2007 The New Times. All rights reserved. P.O. Box 3215 Kigali, Rwanda +250 587533 **************************** Disclaimer ****************************** Copyright: In accordance with Title 17, United States Code Section 107, this material is distributed without profit for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material posted to this list for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Content: The sender does not vouch for the veracity nor the accuracy of the contents of this message, which are the sole responsibility of the copyright owner. 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