kirundi

Kirundi, also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language of the Rwanda–Burundi subgroup in the Niger-Congo family. It is closely related to Kinyarwanda, and the two languages are largely mutually intelligible. Kirundi is spoken primarily in Burundi, with smaller communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.

It is one of the official languages of Burundi, alongside French, and English has been added in recent years for education and regional integration. Kirundi is used in government, media, education, and daily communication. An estimated several million people speak Kirundi, most of them in Burundi; there are also speakers among the Burundian diaspora.

The language uses the Latin alphabet in a standardized orthography. Like other Bantu languages, Kirundi has a noun-class system and concord that mark agreement on modifiers and verbs. It is tonal, and pitch differences can affect meaning and grammar. The typical sentence order is subject–verb–object.

Historical notes: Kirundi has long been spoken in the Burundian highlands. The language was first written in the 19th century by Christian missionaries, and later underwent standardization to support education and broadcasting. Bible translations and literature helped spread literacy.

Dialects exist across regions in Burundi and among Burundian communities in neighboring countries. Differences are mainly regional, and Standard Kirundi is used in education and media.