Kinyarwanda and Kirundi: On Colonial Divisions, Discourses of National Belonging, and Language Boundaries
The development of the Bantu languages Kinyarwanda and Kirundi is entangled within the colonial histories of Rwanda and Burundi, first under German and then Belgian rule. From the turn of the twentieth century on, missionaries compiled grammars and dictionaries of the two mutually intelligible langu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Hradec Králové
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Modern Africa |
| Online Access: | http://edu.uhk.cz/africa/index.php/ModAfr/article/view/264 |
| _version_ | 1797330781525245952 |
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| author | Nico Nassenstein |
| author_facet | Nico Nassenstein |
| author_sort | Nico Nassenstein |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The development of the Bantu languages Kinyarwanda and Kirundi is entangled within the colonial histories of Rwanda and Burundi, first under German and then Belgian rule. From the turn of the twentieth century on, missionaries compiled grammars and dictionaries of the two mutually intelligible languages, contributing
to the development and instrumentalisation of two prestigious varieties out of a larger dialect continuum. In this contribution, I trace the missionary and colonial activities of corpus planning and textualisation and summarise how Kinyarwanda and Kirundi turned into official languages with distinct linguistic boundaries. The central research question is how speakers of Kinyarwanda and Kirundi thereafter came to be identified as “Rwandans” or as “Burundians,” with each language indexing a specific national categorisation. Tentatively, I contrast these developments with contemporary fluid practices in multilingual neighbourhoods. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T07:24:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9f7bca185aed4d9cbbf7222d8df2a3b3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2336-3274 2570-7558 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T07:24:31Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | University of Hradec Králové |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Modern Africa |
| spelling | doaj.art-9f7bca185aed4d9cbbf7222d8df2a3b32024-02-02T22:19:42ZengUniversity of Hradec KrálovéModern Africa2336-32742570-75582019-07-017110.26806/modafr.v7i1.264Kinyarwanda and Kirundi: On Colonial Divisions, Discourses of National Belonging, and Language BoundariesNico Nassenstein0Johannes Gutenberg University MainzThe development of the Bantu languages Kinyarwanda and Kirundi is entangled within the colonial histories of Rwanda and Burundi, first under German and then Belgian rule. From the turn of the twentieth century on, missionaries compiled grammars and dictionaries of the two mutually intelligible languages, contributing to the development and instrumentalisation of two prestigious varieties out of a larger dialect continuum. In this contribution, I trace the missionary and colonial activities of corpus planning and textualisation and summarise how Kinyarwanda and Kirundi turned into official languages with distinct linguistic boundaries. The central research question is how speakers of Kinyarwanda and Kirundi thereafter came to be identified as “Rwandans” or as “Burundians,” with each language indexing a specific national categorisation. Tentatively, I contrast these developments with contemporary fluid practices in multilingual neighbourhoods.http://edu.uhk.cz/africa/index.php/ModAfr/article/view/264 |
| spellingShingle | Nico Nassenstein Kinyarwanda and Kirundi: On Colonial Divisions, Discourses of National Belonging, and Language Boundaries Modern Africa |
| title | Kinyarwanda and Kirundi: On Colonial Divisions, Discourses of National Belonging, and Language Boundaries |
| title_full | Kinyarwanda and Kirundi: On Colonial Divisions, Discourses of National Belonging, and Language Boundaries |
| title_fullStr | Kinyarwanda and Kirundi: On Colonial Divisions, Discourses of National Belonging, and Language Boundaries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Kinyarwanda and Kirundi: On Colonial Divisions, Discourses of National Belonging, and Language Boundaries |
| title_short | Kinyarwanda and Kirundi: On Colonial Divisions, Discourses of National Belonging, and Language Boundaries |
| title_sort | kinyarwanda and kirundi on colonial divisions discourses of national belonging and language boundaries |
| url | http://edu.uhk.cz/africa/index.php/ModAfr/article/view/264 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT niconassenstein kinyarwandaandkirundioncolonialdivisionsdiscoursesofnationalbelongingandlanguageboundaries |