Languages of Rwanda

The official languages of Rwanda are Kinyarwanda, French and English. In addition, Kiswahili is spoken as the language of commerce in many cases.

Article 5 of the Constitution of Rwanda from 2003 states: "The national language [ Rwanda ] is Kinyarwanda. The official languages are French and the English. "

Rwanda is one of the few countries in Africa, where almost the entire population - the Bantu language Kinyarwanda - shares a common mother tongue. Although the modern history of Rwanda is dominated by ethnic tensions between the ethnic groups of the Hutu and the Tutsi, they share this common language. This is also true for the group of Twa, a diminutive ethnic minority in the country. Nevertheless, the language issue is a political issue.

Since the end of the German colonial rule in Rwanda in 1914 is French, the language of the new Belgian colonialists, in addition to the native Kinyarwanda official language of Rwanda. Even after the independence of Rwanda in 1964 was French the official language, with significant impacts, for example on the education system ( see below). Since 2009, a change was made to the English, who came formally during the year 2010 deadline.

Backgrounds of language shift

Background of this change is mentioned the conflict between the ethnic groups of the Hutu and the Tutsi, which led to several massacres, expulsions and finally the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 since the 60s. In several waves of Tutsi were since the 60s fled mainly to neighboring ( English ) Uganda or Tanzania, so that in the early 1990s, some 600,000 Tutsi lived abroad as refugees. The genocide of the Tutsi in 1994 was ended by the invasion of a guerrilla army led by Paul Kagame, which consisted of Tutsi fled to Uganda. The Tutsi, who now returned to Rwanda and took power, had spent the like since then President Kagame, usually the largest part of their lives in the English-speaking Uganda or were even born there. Thus, there was since 1994 a power elite in Rwanda, the predominantly French official language of the country did not understand and sometimes bad language Kinyarwanda. At the same time the relationship with France was heavily loaded, since the new masters gave France a complicity in the genocide. However, the official reason was also that Rwanda is increasingly oriented to the English-speaking neighboring countries and 2007, the East African Union joined.

Importance of official languages

The question of official language has significant practical implications. In the spring of 2009, the official language was changed in the ministries and agencies from French to English, which means that all official documents must be submitted in English since then. 2010, the school of French language was changed to English. Kinyarwanda was and is the language of instruction for the first three years of primary school in Rwanda. From the fourth grade and for all secondary schools English is now teaching and testing language. Because there are insufficient teaching staff is present who possessed sufficient knowledge of English teachers from neighboring Uganda and Tanzania were for enlisted. There was even a lack of English language teaching works, was from 2010 to 2013 a three-year transitional period, existed side by side in the French and English in the schools and universities, and students could decide which of the two languages they want to pass their examinations.

Swell

Culture ( Rwanda)
Linguistic situation of individual areas

Bantu languages German East Africa Languages of Africa Languages of Benin Languages of Eritrea Languages of Gabon Languages of Ghana Languages of Guinea Languages of Guinea-Bissau Languages of Cameroon Languages of the Republic of the Congo Languages of Liberia Languages of Mozambique Languages of Namibia Languages of Niger Languages of Nigeria Languages of Sudan Languages of Togo Languages of the Central African Republic

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