Mwaa, ebitoke enmeli: agandi mbi muno!
Kihaya is a Bantu language spoken by about a million people around Tanzanian Lake Victoria. Despite being one of the larger surviving tribal tongues - with as many mother-tongue speakers as the mighty Kiswahili - at time of writing this, there were no resources online for it, and only one academic text in forty years.*
I was taught by several people, young and old, and they conflicted over basic meaning ("omushana" is used for 'afternoon' and 'rainy season' supposedly without homophony, for instance). I suppose this is to be expected in real, unliterary, unacademic languages. Anyway Kihaya shares a great deal of vocabulary and structure with Kiswahili, and the orthography I've used is its - 'e' for 'ay' and so on. It loans a lot less from English than Kiswa does: I only found two cognates in the 200 or so words I learned ('ebegi' - bag and 'etoche' - torch). Note the loans from Arabic, though - e.g. "kitab" for book, "ekyai" for tea.
Stress is almost always on the second-last syllable of each word. Adjectives, adverbs and intensifiers are placed after their nouns (e.g. very bad = 'mbi muno'); otherwise its grammar is forgiving and subject-verb-object. Pronouns are almost never necessary; you just say the verb and imply the subject.
I really recommend learning some if you plan on spending any amount of time in Kagera: it sounds great (really hard vowels), it's not going away, and any mzungu who speaks even a token amount is greeted with warmth and lower prices. So:
Ego = Yes ("aygo") Che = No ("chay") Inga = Nothing
[also used as 'no']
Ota? = How [are you]? Tata olailota = Good morning [man I respect] Mama olailota = Good morning [woman I respect] Agasi bao = Good morning [peer] Masibota = Good day [woman I respect] Tasibota = Good day [man I respect] Wasibiota = Hello again [peer/child] Agandi? = How are you? [lit.: News?] Orige? = How are you?
[Conventional reply: 'Ndige!'] Waguma? = Alright?
[Conventional: 'Naguma!'] Wabonake? = Any problems?
[Conventional: 'Inga!']
[Jennifer Clark writes to point out the more specific response "tinabonakantu" - I see no problems before me.]
Ogumile ge? = How is your endeavour? [Formal]
[Conventional: 'Ngumile!'] Shumara mwaitu? = Morning [married man].**
My favourite Kihaya word of all is a greeting:
- wayokayo. (Roughly, "You look well upon your return")
Most of the above greetings can be answered merely with 'Ego' - yes. Inject a little joy and you'll get away with it.'Tinku-' is a general negation prefix. Works with both nouns and verbs. "Ge?" is a particle indicating a question, but it isn't mostly necessary.
Nyegera! = Welcome! Mpao = Goodbye. Mpore = Sorry / regrets Garungi = Good Garembe = Fine Ndungi = Great Mbi = Bad Ulio = OK [lit: I am present] Muno = very [used as affix e.g: "garungi muno"] Nganyila = please [rare: a begging measure]- Wakora = Thankyou
- Kasinge = Thankyou [only during day?]
Inye = I/me Yange = My/mine [possessing objects] Bange = My/mine [possessing abstracts like friendships] Iwe = You*** Ichwe = We
Namanya = [I] know Tinkumanya = [I] Don't know Nog ya Kamachumu = [I am] Going to Kamachumu.
The rules for pluralising are obscure to me:
Omzungu = Foreigner Abazungu = Bunch of foreigners Munywanyi = Friend Banywanyi = Friends Dada/kaka/mama = [as in Kiswahili] Tata = Father Mae = Paternal grandmother Mwana = Child Mwaa = Now Anunku = Here Nyenkya = Tomorrow Bwankya = Morning Omushana = Afternoon Bwaigoro = Evening Omkiro = Night (after sunset)
"E-" is a general prefix for a noun; "Eki-" is a general prefix for an artefact (literally: craft-thing). "Ebi" is for plural artefacts (e.g. 'ekitabu', book, and 'ebitabu', books). "Ama-" and "En-" are for foods.
Ebegi yange = My bag Ekitebe = Chair Ekitanda = Bed Ekiratwa = Shoe Ekitabu = Book Ekidonge = Pill Etara = Light Etoche = Torch Egras = Glass Omuswaki = Toothbrush Emiwani = Spectacles Ebitoke = Plantain Enfulu = Fish (mostly for tilapia) Ente = Cow Embuzi = Goat Enjangwa = Cat Enyama = Beef Enfuma = Sweet potato Amanumbu = Potato Amauli = Egg Ekyai = Chai Enjura = rainwater
Finally, and most importantly:
- Ompungulizemu ebei! = Lower that price!
- Nganyila, tinku ebitoke ya omkiro! = I beg you, not plaintain tonight!
** I got this one a lot. (I think they were being sarky.)*** This will get shouted at you a lot. Try not to hate the shouter: after, all, by using it they've refrained from calling you Mzungu.
You have left out my favourite - tinabonakantu - I see no problems before me - as a response to Wabonaki?
ReplyDeleteAdded, thanks! I didn't spend long enough there to get really into it, which is a thing I may always regret.
ReplyDeleteWakora!
ReplyDeleteYou mean this language is spoken in tanzania?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteYou mean it's like kinyangole
ReplyDeletelanguage?
I want to know this my languages
ReplyDeleteHow do you say ... my love in kihaya
ReplyDeleteomugonzibwa wange
Delete👍👍🔥🔥
DeleteHow do you say I love you in Haya language
DeleteHOW CAN I GET THE WHOLE DICTIONARY
ReplyDeleteI have the same concern. Is it possible to get it?
DeleteI learn alot
ReplyDeleteWho is ready to teach me I would love to know it
ReplyDeleteI am ready! I also want to do more in restoration of Haya cultures. Please nyegela! Let me hear from you
DeleteMunywanyi ina maana Gani
ReplyDelete