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?
yes, including their names, many are common, they might be slight difference on pronunciations, but just like Kinyankole
DeleteI 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
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNinkwenda
DeleteThis is exactly similar to our Rutooro language of western Uganda. Even the proverbs. I wonder if our clans are also the same. I'm still surprised
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
DeletePlease text 255784611211
DeleteMunywanyi ina maana Gani
ReplyDeleteMunywanyi or akanywanywi insmaanisha a friend.. o munywanyi wange means my friend
ReplyDeleteI just found some words with typos and some translations incorrect,sotried to write correct sentences as follows: Mpore = Sorry / regrets??
ReplyDelete==>Correct is; Mpora = Sorry / regrets
Nogya Kamachumu = [You are] Going to Kamachumu.
Ningya Kamachumu = [I am] Going to Kamachumu.
Banywanyi = Friends
ABanywanyi = Friends (same)
Mae = Paternal grandmother??
==>Correct is; Mae Enkulu.
Mae = Mother
Anunku = Here
==> Corrent is; Anunju = Here
Omushana = Afternoon
==> Correct is ;Bwamushana = Afternoon
Omushana = Sunlight
Nganyila, tinku ebitoke ya omkiro! = I beg you, not plaintain tonight!
==> Correct is; Nganyila, tinkulya ebitoke omkiro! = I beg you, not plaintain tonight!(literal translation; tinkulya bitoke omukiro)
Were the Bahaya part of Bunyoro-Kitara or? Because their language is very similar to those of the groups that emerged from the Bunyoro-Kitara empire.
ReplyDelete