Loan-Words in Kirundi: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

This paper examines the socio-cultural and historical factors that shaped the lexicon of the Kirundi language. The first part is a sketch of the ethnic composition and socio-linguistic situation of Burundi. The second part is a review of the historical context (mostly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries) in which African, Asian and European linguistic communities came into conract with the Kirundi-speaking population. The paper discusses phenomena such as regional trade, migrations, colonial rule and civil war, and their demographic and cultural impacts which are relevant to an understanding of the contemporary Kirundi vocabulary.