The Kinyaranda meaning of the following words and expressions: good morning, thank you, good-bye, see you later, car, one, two, three, four and five [RWA29692.E]

The meaning of the following words and expressions was provided by the director of African programs of the Canadian Institute of Conflicts Resolution (CICR) in Ottawa during a 13 July 1998 telephone interview. The director of African programs is of Rwandese origin and since July 1997, he has conducted and supervised seminars and courses on conflict resolution methods in different schools and local human rights organizations in Rwanda.

In Kinyarwanda, the meaning of some expressions changes depending on the number of persons you are talking to. For example, if it is addressed to one person, the expression "good morning" is "waramutseho," or "mwaramutseho" in the case of many persons. It is the same for "thank you" and "good-bye," which are respectively "urakoze" or "murakoze" and "urabeho" or "murabeho". The expression "see you later" is "turongera kubonana". The word "car" is "imodoka", "rimwe" for one, "kabiri" for two, "gatatu" for three, "kane" for four and "gatanu" for five.

The ambassador of Rwanda in Ottawa stated during a 14 July 1998 interview in his office, that the CICR official translation of these expressions and words is correct.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Canadian Institute for Conflicts Resolution (CICR), Ottawa. 13 July 1998. Telephone interview with a director of African programs.

Embassy of Rwanda, Ottawa. 14 July 1998. Personal interview with ambassador.