FSI - Kirundi Basic Course - Student Text.pdf - Live Lingua

587 Pages·2010·19.57 MB·English

by  Foreign Service Institute

KIRUNDI
Basic Course
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BASIC COURSE
PREFACE
Kirundi, together with its companion language, Kinyarwanda, is one of the most important
of Bantu languages. This book is intended to give the student a start in Kirundi, providing
him with dialogues that relate to some of the first situations in which he is likely to use the
language, as well as with systematic practice in all major points of grammar.
The present volume is one of a series of short Basic Courses in selected African lan-
guages, prepared by the Foreign Service Institute, under an agreement with the Office of Edu-
cation, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, under provisions of the National Defense
Education Act.
The analysis on which this course is based is contained in A. E. Meeussen's Essai de
Grammaire Rundi. Dictionaries by F. M. Rodegem and Elizabeth E. Cox were also of great
value. Part of the manuscript was checked at Michigan State University by Charles Kraft,
David McClure and D. Kamatari. The contributions of these scholars are gratefully acknowl-
edged.
Kirundi Basic Course is the work of many colaborators. Raymond Setukuru, Terence
Nsanze and Daniel Nicimpaye provided the dialogues and other texts, as well as the exercise
material. Setukuru also provided data for use in the construction of notes on sounds and gram-
mar, checked the entire manuscript, and voiced the tape recordings which accompany the course.
The manuscript was also checked by Gregoire Ndinze.
General organizing, editing and the preparation of notes were the responsibility of Earl
W. Stevick. The tape recordings were prepared in the Language Laboratory of the Foreign
Service Institute, under the direction of Gabriel Cordova.
~
Howard E. Sollenberger, Dean
School of Language and Area Studies
Foreign Service Institute
Department of State
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KIRUNDI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A learner1s synopsis of Kirundi structure ..•.•••••.•••••••• xiii
Unit 1
Dialogue: Exchanging greetings and getting acquainted... 5
Notes:
1. The use of the terms Ipitchl and Itone l ••••••• 10
2. Pitch in yes-no questions ••••••••••••••••••••• 16
3. Anticipated high tone in final position ••••••• 17
4. The use of subject prefixes ••••••••••••••••••• 18
5. The immediate tense ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 19
6. Absolute personal pronouns •••••••••••••••••••• 20
7. Locative prefixes ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 21
8. The copula I' nil. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21
9. The combina tion Inl plus Ir/.................. 22
Vocabulary supplement:
1. Names for members of various ethnic groups •••• 27
2. Places where people work •••••••••••••••••••••• 30
3. Some objects which frequently require speci-
fication of ownership •••••••••••••••••••••• 31
Unit 2
Dialogue: Looking for work •••••...••.•••••••••••••.•••• 33
Notes:
1. The singular and plural forms of personal
pronouns. • • • • • • • • • •.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 36
2. Object prefixes •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 37
3. The tones of certain nouns borrowed from
European languages and Swahili ••••••••••••• 38
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BASIC COURSE
4. Infinitives................................. 39
5. The verb forms that contain the root /-zi/.. 41
6. The grammatical dimension of Ilinkagel...... 42
Vocabulary supplement:
1. Some common activities ••••••••.••••••••••••• 43
46
2. Some common occupations •••••••••••••••••••••
48
3. Days of the week ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unit 3
Dialogue: Where do people live and work?............. 52
Notes:
1. The alternation of nasal consonants......... 54
2. Substantive phrases......................... 55
3. The alternate forms of concordial prefixes
with various adjective stems.............. 60
4. The locative enclitic /-~he/................ 62
5. The subsecutive prefix...................... 62
Vocabulary supplement:
Place names................................. 63
Unit 4
Dialogue: Getting help in the language................ 75
Notes:
1. The use of tone in the Kirundi verb......... 77
2. The non-tonal features of negative
indica ti ve forms.......................... 78
3. The tones of immediate indicative verbs,
affirmative and negative.................. 78
4. The tonal patterns of certain reduplications 80
5. The concord that is used when the antecedent
is quoted material..................... . . . 80
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KIRUNDI
Unit 5
Dialogue: Arranging for help in language study....... 86
Notes:
1. Obj ec t prefixes again...................... 88
2. Adjectives used in noun positions.......... 89
3. The difference between perfective and
imperfective verb stems.................. 89
4. The translation equivalents of many English
adjectives .•••..•.•......•.•...••.•••.... 91
Vocabulary dupplement:
Names of languages; verbs for 'heavy,
light, easy, hard, expensive t •••••••••••• 92
Unit 6
Dialogue: Comparing notes about language study. ..... 101
Notes:
1. The tones of verbs that contain object
prefixes · • · •• · · • · · • · · • · · . • • • · · • · • . · • • • · · · 104
2. The use of different sets of prefixes with
the same noun stem....................... 105
3. Comparisons of inequality ....•...••......•• 106
4. A temporary note on certain verb forms ..... 107
Unit 7
Dialogue: Family relationships....................... 118
Vocabulary supplement:
1. Some more occupations .................••.•. 120
2. Some kinship terms .•••••..••.•.....•..••••. 122
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BASIC COURSE
Notes:
1. The tones of words used with /na'/ and,
witht ................................... 124
2. Ordinal numerals ..•.••....•..••..•....•.•. 125
Unit 8
Dialogue: More about family relationships . .......•. 135
Vocabulary supplement:
Nwnbers from 1-20......................... 136
Notes:
1. The pronunciation of /miroongo/ before
vowels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 137
2. Vowel length in the construction with /na/
plus a nwneral.......................... 138
3. Possessives used without nouns .••.•••.••.• 139
4. The tone of the copular /'ni/ and /'si/ .•. 140
Vocabulary supplement:
Some useful adjectives ••...•••.••..•.••••. 141
Unit 9
Dialogue: More about family relationships ........... 152
Notes:
1. Participial verb forms,immediate,
affirmative. . . • . • • • • • . . . . • . . . . • • • . . • . . . • 155
Unit 10
Review............................................... 162
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KIRUNDI
Unit 11
Dialogue: Getting street directions .••••••••••••••• 175
Notes:
1. Imperatives. • • • • . . . • . • • • . . • • • • . • • • • • . • • . • 178
2. Copular forms used in specifying
loca tions · • · • • · · · •• · . • • • • . • • • . . • • . • • . • • 178
3. The negative imperative ••.•••....•••..••• 179
Unit 12
Dialogue: More street directions~ •••...••.•..•.•••. 186
Notes:
1. Relative verb forms •••••••••••.••••.••••• 191
2. Relative pronouns .•.••••••••••••••.•••••. 192
Unit 13
Dialogue: Planning a short trip .•••..••..•.•••..••• 200
Notes:
1. The non-immediate future tense .••••.••••• 204
Unit 14
Dialogue: Buying food.............................. 215
Vocabulary supplement:
Some foodstuffs and their qualities .•••.• 217
Notes:
1. Non-indicative negative verbs •••.•.•••... 219
2. The use of relative verb forms in
indirect discourse •••.••••..•.•.•.••.•• 220
Vocabulary supplement:
Words that occured in the indirect dis-
course versions of some dialogues .•...• 228-30
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BASIC COURSE
Unit 15
Dialogue: Buying clothing •.....•.•.•.........•••...• 232
Vocabulary supplement:
1. Legal tender .•.•..•.••.•.•••.•••••.••••••• 234
2. Routine daily occurrences .•..•.•.•.••...•. 234
Notes:
1. The hodiernal tense .•••••••••••.•..•••.••• 236
Unit 16
Dialogue: Buying food at the door ••....•...••....... 245
Notes:
1. The tone of words like /irlgi/ •.•.•••••••• 247
2. The hesternal tense •••••.•..••••.••••••••. 248
Ullit 17
Dialogue: Eating •...•..••.••..•••.••........•.••••.. 265
Notes:
1 Autonomous verb forms •...•..•.•..••••••••• 267
2. The infinitive as a substantive ••.••..•.•• 269
Unit 18.
Dialogue: Work in the kitchen •.........••......•.••. 278
Notes:
1. The subjunc tiv e. • . • . • . . . . . . . . . • . . • . . . • • • .• 281
Unit 19
Dialogue: Restaurant and kitchen •................... 294
Notes:
1. The presentative forms •..•••.••.•••.•.•..• 297
2. The defective verb I-ri/ .................. 299
3. The defective verb I-tel .................. 302
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KIRUNDI
Unit 20
Revie1A'. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 313
Unit 21
Dialogue: Caring for children......................... 324
Notes:
1. The particle /nka:-'/ . . . . . . . . • • . • • . . • . . . • . .. 327
2. The non-personal possessives ..••.•.•....... 327
3. The demonstrative series with the stem
/"'rya/................................... 328
4. The use of /-riinda/ as the first verb in
a phrase................................. 329
5. The conditional tense ...................•.. 330
6. Adhortative forms ........•................. 332
Unit 22
Dialogue: Climate and weather ....•....••..•...•.....• 341
Notes:
1. The periphrastic progressive tense........ 344
2. Stem extensions........................... 345
3. The applicative extension................. 346
4. The reciprocal extension.................. 347
Unit 23
Dialogue: Seasonal crops............................. 357
Notes:
1. The persistive tense. ...•..•..........•... 360
2. The inceptive tense....................... 361
3. Possessive phrases used in noun slots..... 362
4. Two contrasting demonstratives. .... ....... 365
5. The use of Class 8 for mixed antecedents.. 365
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BASIC COURSE
Unit 24
Dialogue: The geography of Burundi.................. 379
Vocabulary supplement:
Some corrunon fauna ••..•.•..•.••• «.......... 383
Notes:
1. The verb I-cal followed by a parti-
cipial form............................. 384
2. The verb /-ba/ followed by a parti-
cipial form............................. 386
3. The word //ni/ plus /uko/ plus a clause... 387
4. The word /kimwe/.......................... 387
5. The word /hagati/ ~/hagati/............... 387
Unit 25
Dialogue: A visit to a friendts home................ 397
Vocabulary supplement:
Articles found in the house............... 400
Notes:
1. The construction //ni - ba/ .•...•...••.. 401
2. Sentences with /-ri na ..• / ...••...•. 402
3. The abbreviation of personal names........ 402
Unit 26
Dialogue: Car trouble............................... 411
Notes:
1. A special use of the verbal extension
/-an-/.................................. 416
2. The vocative use of nouns................. 417
3. A question followed by a verb that in-
cludes the subsecutive prefix /-ka-/.... 419
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