Kirwa
Rwa
Atlantic-Congo
Rwa (Kirwa, also called Meru or Rwo) is a Bantu language spoken on the slopes of Mount Meru in the Arusha Region of northeastern Tanzania, with roughly 198,000 speakers. It belongs to the West Kilimanjaro (West Chaga) group within Guthrie zone E.60 and is closely related to the Chaga languages of Mount Kilimanjaro to the east (a cluster including Machame jmc, Old Moshi old, Vunjo). Rwa preserves typical Bantu tone-and-noun-class features alongside ~10 noun classes and an active morphological aspect system. Bible translation work since the 1990s has yielded standardized literacy materials, with the Rwa New Testament published in the 2010s.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Rwa
Water
mende
/mende/
Fire
msika
/msika/
Sun
mlao
/mlao/
Moon
mwere
/mwere/
Star
nyenyeri
/ɲeɲeri/
Mother
mama
/mama/
Father
baba
/baba/
I
inyi
/iɲi/
You
uwe
/uwe/
Name
irina
/irina/
Eye
liso
/liso/
Hand
mkono
/mkono/
Heart
ngiti
/ŋɡiti/
Love
lumbo
/lumbo/
Tree
mte
/mte/
House
nyumba
/ɲumba/
Dog
mboha
/mboha/
Cat
paka
/paka/
Eat
kuria
/kuria/
Drink
kunyua
/kuɲua/
One
mongo
/moŋɡo/
Two
iwi
/iwi/
Hello
kira
/kiɾa/
Thank you
asante
/asante/
Good
kya
/kja/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo languages
| Meaning | Rwa | Asu | Machame | Shambala | Nyaturu | Sena | Maore Comorian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mende /mende/ | mende /mende/ | mringa /mɾiŋɡa/ | mazi /mazi/ | maazi /maːzi/ | madzi /madzi/ | maji /maji/ |
| Fire | msika /msika/ | mshika /mʃika/ | mòò /moːʔ/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | mlao /mlao/ | idhuva /iðuʋa/ | ìsùwà /isuwa/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | nzua /nzua/ | dzuwa /dzuwa/ | jua /dʒua/ |
| Moon | mwere /mwere/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ | mwedzi /mwedzi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ |
| Star | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyeenyeeri /ɲeːɲeːri/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyota /ɲota/ |
| Mother | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mai /mai/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | tata /tata/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ |
| I | inyi /iɲi/ | mine /mine/ | inyi /iɲi/ | niye /nije/ | une /une/ | ine /ine/ | wami /wami/ |
| You | uwe /uwe/ | uwe /uwe/ | uwe /uwe/ | weye /weje/ | uwe /uwe/ | iwe /iwe/ | wawe /wawe/ |
| Name | irina /irina/ | izina /izina/ | irina /irina/ | izina /izina/ | izina /izina/ | dzina /dzina/ | dzina /dzina/ |
| Eye | liso /liso/ | iiso /iːso/ | rítiò /ɾitio/ | izo /izo/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ | diso /diso/ | jicho /dʒiʃo/ |
| Hand | mkono /mkono/ | mkono /mkono/ | kùoòko /kuoːko/ | ukono /ukono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | nkono /nkono/ | mkono /mkono/ |
| Heart | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | mòyò /mojo/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | umutima /umutima/ | mtima /mtima/ | moyo /moʝo/ |
| Love | lumbo /lumbo/ | lumba /lumba/ | ìkwenda /ikwenda/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | kufuna /kufuna/ | mahaba /mahaba/ |
| Tree | mte /mte/ | mti /mti/ | mtí /mti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ | mtengo /mteŋɡo/ | mti /mti/ |
| House | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /njumba/ |
| Dog | mboha /mboha/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /ɱbwa/ |
| Cat | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Eat | kuria /kuria/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | ìlya /iʎa/ | kuya /kuja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ | kudya /kudja/ | kula /kula/ |
| Drink | kunyua /kuɲua/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | ìnyo /iɲo/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kumwa /kumwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| One | mongo /moŋɡo/ | imwe /imwe/ | ìmwí /imwi/ | imo /imo/ | umwe /umwe/ | posi /posi/ | moja /moja/ |
| Two | iwi /iwi/ | avili /aβili/ | iwi /iwi/ | mbili /mbili/ | aviri /aβiri/ | piŵiri /piwiri/ | mbili /ᵐbili/ |
| Hello | kira /kiɾa/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ | máshàlòmà /maʃaloma/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ | mwadzukabwanji /mwadzukabwandʒi/ | Habari /habari/ |
| Thank you | asante /asante/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ | ahsànte /ahsante/ | asante /asante/ | asante /aˈsante/ | ndatenda /ndatenda/ | asante /asante/ |
| Good | kya /kja/ | mwamba /mwamba/ | ìchá /itʃa/ | hedi /hedi/ | kihi /kihi/ | nadidi /nadidi/ | nzuri /ɲzuri/ |
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