Saturday, December 1, 2012

Time and Months, Prepositions & Possessives, No Word for Weekend, My Favorite Valediction, Time Specific Goodbyes

Time and Months:
  • ukwezi guheze -- last month
    • ukwezi -- month
    • guheze -- last ("to finish")
  • umwaka uheze -- last year
    • umwaka -- year
    • uheze -- last
  • umwaka uza -- next year 
    • uza -- next/coming
  • mu indwi iza ("mundwiza") -- in the next week
    • mu -- in
    • indwi -- week, the number 7
    • iza -- coming/next
  • mu indwi iheze ("mundwiheze")  -- in the last/previous week
    • iheze -- last/previous
  • mu ukwezi kuza ("mukwezi kuza") -- in the coming month
    • kuza -- coming (also the verb, "to come")
  • There are several ways one might refer to October:
    • cumi ukwezi -- ten month
    • ukwezi kwa cumi -- (the) month of ten
      • the word "month" is often left out, leaving only "kwa cumi"
      • (this may also be said "ukwezi kw'icumi" but I'm not certain of the reason)
    • turi mu kw'icumi -- we are | in | of-ten
      • turi -- we are
  • Similarly, one can refer to other months by number, eg:
    • mu kwa mbere -- in (the month) of one -- January
    • mu kwa kabiri -- in (the month) of two -- February
    • mu kwa gatatu -- in (the month) of three -- March
    • and so on with kane (4), gatanu (5), gatandatu (6), ndwi (7), munani (8), cenda (9), and cumi (10)
    • [[The pattern breaks for November and December ???
      • Amajambo says:
        • November: kwa cumi na rimwe (or, kw'icumi na rimwe)

        • December: kw'icumi na kabiri]]
  • All of the months also have traditional Kirundi names:
    • Nzero -- January
    • Ruhuhuma -- February
    • Ntaranhe -- March
    • Ndamukiza -- April
    • Rusama -- May
    • Ruheshi -- June
    • Mukakaro -- July
    • Myandagro -- August
    • ... (we ran out of time in this part of the lesson!)

Prepositions and Possessives:
  • prepositions:
    • imbere -- in front
    • inyuma -- behind
    • munsi -- under
    • hejuru -- above
    • ku -- on
      • ku imeza ("kumeza") -- on the table
  • " y' " is a possessive marker (shortened from "ya")
    • some prepositions, but all (namely "musi" and "hejuru") require the possessive:
      • munsi y'imeza -- under of the chair
      • hejuru y'imeza -- above of the chair
  • possessive markers, generally divided into these categories, but not always:
    • ca -- for objects
      • icayi cawe -- your tea
    • ha -- for places
      • ahantu hanje -- my place
        • ahantu -- some place
        • ha -- possessive marker
        • nje -- me
    • wa -- for people
    • ya -- for miscellaneous things
      • "ya" is often shortened to " y' "

No Word for Weekend:
  • no word for weekend in Kirundi, instead say:
    • akaruhuko -- time off (singular)
    • uburuhuko -- time off (plural)
    • both of these come from "kuruhuka" -- "to rest"
      • c.f. "kuruha" -- "to tire"
    • so to wish someone a good weekend, you could say:
      • "akaruhuko keza" -- (singular)
      • "uburuhuko bwiza" -- (plural)
      • (both "keza" and "bwiza" mean good, but are modified according to number)

My Favorite Valediction:
  • gira umugisha ("giramugisha") -- good luck 
    • gira -- have
    • umugisha -- luck
    • so literally "have luck", but is understood to mean "good luck"

Time Specific Goodbyes:
  • turasubira kuwambere -- see you monday
  • turasubira mukwese kwisa -- see you next month

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