Kiga (also called ''Rukiga'', ''Ruchiga'', or ''Chiga'') is a

Great Lakes Bantu language The Great Lakes Bantu languages, also known as Lacustrine Bantu and Bantu zone J, are a group of Bantu languages of East Africa. They were recognized as a group by the ''Tervuren'' team, who posited them as an additional zone (zone J) to Guthrie' ...

of the

Kiga people Kiga people, or ''Abakiga'' ("people of the mountains"), are a Bantu ethnic group native to south western Uganda and northern Rwanda. History Pre-colonial period The Kiga people are believed to have originated in Rwanda as mentioned in one o ...

(''Bakiga''). Kiga is a similar and partially mutually intelligible with the

Nkore language Nkore (also called Nkole, Nyankore, Nyankole, Orunyankore, Orunyankole, Runyankore and Runyankole) is a Bantu language spoken by the Nkore ("Banyankore") of south-western Uganda in the former province of Ankole, as well as in Tanzania, the DR ...

. It was first written in the second half of the 19th century. Kiga is largely spoken in the ancient Kigezi region which includes about 5 districts, namely Rubanda,

Rukiga Kiga (also called ''Rukiga'', ''Ruchiga'', or ''Chiga'') is a Great Lakes Bantu language of the Kiga people (''Bakiga''). Kiga is a similar and partially mutually intelligible with the Nkore language. It was first written in the second half of t ...

Kabale Kabale is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the chief town of Kabale District, and the district headquarters are located there. Sometimes nicknamed “Kastone” as in the local language Rukiga, a “kabale” is a small stone. Lo ...

Kanungu Kanungu is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the location of the district headquarters for Kanungu District. Location Kanungu is located approximately , on a winding dirt road, southwest of the town of Rukungiri, the nearest large ...

and some parts of

Rukungiri Rukungiri is a town in Rukungiri District of the Western Region of Uganda. It is the site of the district headquarters. Location Rukungiri is approximately , by road, north of Kabale, the largest city in the Kigezi sub-region. This is about ...

. As of 2021, Kiga is spoken natively by about 1.3 million people in Uganda. Kiga is so similar to Nkore (84%–94% lexical similarity) that some argue they are

dialects The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

of the same language, called

Nkore-Kiga Nkore-Kiga is a language spoken by around 5,800,000 people living in the extreme southwest of Uganda. It is often defined as two separate languages: Nkore and Kiga. It is closely related to Runyoro-Rutooro. History Archibald Norman Tucker w ...

by Charles Taylor.

Phonology

* Sounds /i, u/ can also range to �, ʊwhen short or lax. * /a/ can range from a central �to a back �sound. * /r/ can also be heard as a glide �in free variation. * /b/ can be heard as �in intervocalic positions.

Orthography

* a - * b - * ch/c - ͡ʃ* d - * e - �* f - * g - /gʲ* h - * i - * j - ͡ʒ* k - /kʲ* m - * n - * ny - �* o - �* p - * r - * s - * t - * ts - ͡s* u - * v - * w - * y - * z - D and P are only used in foreign names and loanwords. G and K are palatalised before I. * ai - i̯* ei - �i̯* gy - �* ky - * mp - ��p* mw - ��w* nd - ��d* ng - �* oi - �i̯* sh - �ref>

Grammar

In common with other

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle * Black Association for Nationa ...

languages, Kiga has a noun class system in which prefixes on nouns mark membership of one of the noun genders. Pronouns, adjectives, and verbs reflect the noun gender of the nominal they refer to. Some examples of noun classes: * mu – person (singular), e.g. ''omukiga'' = inhabitant of

Kigezi Kigezi District once covered what are now Kabale District, Kanungu District, Kisoro District and Rukungiri District, in southwest Uganda. Its terraced fields are what gives this part of Uganda its distinctive character. Kigezi was popularly known ...

land * ru – language, e.g. ''Rukiga'' = language of the Kiga * ba – people, e.g. ''Bakiga'' = The Kiga people * ki – customs or traditions, e.g. ''kikiga'', (sometimes spelled ''Kichiga''), describes religious tradition common to the Kiga people. Sometimes the people are called 'Chiga' by people misunderstanding the linguistic rules in relation to the prefixes. The sound is not distinctive in Rukiga. The letter "r" is used instead.

References

Languages of Uganda Nyoro-Ganda languages {{Bantu-lang-stub

Phonology

Orthography

Grammar

See also

References