Although Kinyarwanda is the national and the most spoken language in Rwanda, some Rwandans no longer use it in their families while others mix it with foreign languages which affects its pureness. This then begs the question; does that mean the language is facing extinction?

As Rwanda joined the rest of the world on Monday, February 21, to celebrate International Mother Language Day, The New Times explores if Kinyarwanda is endangered.

According to Robert Masozera, the Director-General of the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy (RCHA), Kinyarwanda doesn’t fall into the category of languages facing extinction.

"Some causes of a language’s extinction include a very small number of speakers, the absence of protection by the laws, to become unused in everyday life, to be ignored in education, or when a language is not taught and learned. As you know, Kinyarwanda doesn’t fall into this category,” he said.

He noted that in general, Kinyarwanda is doing well although it faces challenges that include some people who mix it with other languages, others who don’t use the correct form of its structure as well as those who do not want to use it even with other Kinyarwanda speakers.

Fortunately, he continued, Kinyarwanda is protected by the constitution of Rwanda and in many instances, it is taught at every level of education from nursery to university and it’s safeguarded and promoted by the Rwandan Government. 

Jerôme Kajuga, the Director of Culture, Social and Human Sciences at Rwanda National Commission for UNESCO noted that even though some people mix Kinyarwanda with foreign languages, a bigger part of Rwandans live in the village and they almost exclusively use Kinyarwanda.

When asked if Kinyarwanda is among the languages that are expected to face extinction, he said that it is not the case since it is said that the language is spoken by around 40 million people including people in neighbouring countries.

"If you go to regions Karagwe (Tanzania), Bufumbira and Ankore (Uganda), Masisi and Mulenge (DR Congo), you find people speaking Kinyarwanda, and even Kirundi and Gihangaza are languages that share the same root with Kinyarwanda. We don’t have to be discouraged by people who mix Kinyarwanda with English, French or Kiswahili and think that the language is facing extinction,” he said.

"We are currently putting force in making our children speak Kinyarwanda well and purely. It’s not because we are afraid that it will fizzle out. We know that there are families preventing their children from speaking Kinyarwanda but that’s like one percent even though we are not happy with that.”

Kinyarwanda better than it was 28 years ago

According to Kajuga, Kinyarwanda is currently at a better rate compared to 28 years ago when millions of Rwandans repatriated from other countries after the country was liberated.

"Some Rwandans who hadn’t even gotten a chance to speak Kinyarwanda, those who spoke it incorrectly for different reasons, and those who didn’t know it have all learnt the language,” he said.

"Concerning research, many things have been done. There are books that have been written and students who pursue the language up to doctorate level. There are also some foreign universities that have added Kinyarwanda in their course outlines,” he said.

Asked why many Rwandan artists, especially authors, produce their art in foreign languages or mix them with Kinyarwanda, he said that it’s because they are finding a bigger market and need to attract a bigger audience, adding that it doesn’t mean that the number of those who write in Kinyarwanda has declined because they are available and they too sell their books.

The way forward

According to Masozera, the use of Kinyarwanda among some youth needs to be standardized to avoid distorting the language.

He added that a sensitisation campaign about that is being done since 2014 which is why on such events like the International Mother Language Day, they use the opportunity to encourage families to use Kinyarwanda in their homes in their activities.

At national level, the theme of International Mother Language Day 2022 is "Tubungabunge Ikinyarwanda, umusingi w’ubumwe n’agaciro by’Abanyarwanda” translated as ‘let us safeguard Kinyarwanda, the foundation of the unity and dignity of Rwandans’.