Caleb's Log v.6

Language!

So, first, a few facts.  Rwanda has a long, complicated history of different white people coming to town to "help" or rule or whatever.  When we were planning our trip for Tanzania, we were learning Swahili, but also knew that English was pretty universal, at least with anyone that had been through the school system.  When we switched to Rwanda, we knew two things, the official language is French and the local language is Kinyarwanda.  Duolingo does not have a Kinyarwanda lesson, so we studied some French in preparation.  Luckily Katie is fluent from her year abroad in Aix-en-Provence.  

So, we knew that Katie could get us through anything while we all tried to learn French and pick up a little Kinyarwanda.  Lexi and Athena take French and Kynarwanda at school.  (Mazie is continuing her Spanish education as an independent study, but also takes Kinyarwanda)

But, here's the thing.  We were wrong.  Sort of.  In 2006 the Rwandan government changed the official language from French to English.  So 16 (it's 2023????) 17 years ago they just announced, "Stop using French, start using English."

Can you imagine???  All of the elites in Kigali (educated and successful people) were French speaking and suddenly they were forced to communicate in English.  Professors who were fantastic lecturers had to deliver their lessons in English.  Bankers and lawyers had to draw up contracts in a new language. I can't imagine how strange and frustrating those first few years must have been.

Now there is a bit of an age divide.  Most 40+ year old, educated Rwandans speak French fluently and most younger Rwandans don't.  All the official signage is in English, which helps us but was totally unexpected.

For the uneducated population (I keep using the terms educated and now uneducated.  It feels dirty.  I just mean that they didn't go through the formal school system long enough to learn the foreign, yet official, language of the government) there wasn't much change.  Everyone speaks Kinyarwanda in the home and when they are in the city, the signs are in a language that they don't understand.  That's the thing that really gets me.  EVERYONE here speaks Kinyarwanda, yet EVERYTHING is written in English.  Yes, no exceptions.  It is pretty messed up that when our house worker, Ephriam, walks through his own neighborhood, he can't read the signs.

Language is so interesting, isn't it?  A whole code for a group of people.  The sounds are similar and yet every word is different and when two locals talk to each other, I'm like a 1 year old, trying to read body language and take some guesses at what they might be talking about.  I can't participate, I cry a lot, I have trouble walking, and I just want someone to hold me...or feed me.

We've picked up on lots of transitional phrases...things we say as we come and go.  Here is your lesson.

In the morning as we walk around or arrive somewhere we can say "mwaramutse," which means "good morning."  The start is that Mwa sound that we don't typically make in the US, where you put two consonants together like Nyugen or Mbappe.  It takes a little getting used to.  The whole word goes like this, mwa-rah-MOOTs-ay.  They say it back to us and we all smile.  

Language unlocks kindness. 

Sometimes they say "Amakuro," which means "how are you?"  It's pronounced ahma-KOO-row.  If they say that, you have to think quickly and remember how to say "I'm good."  It's not Byiza. That's like "I taste good."  Or maybe, "I'm a good person."  That is a bad response to "how are you?"  Instead you say "ni meza," pronounced Knee MAY-zah.  They really like it when you say that.  I asked my friend Audry if there is another response, like "okay" or "amazing" or "not great" but there isn't.  The only response to "how are you doing?" is "I'm fine."

In the afternoon you switch to "Mwiriwe," which is pronounced mwee-re-way, but the r is kind of like that spanish r that sounds like a d.  You try!  It means "good afternoon."

We say thank you all the time.  That's "murakoze," pronounced moor-ah-COH-zay.  The only response to murakoze seems to be murakoze.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Oh, thank you.  No, thank you. No, no, thank you.  

Thank you for serving me food. 

Thank you for coming. 

Thank you for welcoming me. 

Thank you for being so kind.

Can I go?  

Yes.

So, when you leave, you have two choices.  If the sun is still up, you say, "have a good day," "Umunsi Mwisa."  Poorly pronounced as, ah-MOON-see MEE-zah.  I guess I should be adding the subtle mw sound, but I'm not yet.  If it's dark out, you say "ijoro ryiza," pronounced E-joro gee-zah.

Okay, I'm getting really annoyed that I don't actually know how to do phonetic spelling correctly.  That J is the J in soup de jour.  How do you indicate that?  And the gee is like a martial arts robe, you know, a gi.  I'm going to have to switch to a video blog.  Do people still call them vlogs or is that dead?

I digress.  

Yego (YAY-go) = Yes.    

Oye (OY-yay) = No.  

Byiza (be-ee-zah) = it's good or it's nice. 

Nawe (GNAW-way) = and you? (Amakuro?  Ni meza, nawe?)

Angahe (ON-guy) = how much does it cost? 

So, we can say hi, thank people, and say goodbye. Beyond that, we can not say anything.  I guess we can say "how are you?" and respond to that question.  That's been fun.

Luckily everyone in the service industry speaks English.  Every now and then, Katie busts out French and off we go in full "local" language conversation that I can pick up 10% of.

Oh, I played soccer/futbol on Wednesday night (blog post definitely coming) and I learned two phrases that I almost never used.  Tuze (two-zah) and Ndi Hano (de hah-no) which mean "relax" or "calm" and "I'm here."

Ndagakunda!

PS (because I don't like changing what I've already written.  Stream of consciousness!)

Google translate is so frustrating.  If you type in "I'm good" it translates as "Ndi mwiza."  If you swap directions, it translates "Ndi mwiza" to "I am beautiful."  That means I'm asking google translate to tell me how to say "I'm good," and by its own admission, it's spitting out "I'm beautiful." One cannot learn on the internet.  Full stop.