rwanda has three official lanugages: kinyarwanda, french, and english. swahili is also prevelant.
kinyarwanda is a tonal language that is spoken primarily in rwanda, but also in southern uganda, and the eastern drc (democratic republic of congo). it is part of the niger-congo lanugage family, or, more specifically, the bantu. swahili and zulu are examples of other bantu languages. "The most prominent grammatical characteristic of Bantu languages is the extensive use of affixes Each noun belongs to a class, and each language may have several numbered classes, somewhat like genders in European languages. The class is indicated by a prefix on the noun, as well as on verbs and qualificative roots agreeing with it. Plural is indicated by a change of prefix." (wikipedia)
bantu words that we've incorporated into english include: jumbo, gumbo, jenga, safari, simba, ubuntu, banjo, bongos, zombie, and conga.
french is a national language as a result of rwanda's colonization by belgium.
english is included due to entrance into the EAC (east african community).
when we initally conducted the needs assessment for this project, we envisioned providing books in all three languages. this seemed to most accurately meet our goal of supplementing a relevant theological library, equipped to meet the students where they are at. however, tim brubaker best explains our collective decision to build a predominately english library:
Our plan is to develop an English speaking library to undergird an English speaking degree program (B.A. in Biblical Studies). Ideally the time will come when we can offer programs in both English and French. But, at this point, we thought we’d begin with English. Kinyarwanda books aren’t an option (most of the Biblical Studies books in Kinyarwanda, which are few, were written by our ministry anyways).
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