The “Curijambo” campaign opens its forge workshop

On the evening of Thursday, July 18, 2024, some thirty Kirundi language speakers and activists gathered in a small room at the headquarters of Gusoma publishing House in Bujumbura to coin some new words in Kirundi. Their objective for the evening was to reduce the deficit of this language in the economic domain. The meeting also launched the campaign called “Curijambo” (“Forge a word”), which plans to extend this effort to six other socio-economic domains lacking essential words in Kirundi, including health, agriculture and livestock, education, arts and sports.

It will be difficult for Gusoma publishing house to keep the Kirundi book alive and thriving without getting involved in the development of the Kirundi language itself. It is certainly rich and exquisite, as evidenced by the 54-year old Kirundi-French dictionary by Father Firmin Rodegem ! But ever since King Mwezi Gisabo's country was infiltrated by foreign merchants, ethnographers and geographers, Missionaries of Africa, colonial troops and flooded with unknow seeds, strange clothings, etc. Kirundi was left speechless ! This flood has always exceeded the disproportionately low capacity of Kirundi artisans and speakers to keep up and adapt. Thus, in many situations, the Barundi find themselves literally at a loss for words to communicate with each other in their language, precisely, without detours or approximations. Through borrowing from foreign languages, Kirundi today carries an enormous debt, accumulated over several decades of inertia. Even the Rundi Academy, revived to the rescue of Kirundi, is as if paralyzed by the abysmal deficit in the language trade balance.

Correcting the deficit in this balance promises to be a long-term task. However, if on Thursday, July 18, the “Curijambo” campaign opened the doors of its forge workshop, it was primarily to respond to the urgent demand of certain professions - journalists, guides of developing farming communities, etc. - who are in acute daily need of Kirundi words.

After three and a half hours of labor under the supervision of Mr. Ferdinand Mberamihigo, linguist and lexicologist, Professor at the University of Burundi, officiating that evening as foreman, eight words emerged from the forge:

• ·       “Igúrizo“ for ‘sales contract’;
• ·       “Urugūsho” for “advance (on payment)”;
• ·       “Ikirihiriro“ for ‘invoice’;
• ·       “Icěmezandíshi” for “receipt (of payment)”;
• ·       “Umunyámugǎmbi“ for ‘entrepreneur’;
• ·       “Ubunyámugǎmbi” for “entrepreneurship”;
• ·       “Umurānzi“ for ‘commission agent’;
• ·       “Ndandariza” for “prescriber”.

Although in the end, the production of this Thursday evening workshop only covered two-fifths of the 20-word order form, one must praise the result and learn from it. The next work evenings will be held with a view to greater productivity. We will need the help of language experts to draw from their well of knowledge, Kirundi words and coin new words with similar or close meanings, or else create them from scraps and bric-a-brac. The help of practitioners from each sector visited, such as Chantal Ntima, coach and Director of the Maison de l'Entrepreneur, on Thursday evening, will be essential.

The “Curijambo” campaign and, more generally, the reduction of the deficits of the Kirundi language are not to be equated with the concerns of a small circle of Kirundi linguists and activists. The more precise and widespread a language is, the more citizens have access to the ability to communicate better, understand better, flourish, develop and progress, and live together according to fair and clear rules. The main shortcomings of the Kirundi language are concentrated in the field of science. Naming a stroke in Kirundi is a step backwards for occultism and for the many people who are unaware of this neurological pathology and are looking for poisoners to send to the stake. But beyond that, these language deficits create and widen the social gaps between people, where language can act to bridge them.

The promoters of the “Curijambo” campaign know that their forging workshops are not equipped for the industrial production required to address the deficit in the language trade balance. However, their modest contribution has the merit of existing and filling in the gaps. And since it will always be too little, all the more reason to do a good job : a little more clarity and organization in the principles and methodology followed in coining new words. We will remember that there will have been few but important words, methodically coined to ensure that they pass easily into everyday language and effectively serve their social causes.