Nkore language

Nkore
Orunyankore
Native toUganda
RegionAnkole
EthnicityBanyankore
Native speakers
3.4 million (2014 census)[1]
Standard forms
Dialects
  • Hima
  • Hororo
  • Orutagwenda
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-2nyn
ISO 639-3nyn
Glottolognyan1307
JE.13[2]
GlottopediaRunyankore[3]

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 Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.[4]

Runyankole is mainly spoken in the Mbarara, Bushenyi, Ntungamo, Kiruhura, Ibanda, Isingiro, Rukungiri, Buhweju, Mitooma, Sheema, Rubirizi and parts of Kitagwenda districts.

There is a brief description and teaching guide for this language, written by Charles V. Taylor in the 1950s, and an adequate dictionary in print. Whilst this language is spoken by almost all the Ugandans in the region, most also speak English, especially in the towns. (English is one of Uganda's two official languages, and the language taught in schools.)

Nkore is so similar to Kiga (84–94 percent lexical similarity[5]) that some argue they are dialects of the same language, a language called Nkore-Kiga by Taylor.[4]

  1. ^ Nkore at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. ^ Glottopedia article on Nkore language.
  4. ^ a b Poletto, Robert E. (1998). Topics in Runyankore Phonology (PhD dissertation). Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University. ISBN 978-0-599-09503-8. ProQuest 304452450. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  5. ^ Lewis, Paul M., ed. (2009). "Ethnologue Report for Language Code: nyn". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Texas, U.S.: SIL International. Retrieved 9 December 2009.

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