Rukiga-Runyankore

“Of”/”From” and “Other/s” in Rukiga

Learners of Rukiga will commonly hear “of/from” and “other/s” in Rukiga constructed according to noun class. Knowing the various constructions of both terms will improve the learner’s ability to proficiently use Rukiga.

“Of/From”

Basically, the prepositions “of” and “from” are formed by adding the correct noun prefix to “-a”.  The constructions of “Of”/”From” are as follows:

Noun Class Of / From Singular Of / From Plural
Mu-Ba Wa Ba
Bu-Ma Bwa Gwa
Ki-Bi Kya Bya
Ri-Ma Rya Ga
Ru-N Rwa Za
Ka-Bu Ka Bwa
N-N Ya Za
Mu-Mi Gwa Ya
Ku-Ma Kwa Gwa

A key point to remember with this is that the construction varies according to the noun class of the thing possessed and not according to the possessor.

“Other/s”

The term “other/s” is formed by adding the relative subject prefix to the stem – ndi. There are exceptions however with the mu-ba, n-n, and mu-mi classes which use the -ijo ending. The terms “Other” and “Others” can be constructed as follows:

Noun Class Other Others
Mu-Ba Ondiijo Abandi
Bu-Ma Obundi Agandi
Ki-Bi Ekindi Ebindi
Ri-Ma Erindi Agandi
Ru-N Orundi Ezindi
Ka-Bu Akandi Obundi
N-N Endiijo Ezindi
Mu-Mi Ogundi Endiijo
Ku-Ma Okundi Agandi

 

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