Tieng Kirundi, cung đuoc goi la Rundi, la mot ngon ngu Bantu đuoc noi boi khoang chin trieu nguoi tai Burundi, nhung vung lan can tai Tanzania va Cong hoa Dan chu Congo, va Uganda. Đay la ngon ngu chinh thuc cua Burundi. Nguoi noi Kirundi co the hieu nguoi noi tieng Kinyarwanda, ngon ngu chinh thuc cua Rwanda, ca hai la mot phan cua mot day phuong ngu rong hon, goi la Rwanda-Rundi.
Nguoi song o Rwanda va Burundi thuoc ve ba nhom dan toc: Hutu (84%), Tutsi - tinh ca nguoi Hima (15%), va Twa (1%) (mot nhom nguoi Pygmy). Tieng Kirundi von la cua nguoi Hutu, song cac dan toc nhu Tutsi, Twa, Hima va mot so khac đa tiep nhan no.
Tieng Kirundi thuong đuoc nhac đen khi ban ve quy tac Meeussen, mot quy tac mo ta su thay đoi ve thanh đieu trong nhung ngon ngu Bantu.


Am vi = Phu am =
Du co su đong thuan rang tieng Kirundi co 5 nguyen am, so phu am co the bien thien tu 19 toi 26 tuy theo nghien cuu. Bang phu am ben duoi dua tren mot nghien cuu han lam đuoc chap nhan.


= Nguyen am =
Bang duoi la cac nguyen am trong tieng Rundi.

Ca nam nguyen am đeu co dang dai va ngan.


= Thanh đieu =
Tieng Kirundi la mot ngon ngu thanh đieu ve co ban co hai thanh: cao va thap. Vi ngon ngu nay co su khac biet am vi ve chieu dai nguyen am, khi mot nguyen am dai chuyen tu thanh thap len thanh cao, no đuoc xem nhu co mot thanh len cao. Nguoc lai, khi mot nguyen am dai chuyen tu thanh cao xuong thanh thap, no đuoc xem nhu co thanh xuong thap.
Tieng Kirundi thuong đuoc dung lam vi du minh hoa cho quy luat Meeussen.


= Cau truc am tiet =
Cau truc am tiet trong tieng Kirundi la CV (phu am-nguyen am), nghia la khong cum phu am, khong phu am đuoi, va khong nhom nguyen am phuc tap. Tung co đe xuat ve su hien dien cua cau truc CVV, song nhung am tiet CVV nay đa đuoc chung minh rang la CV ve cau truc sau, trong đo phu am ket hop voi nguyen am thu nhat.


Vi du Chu thich Broselow, E. & Niyondagara, A. (1990) Feature geometry and Kirundi palatalization. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 20: 71-88.
de Samie. (2009) Dictionnaire Francais-Kirundi. L'Harmattan. Paris.
Goldsmith, J. & Sabimana, F. (1989) The Kirundi Verb. Modeles en tonologie. Editions du CNRS. Paris.
Meeussen, A.E. (1959) Essai de grammaire Rundi. Annales du Musee Royal du Congo Belge, Serie Sciences Humaines - Linguistique, vol. 24. Tervuren.
Myers, S. (1987) Tone and the structure of words in Shona. PhD dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Garland Press. New York.
Ntihirageza, J. (1993) Kirundi Palatization and Sibilant Harmony: Implications for Feature Geometry. Master thesis, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.
Philippson, G. (2003) Tone reduction vs. metrical attraction in the evolution of Eastern Bantu tone systems. INALCO. Paris.
Sagey, E. (1986) The Representation of Features and Relations in Non-Linear Phonology. Doctoral dissertation, MIT, Cambridge, Mass.
Zorc, R. D. & Nibagwire, L. (2007) Kinyarwanda and Kirundi Comparative Grammar. Dunwoody Press. Hyattsville.


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