Fuliiru (Kifuliiru)

Fuliiru is a Great Lakes Bantu language with about 400,000 people mainly in the east of South Kivu Province in the east of the Democratic Repubic of the Congo. In particular, Fuliiru is spoken south of Lake Kivu and north and northwest of the Uvira Territory along the border with Rwanda and Burundi.

Fuliiru is also known as Fuliru or Joba, and Fuliiru speakers call their language Kifuliiru and themselves Bafuliiru. It is written with the Latin alphabet, and is used in the media and education.

Fuliiru alphabet and pronunciation

Download an alphabet chart for Fuliiru (Excel)
Details of Fuliiru alphabet and pronunciation provided by Wolfram Siegel (PDF)

Notes

Double vowels are always long, and single vowels can be long in certain circumstances
After nasals, h is pronounced [b], k is pronounced [ɡ], l is pronounced [d]. p is prounced [b], r is pronounced [d], s is pronouned [z] and t is pronounced [d].
After e and i, l is pronounced [ɾ]
w is pronounced [ʷ] after consonants, and [ʊ̯] after vowels

Sample sentences

Múgùmà ànábwîrà úwábò kwóyêhé ndááyé úwábò múndú úwàngàmútébà náyé úwábò ànámúbwîrà kwóyékì àngàmútébà.
A certain person told his fellow that nobody would be able to trick. And [the fellow] told him that he [the unexpected alternative] would be the one to trick him.
Íkíshókómà kyókìrì némísí úkúhímà ìyó shúúlì.
The leopard is the one which has strength surpassing the bull.
Ùyó múnyérè ànáshùbì mwágúlá ífwárángà hálìkó ùyó mútàbínà yêhé àtànázìtwázà.
And that girl again threw down the money, but that young man, he did not pay attention to it

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuliiru_language

Sample videos

Links

Information about Fuliiru
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuliiru_language
https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/fuli1240
https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/fuli1240
https://www.sil.org/resources/search/language/flr
https://www.kifuliiru.com/
https://www.101lasttribes.com/tribes/fuliiru.html

Bantu languages

Aka, Bafaw-Balong, Bangi, Bangubangu, Basaa, Bemba, Bembe, Bena, Benga, Bhaca, Bila, Bube, Budu, Bujeba, Bukusu, Bulu, Bushong, Central Teke, Chichewa, Chokwe, Chuwabu, Comorian, Dciriku, Digo, Duala, Eton, Ewondo, Fang, Fuliiru, Ganda/Luganda, Gogo, Gusii, Gwere, Gyele, Haya, Hehe, Herero, Ibinda, Ikizu, Ikoma, Jita, Kabwa, Kako, Kamba, Kiga, Kikuyu, Kimbundu, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Kisi, Kogo, Komo, Kongo, Konjo, Koti, Kukuya, Kunda, Kuria, Kwambi, Kwasio, Lambya, Lingala, Loma, Lozi, Luba-Katanga, Luchazi, Lunda, Luvale, Luyana, Makaa, Makonde, Makhuwa, Mandekan, Maore, Masaaba, Mbama, Mbere, Mbosi, Mbukushu, Mbunda, Mbuun, Mende, Mongo, Mpiemo, Mushungulu, Mwani, Myene, Nambya, Nande, Ngoni, Ngwii, Njebi, Nkore, North Teke, Northern Ndebele (South Africa), Northern Ndebele (Zimbabwe), Northern Sotho, Nyamwezi, Nyakyusa, Nyemba, Nyole, Nyoro, Nyungwe, Nzadi, Oroko, OshiWambo, Pagibete, Punu, Ronga, Safwa, Seki, Sena, Sengele, Shona, Soga, Songe, Southern Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Sukuma, Swahili, Swati, Tanga, Tembo, Tonga, Tooro, Tshiluba, Tsonga, Tswa, Tswana, Tumbuka, Umbundu, Venda, Vili, Vwanji, Xhosa, Yakam, Yansi, Yao, Yasa, Yeyi, Zigula, Zinza, Zulu

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page created: 06.06.25. Last modified: 06.06.25

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