Kifuliiru is the language spoken by the Bafuliiru (also known as Abafuliiru) people. The Bafuliiru are the traditional inhabitants of Ibufuliiru, their ancestral homeland and kingdom in Uvira, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Kifuliiru language is part of the Bantu language family and is spoken by approximately 500,000 or more people in the Uvira region of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ibufuliiru represents the traditional territory and cultural heartland of the Bafuliiru people in Uvira, South Kivu, encompassing their historical kingdom and chiefdom structures that have existed for centuries before colonial boundaries were established.
Endangered Status: Kifuliiru is currently classified as a vulnerable language, facing significant threats from urbanization, migration, and the dominance of French and Swahili in education and official contexts.
Documentation Gap: Prior to our work, Kifuliiru had minimal written documentation, with no comprehensive dictionaries, grammar books, or educational materials available. This lack of resources threatened the language's transmission to younger generations.
Community Challenges: The Bafuliiru people face challenges in maintaining their linguistic heritage due to limited access to education in their native language, economic pressures that drive migration to urban centers, and the absence of digital content in Kifuliiru.
Our Impact: Through our computational methods and community engagement, we have working toward creating over 141,000 books (projected) in Kifuliiru, providing the Bafuliiru people with unprecedented access to educational materials in their native language, helping to reverse the trend of language loss.
"Kifuliiru kigayamaho" — "Kifuliiru will shine" — This traditional saying reflects the Bafuliiru people's hope and determination to preserve their language and cultural identity for future generations.
Explore deeper into the Kifuliiru language and the Bafuliiru people
