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. 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 ) that some argue they are dialects of the same language, a language called Nkore-Kiga by Taylor.

Phonology

Runyankore has a five-vowel system:

Orthography

D and P are only used in the digraphs ND and MP and in loanwords. G and K are [d͡ʒ] and [t͡ʃ] before I, [k] and [g] elsewhere.

Basic greetings

The greeting Agandi, implying, "How are you?" but literally meaning "other news!", can be replied with Ni marungi, which literally means "good news!". The proper greetings are Oraire ota? or Osiibire ota?, literally translated "How was your night?" and "How was your day?". "Good night" is Oraare gye and "Good day" is Osiibe gye. Here are a few names one might use in a greeting:

Food

Other words and phrases

Oraire ota (orei-rota) Replies: I'm fine Ndaire gye (ndei-re-jeh) or Ndyaho (indi-aho) Oraire gye? (orei-reh-jeh) Reply: Yes, yourself? Yego, shan’iwe Osiibire ota (o-see-bee-rota) Replies: Nsiibire gye (insi-bi-reje) Osiibire gye (Osi birejge) Replies: Yes- Yego (yegg-oh) or nsiibire gye Waasiiba ota (wasib-wota) Reply: Fine, good, I've spent it well – Naasiiba gye (nasi-baje)