Abstract:
Oral literature is an event linked to a community way of life. In fact, political, economic, social and cultural changes cause various branches of oral literature to have specific meanings, this is according to Samwel (2020). In addition, the culture of a community affects the use of language and helps interpret oral literary works. This study therefore aimed to examine the oral literature of Burundian society by highlighting the meanings of the Kirundi expressions. This study which was conducted in Burundi, its data were collected from 15 respondents who are teachers of Kiswahili at universities located in the city of Bujumbura. The interview method was used where each respondent was given a piece of paper and asked to explain the meaning of each expression in Kirundi oral literature using at least 2 examples. Moreover, this study was guided by the Politeness Theory which was founded by Levinson (1983). The findings showed that Kirundi phraseological expressions have their meanings according to the Burundian society’s way of life. The expressions of Kirundi oral literature discussed in this research paper are such as: proverbs, sayings, riddles, idioms, puns, nicknames and name riddles. This study concludes by recommending a detailed study on the status of oral literature in Burundi because it was found that some of the words of Kirundi language tend to be outdated.
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