Learning Luganda: The Language of Uganda

June 26th, 2008 · 2 Comments

It seems liker ever since the Internet was created the world has been a shrinking place. Never throughout man’s history has the chance to easily communicate with other persons who are on the other side of the world been possible at little to no cost. Of course the communication barrier still exists when it comes to speaking to people of other languages. Because of this, foreign language programs are increasing in popularity and are selling incredibly well.

It seems like it is everyone’s duty to learn a foreign language, but many people are bored with the conventional languages of French, Spanish, and German and wish to expand their horizons and learn a language that is very uncommon. One such language that is very interesting and fun to learn and speak is Luganda.

Luganda is the language that is spoken in , primarily in the Buganda region which includes the capital of the country, Kampala. It is spoken by nearly 3 million people and is based on the Niger-Congo family of languages. Interestingly enough, Luganda is not the official language of Uganda, English is. English is the first language for the people there and schools teach in it primarily. In this language, all 5 vowels have two forms: a long and a short version. Luganda features the same letters as English does except it adds 3 special characters that are only found in Luganda.

The language’s grammar is quite similar to the Bantu languages which are referred to as noun-centric; this means that a word in every sentence will agree with a noun, such as by gender and number. Learning Luganda is made simpler by the fact that it is written in roman letters. Therefore, English speakers already have a good start as they don’t have to learn a new writing system as they would with Chinese, Hindi, or Arabic. An example of written Luganda is: Wasuze otya nno” which means “Good morning,” or literally “How was your night?”

If you’re looking to learn Luganda, or any other foreign language for that matter, your options have never been greater. The common method of spending thousands of dollars at a University is reserved only for the wealthy, or those who are studying languages for a career. For the self-learner there are countless books, computer programs, audio programs, and even programs that you can take part in on the internet. Some internet programs even give you the opportunity to speak to real native speakers right away. Very few learning options can boast of this.

If you are interested in , the best thing you can do is stop procrastinating and begin your study as soon as possible. Anyone can learn a foreign language; however, it takes a ruthless determination to succeed. You have to be willing to practice at least a little bit everyday, and realize that for a lot of effort you receive only a little reward. Do not let this deter you if this is your passion though. Anyone that puts their mind to it can learn a foreign language!

To learn Luganda you may wish to consider Talk Now Luganda or the Foreign Service Institute Luganda course.


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Tags: African Languages · Luganda

2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 G.Gomez // Mar 21, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Also, if someone wants to learn Luganda, the country is one of the cheapest places one can go and study a language in-country; a personal tutor is only 1.50 to 2 dollars per class!!… rent for a decent place is only 150-200 dollars, and food only about 100 a month if you decide to cook yourself at home… but even going out is only $5-10 for a great meal; people are super friendly, and the only problem I have found so far is that for some reason Uganda does not REALLY want to promote the language to foreigners; this may have a lot to do with its colonial past and so many people there feel their language inferior to english; which has been imposed as the official language after britain left them alone…. even in the courts the people wear those ridiculous wigs the english wear at the bench!!… but if you show an interest in the past and culture and traditions they just love you! They were made christian also so if you show an interest in their ancient (still practiced) religious beliefs they will open up to you; specially if you speak Luganda as you go along!!… I have yet to find an honest luganda learner in the states though!!

  • 2 me // Aug 19, 2009 at 5:11 pm

    can i just say it would be really nice if you could actually put some Uganda language!

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