Lusoga Language

[Karrin Parker]

Hi all I am attaching the Peace Corps language manual for Lusoga- The language that many of the people in Uganda speak.This manual is not to be shared/sold or passed around, but I am sharing it with you all because it may be helpful for us... However _ know I cant learn a language in 2 weeks....come  Also if you want a brief -down and dirty of the langauge you can look up Soga language on the wikipedia website. See you all soon Karrin

[Karrin Parker]

Hi again, My PC friends in Uganda forwarded the language manual to me... but to be forwarned, Lusoga is spoken around Lake Victoria region and southern Uganda and Luganda ( I may be spelling that wrong) is spoken in the north and they are very similar... (i guess). Also Swahili is spoken too... so I am not sure what is the MOST used language in Kampala, besides English. I know that if you know even a few greeting phases in the local language it can go a long way!After looking at the Lusoga manual I sent you, I saw that they didnt give any pronunciation tips...  Any suggestion s Nrupa? Thanks Karrin

[Ilan Navah]

Hey fellows,

After asking around, I learned that Luganda is the most spoken
language in Kampala other than English. Below is a link to a free
course from the Foreign Service Institute with a learning manual and
audio files. It's a little confusing, but better than nothing.

http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Luganda

I also bought a Luganda-English Phrasebook, but it is only about 20
pgs and pretty expensive. I will be happy to type up a word doc. with
some helpful phrases and share with you all.

Looking forward to meeting you!

-ILAN

On May 17, 5:09 pm, Karrin Parker <parkerkar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi again, My PC friends in Uganda forwarded the language manual to me... but
> to be forwarned, Lusoga is spoken around Lake Victoria region and southern
> Uganda and Luganda ( I may be spelling that wrong) is spoken in the north
> and they are very similar... (i guess). Also Swahili is spoken too... so I
> am not sure what is the MOST used language in Kampala, besides English. I
> know that if you know even a few greeting phases in the local language it
> can go a long way!After looking at the Lusoga manual I sent you, I saw that
> they didnt give any pronunciation tips...  Any suggestion s Nrupa? Thanks
> Karrin
>

[Anand Sandesara]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I was only in Kampala for a few days
last year, but I did learn a couple things. 1) The Swahili I knew
wasn't going to get me very far because aside from the few migrants
from the eastern part of the country and some Indians, people didn't
speak it (although they have been emphasizing it more in schools
recently). 2) The Ugandans' English in Kampala was impeccable. There
is a strong accent, but you get used to it very quickly. Communication
in English is made even easier if you can adapt to and adopt the
Ugandan English accent because otherwise they don't understand our
American accents. I'm trying to think of some examples, but good ones
aren't coming to mind. "Market" is pronounced "MAH-ket"... "sewer" is
pronounced "soo-wah" etc. haha. Apparently, they start learning
English from primary school unlike some of the other East African
countries. I remember running into a group of Japanese students while
I was in Kampala. When I asked them what they were doing in Kampala,
they said they had come to learn English! I'm sure speaking with
hospital/NGO staff will be no problem, but of course it can only help
us to learn some of the local dialect. Everyone conversed in Luganda
amongst themselves.

[Jacob Fyda]

Score.

Jacob P. Fyda

University of Pennsylvania
Masters Candidate
Graduate Program in Public Health Studies

fy...@mail.med.upenn.edu

(727) 415.3993

[Karrin Parker]

Thats good to know... so scrap the Lusoga! Karrin

[Nrupa Jani]

Hi folks,

 

English is one of the main languages of Uganda so you really don't need to know more than a few basic terms in the local language, mainly to impress your co-workers and amuse the locals with your efforts :)  Swahili is also listed as a local language, but  depending on what tribe and part of the country people are from, its likely that English may be their strongest language. Most, if not all, of your colleagues will be at least conversant in English.  Keep in mind that there are over 30 languages/dialects spoken across Uganda, so figuring out which one to 'learn' can be a bit tricky.  The eastern part of the country I was working in had so many different dialects that unfortunately I was only able to pick up a few words here and there in Luganda/Lugisu. 

 

 

Learning the basics (ie: hello/goodbye/thank you) in Luganda may be helpful when interacting with clients at TASO/hospital, and during travel outside of Kampala to more rural parts of the country...if they speak the same dialect. Many of the greetings from the Lusoga manual do function across different languages, ie: sebo (sir) and nhyabo (madam).  Other than that you will not need to know any of the local dialects in detail to communicate with people on a daily basis. My experience in Kampala was that nearly everyone I interacted with, be it through TASO, in the market, or at a restaurant, knew English, and as Anand mentioned, knew it quite well. 

Nrupa  

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Nrupa Jani
MPH Candidate, Class of 2011
Department of Global Health
Global Health Service Fellow 2010, TASO Uganda

GWU South Asian Public Health Association, Vice President
nj...@gwmail.gwu.edu