<All About Uganda #7: Ugandan Language>

Hi STEEMIT!

As always, we’re here today to share some insightful facts about Uganda. Today, we want to tell you a little bit about Uganda’s languages. In the U.S., the English is the one common language that everyone speaks. In fact, we have come to expect anyone who comes to the country to speak it as well. In Korea, Korean is the national language, and even though there are various idiosyncrasies that differentiate accents and tones from region to region, it isn’t much of a struggle to understand what someone from another area is saying. South Koreans can even understand North Koreans speaking Korean (perhaps with the exception of several word)!

But what about Uganda? There are over 40 different languages in Uganda that are still in use today. These languages are divided into 3 major categories: Bantu, Nilotic, and Central Sudanic. If you look at the map below, you can see that the division of languages are based on geographic location. If you speak Luganda, say, from Wakiso district, and decide you want to venture out into a village like Nankoma, near Jinja… Well, chances are, they might not understand what you’re saying! That’s why our staff members speak 3-4 even over 20 languages!

(Reference: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Languages_of_Uganda.png)

Still, the government has every public education to cover English as a common language. A country where multiple languages coexist and diverse cultures spring out of those. What do you think?

The story continues...