Ugandan English - Borrowed Terms and Borrowed Grammar

Borrowed Terms and Borrowed Grammar

English has been absorbing foreign words for centuries; this tendency is prevalent in Uganda. Usually, words are inserted into English from Ugandan languages because the English equivalent doesn’t convey the sense the Ugandan speaker intends.

The standard English term brother in law applies to both a spouse’s brother and a spouse’s sister’s husband. A man’s relationship with these two entails two quite different sets of obligations and norms in Ugandan society. Thus Ugandan speakers will often use the Luganda muko (wife’s brother) and musangi (literally “one you met,” meaning you met at the girl's home while wooing her) to make the distinction.

Sometimes only a prefix is borrowed. In Luganda the prefix ka- before a noun denotes smallness. A Member of Parliament, referring to a 5-foot-tall (1.5 m) Finance Minister, said in a debate "the ka-man is innocent." Ka-child and ka-thing are also common. Thus, in most cases its used to refer to the size of an object. For example many cell phones in Uganda have flash lights, or "torches," as an accessory of the phones. Ugandans refer to this light as the "katorchi" since the light emitted from the phone comes from a small bulb at the top. But it can also be diminutive, such as in the case when a woman is telling her friends how she was bothered by an overly flirtatious young man on the taxi, "Eh! this ka-boy really disturbed me on the taxi. He would not stop asking for my number." Here the ka is used not so much to refer to whether or not the boy was short or tall, but rather as a way to reflect how he bothered her. Ka-timba, however, in the context of building construction refers to a thin piece of steel (such as re-bar), rather than the wood which one might expect. On the other hand, akatimba (obutimba, plural) is the name for a mosquito net. Thus, as is common in Uganda, one world will have multiple, if not numerous, meanings depending on the context in which it is used, as will the prefixes.

In British English, banking institutions presented with a dishounured check are said to bounce it; Ugandans have adopted this phrase to refer to the inability to meet with the intended person, goal, or appointment: "I came to your place and bounced."

Ugandans will frequently combine two sentences into one using the word and. For example, a barber will say "Sit down and I cut your hair," or a messenger might say "They told me to come and you give me the package." The usage makes sense in most Ugandan languages, but in these languages the word and is implied, not stated.

The phrase "ok please" is used to convey agreement or acknowledgement. It can also be used to signal a transition. For instance, if I am preparing to leave your company, I might break a moment of silence with "ok please" and then announce that I am leaving. "Thank you please" has a similar meaning, but can also mean thank you. "Please" never means please. If you want something, you say "You give me..." Please is not required.

The Luganda conjunction nti is often slipped into English sentences instead of that. Thus, one will hear a quotation like "The Minister said nti corruption will not be tolerated." If the speaker is skeptical he will use mbu instead of nti: "The Minister said mbu corruption will not be tolerated" implies that it’s just talk; business will go on as usual.

In some Ugandan languages, the same verb can be used express thanks, congratulations, and appreciation of a job well done. It is normal for an African working in his own garden to be thanked for his work by a passing stranger. If one buys a new car in Uganda, or wins a race, one should not be surprised to find themselves being thanked. You will also be thanked early in the morning as a form of greeting. With a person often directly translating "gyebale" by saying "well done". They are just greeting you by way of thanking you for your usual work not necessarily for a particular task.

The expression well done is extrapolated to specific actions. Examples include well fought, to soldiers on the winning side after a war; well bought, to someone with a new car or house; and even well put on, to a well-dressed person.

The personal pronoun is usually added to imperative sentences. Thus, one hears the phrase "Go to Entebbe;" or "Please go to Entebbe" will become "You go to Entebbe." "Please come here" becomes "You come."

Ugandans often create portmanteaus from Luganda English words. For example, "I am going to change into a dress" becomes "I'm going to ku-changi-nga." In other cases, they add -ing at the end of a Luganda word; thus, a young girl can say "That gentleman was kwaana-ring me" to mean the gentleman was chatting me up.