Today marks exactly three weeks since I've been in Mbarara and one of the most fascinating aspects of daily life has been language. When I initially asked people about what language would be most useful to learn in Uganda the answer was always, "It depends." This is because Ugandan citizens speak over forty different tribal languages. On my initial drive from Kampala to Mbarara, I asked Silver, the driver, how many languages he spoke. "I don't know," he said. "I've never really taken the time to count  . . .  but I think maybe ten to fifteen."

Officially, Uganda's languages are English and Swahili but other common languages spoken are Luganda, Runyoro, Runyankole, Rukiga and Luo. In the southwest of the country where Mbarara is located, mostly Bantu languages are spoken which includes Runyankole, the most common language in my area. Since we are close to the border of Rwanda, many people are also able to speak Kinyarawanda.

I had the first meeting with my language tutor, Justus, last week to start practicing Runyankole. The language is spelled exactly how it sounds, which makes things a bit easier. Interestingly, R's and L's can be used interchangeably in spelling and in pronunciation as there is barely any difference. Here's a taste of what I learned in the first lesson - a basic self-introduction:

Agandi? Ndyaho. Nibanyeta Sarah. Kandi iwe? Na she mererwa kukureeba. Ninduga omuri Michigan. Hati nintura Boma. Webare mononga! 

Even a one hour lesson is extremely helpful in starting to listen to the pattern of the language and I've been able to hear and understand common words repeated over and over like "Ok" (Kale), greetings and thanks.

Another interesting aspect of the language hodgepodge here is the presence of Swahili, but only for some words. I hear the word "Muzungu" (Swahili for "foreigner") over and over again along with "Buzungu" (Swahili for "many foreigners"). This is interesting because although most people choose to speak Runyankole 100% of the time, they always turn to Swahili when referring to foreigners.

The last curious part of language that I've been enjoying is the different type of English spoken here. One assumes that if you can speak English you will automatically be able to understand everyone else who speaks it anywhere in the world, but this is not the case at all. Ugandan English has a different rhythm, pronunciation and most importantly, vocabulary. In almost every conversation that I've had with a Ugandan, one of us has to ask the other to repeat herself. In the first conversation with my driver, Silver, I remember asking him, "This car seems pretty sturdy, is it four wheel drive?" and he replied, "No, it takes more than four hours and probably about 5-6 hours to reach Mbarara."

I've been trying to keep track of the interesting things I've heard people say, none of which has been incorrect at all, it's just completely different than how we would say things in the States. Here are a few examples:

"I will get you the internet passcode so you can avail yourself of the network."

"Can you wait right here while I get the stapling machine?" (stapler)

"I didn't know what to do and my eyes darted many different ways."

"Thank you for your invigilation this morning in my classroom." (written in an email)  I actually had to look this one up: "invigilation - keeping watch over examination candidates to prevent cheating; supervision; oversight."

"All of the students in your class will be freshers." (freshmen)

"Freshers welcome party"

It's been so interesting to learn more about how people communicate here, both in English and in Runyankole - I can't wait to learn more!

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