Communication

It's always interesting comparing the use of English in different places. In Uganda it is a second language for virtually everyone but it is also the main common language. There are around 50 local languages divided into 2 main groups, the Bantu languages south of the Nile and the Nilotic languages north of the Nile. There are similarities between different languages within the same group so that people can at least understand some of what is said. However, after crossing the Nile my colleagues from the south are as lost as I am with the local languages. We all rely on English to communicate.

All children learn English from a very young age and are taught in English from the fourth year of primary school. How would we cope if we had to learn Geography and History in French? Swahili is widely spoken in Kenya and Tanzania but is not widely spoken in Uganda. It is now the second official language but it is only very recently that learning Swahili has been introduced into schools. The result is that if you don't speak the local language for the area where you are, then you are more likely to be understood in English than any other language.

For a native English speaker there are some interesting differences between the English from home and the English in Uganda. I find I use too many words and confuse people. There was an interesting example of this last week. I asked our Office Administrator if she had managed to arrange for the driver to take me to one of our partner organisations the next day. My reply would have been:
'No I'm sorry, I've tried but he's not answering his phone at the moment' Hers was:
'He's not picking'
No wonder people don't understand me! After the first 4 words I've lost them!

Later in the week I travelled with the driver to the organisation and we were talking about these language differences while stuck in the ubiquitous Kampala traffic jam. He said that he concentrated on the first and last word and tried to guess what was in the middle! I find I can make myself understood face to face but on the phone is much more difficult, although it is much easier now than when I first arrived. It just proves how much we rely on non verbal signals to know whether or not we have been understood and then adapt what we are saying based on these. When the non verbal signals aren't there, as with a phone conversation, then communication is much harder.

There are also many differences in the use of words:

'Picking' is a fairly universal term used for collecting someone or something or answering a phone. I frequently see adverts for University courses encouraging candidates to 'pick' an application form from the office.
'You are lost' means I haven't seen you for a while
'Taxi' is a Matatu (a Swahili word adopted by the Muzungus to differentiate from a 'Special Hire')
'We go' is a useful term for a boda boda either with or without a question mark!

But then York also has it's fair share of unusual word usage:
'Gate' means road, as in Micklegate or Goodramgate and
'Bar' means gate as in Micklegate bar or Monk bar

Overall I've learnt to slow down and simplify my sentences. After all I don't speak a second language as well as most Ugandans speak English and I don't speak a third language at all. In Uganda it is normal to speak around 3 languages nearly fluently!

Bela bulungi (or good day in Lugandan, which is the local language in the Kampala area)