So my Ugandan friends make fun of me every time I try to say something in Luganda. So far I’ve got down the following two phrases, cold: “My name is Laila,” and “I’m crazy.” They both go across really well.
So, in retribution, I would like to giggle about some of my favorite Ugandan English pronunciations. First of all, in Luganda, the letters “c” and “k” are pronounced ch- and the letter “g” is hard, like a “j.” “r”s and “l”s of course, get swapped and then, there’s always “the what?”
Here are some of the words to which I’ve taken a partichular fancy:
Currichulum
Lesearch
Lift Valley
Arjument
And, there’s my favorite, Raila
I also tried to expand my Luganda vocabulary to include important things like, “Can you stop the bus so I can urinate?” and “No, I am married.” I also learned the word for water, in a process which might prove to be more trouble than it’s worth. See. in Luganda, mazi means “water,” but amazi means poop. So you’ve gotta be careful. This is what I predict, with a 95% confidence interval, will happen to me:
Laila: “Hi, I’d like some amazi, please.”
Guy: **raises eyebrows**
Laila: “Oh yeah, I’d like that cold, please”
Guy: “We don’t have that.”
Laila: “Oh that’s fine. Just go get one of the warm ones and put it in the refrigerator. I’ll wait.”
