Lugbara language

Lugbara, or Lugbarati, is the language of the Lugbara people. It is spoken in the West Nile region in northwestern Uganda, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Orientale Province with a little extension to the South Sudan as the Zande or Azande people.

The Aringa language, also known as Low Lugbara, is closely related, and sometimes considered a dialect of Lugbara. In fact, among the Lugbara of Uganda, it is one of the five clans (Ayivu clan, Vurra clan, Terego clan, Maracha clan, and Aringa clan). Some scholars classify the Lugbara language itself as a dialect of the Ma'di language, though this is not generally accepted. An SIL survey report concluded that the Okollo, Ogoko, and Rigbo dialects, called "Southern Ma'di", should be classified as dialects of Lugbara.

• /ɛ, ɔ/ can also be heard as [e, o] as a result of vowel harmony.
• /a/ can have an allophone of [ʌ] when after sounds /k, ɡ/.

• /l/ can be heard as a lateral flap [ɺ] within dialectal variation.
• /t͡s, d͡z/ are heard as [t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ] within dialectal variation.
• /tʳ, dʳ/ can also be heard as retroflex [ʈɽ, ɖɽ] within free variation.
• /ʔj/ can also be heard as an implosive [ʄ] and /ⁿz/ can be heard as [ⁿd͡z], within free variation.
• A labial affricate [p͡f] may occur within dialectal variation, [ŋ] only rarely occurs among different dialects.

Lugbara was first written by Christian missionaries in 1918, based on the Ayivu dialect. In 2000, a conference was held in the city of Arua in northwestern Uganda regarding the creation of a standardised international orthography for Lugbara.

In 1992, the Government of Uganda designated it as one of five "languages of wider communication" to be used as the medium of instruction in primary education; however, unlike the other four such languages, it was never actually used in schools. More recently it was included in the curriculum for some secondary schools in the West Nile region, including St. Joseph's College Ombaci and Muni Girls Secondary School, both in Arua District.

Lugbara phrases are spoken in several dialects (clan-wise) but the Muni (Ayivu) version, from which many of the explanations below are based, is the one approved for teaching in schools. The language has diphthong clusters and other noteworthy phonetics including the following:

aa as in bat, for example embataa

c as in church, for example candiru (which is also spelt Chandiru)

dj as in jilt, for example odji, the ‘d’ is silent

ee as in emblem, for example andree

gb as in bend, for example gbe, the ‘g’ is silent. Gb in Lugbara does not have an equivalent in English. What stands out in these Sudanic languages is the special manner in which 'kp, gb, 'd, 'b, 'y, 'w are pronounced.

i as in inn, for example di-i

oa as in oar, for example adroa

oo as in old, for example ocoo, less often oo as in food, for example ‘doo

uu as in chew, for example cuu

z as in jean after n, for example onzi. Otherwise, most times remains z as in zebra, for example ozu and when the first letter of a word.

The Simplified Lugbara alphabet has 28 letters minus ‘q’ and ‘x’ (Alamakanda in Aringa language), which means 24 like in English and four unique ones namely: ‘b like in ‘bua, ‘d like in ‘dia, ‘w like in ‘wara and ‘y like in ‘yeta. Letters are pronounced as follows: Ah, Ba, Bha, Cha, Da, Dha, Eh, Fa, Ga, Ha, Ie, Ja, Ka, La, Ma, Na, Oh, Pa, Ra, Sa, Ta, Uw, Va, Wa, Wha, Ya, Yha, and Za.

Also in the vocabulary, there are several words that have varied meanings when pronounced differently, for instance oli can mean air, wind (also oliriko), whistle, cut or roll.

Grandfather (a’bi, a'bipi)

Grandmother (dede, e'di, edapi)

Grandson (mvia)

Granddaughter (zia)

Father (ati, ata)

Mother (andri, andre, ayia)

Husband (agupi)

Wife (oku)

Son (agupiamva, mvi)

Daughter (zamva, zi)

Brother (adri)

Sister (amvi)

Uncles (atapuru (singular -paternal) atapuruka (plural - paternal), [maternal - adroyi (singular), maternal (plural) - adropi]

Aunts (andrapuruka - plural: paternal and in some cases maternal), (andrapuru: singular), awupi - (singular: maternal aunt), awupika - (plural: maternal aunts)

Cousin (atapurumva)

Cousin brother (atapuruka anzi); also adri, adripika

Cousin sister (atapuruka ezopi); also amvi, amvupika

NB: Strictly speaking, the word cousin is alien in Lugbara culture. Cousins are brothers and sisters.

Nephews (adro anzi) - maternal nephews

Nieces (adro ezoanzi, ezapi) - maternal nieces

Father-in-law (anya)

Mother-in-law (edra)

Brother-in-law (otuo)

Sister-in-law (onyere)

1 week (Sabatu alu, sabiti alu)

A day is called O’du in Lugbara.

Sunday (Sabatu, sabiti, yinga, yumula)

Monday (O’du alu)

Tuesday (O’du iri)

Wednesday (O’du na)

Thursday (O’du su)

Friday (O’du towi)

Saturday (O’du azia)

The simplest way to refer to months (Mba in Lugbara) is to use numbers, for example January is Mba Alu, February is Mba Iri, May is Mba Towi and so on. But below is the other Latinized (and seasonal) way of mentioning them.

Januari/Oco ‘dupa sere (January)

Feburili/ Kuluni (February)

Marici/ Zengulu (March)

Aprili/ Ayi - Wet season (April)

Mayi/ Ayi Eti (May)

Juni/ Emveki (June)

Julayi/ Eri (July)

Agoslo/ Iripaku (August)

Sebitemba/ Lokopere (September)

Okitoba/ Abibi (October)

Novemba/ Waa (November)

Desemba/ Anyu fi kuma (December)

Eka (Ika by Terego) (red)

Foro foro (gray)

Foroto (grayish)

Imve (white)

Imve silili, imve whilili, imve sisirili (very pure white)

Imvesi-enisi (black and white)

Ini (black)

Inibiricici, inicici, inikukuru (very dark)

Lugbara AI refers to Artificial Intelligence technology or machines that use Lugbara. The Sunbird Translate system can automatically take text from Lugbara. It includes locally relevant topics such as healthcare, agriculture and society. With its partners including Makerere University AI Lab, Sunbird AI (a Ugandan startup) has built open Lugbara datasets, translation and speech systems. It is also used by banks.

Furthermore, other developers are also working on projects.

• Agofe
• Districts of Uganda
• Lugbara music
• Lugbara proverbs

• Ongua Iga, Paul (1999). A Simplified Lugbara-English Dictionary. Fountain Publishers. ISBN 9970-02-105-2.