Luganda (Oluganda)

Luganda, or Ganda, is a member of the Bantu branch of Niger-Congo languages. It is spoken by about 3 million Baganda people, who live mainly in the Buganda region in southern Uganda. Luganda is also widely used elsewhere in Uganda as a second language. The name Uganda is the Swahili version of Baganda.

Luganda was first written during the second half of the 19th century. The first Luganda grammar was published in 1882, and was soon followed by other publications, many of which were written by missionaries. A number of different Luganda spelling systems were developed. A standard orthography of Luganda (Empandiika y'Oluganda Entongol) was introduced in 1947 at an All-Baganda Conference.

Luganda is used as the language of instruction in some primary schools in the Buganda region. There are also regular radio broadcasts in Luganda.

Arabic alphabet for Luganda

Notes

At the start of a word ا is used on its own to show the vowels [a] and [a:] or followed by Waw and Yaa to spell the vowels [u] and [i] respectively. It's also used within a word to spell [a:]
The sounds [ʧ] and [ʤ] are usually spelt c/j in the Latin orthography but when followed by i or (silent) y they're spelt k/g
The sounds [ɲ] and [ŋ] are usually spelt ny/ŋ in the Latin orthography/but under certain circumstances the letter n is used for both
The Latin orthography uses either l or r for these sounds
Before a vowel و and ي are pronounced [w] and [j]; word-finally or before a consonant they're pronounced [u] and [i]
The doubling mark ّ is used to strenghthen or lengthen a consonant/or to indicate a long vowel where it’s not clear from the context
Unless followed by a vowel letter/all consonants have an intrinsic following [a]. The exceptions to this rule are و, ن, م, ڠ,ڃ and ي which must have no intrinsic vowel. When followed by the [a] sound they're marked with a َ (superscript ا)
The Arabic alphabet for writing Luganda was never standardised so there's a lot of variation in its use.

Luganda Latin alphabet

Hear how to pronounce the Luganda alphabet:

Notes

Vowels written single are pronounced long before a nasal consonant followed by a non-nasal
(e.g. nsanvu [ns'a:nvu] 'seven hundred')/or after a consonant followed by a semivowel
(e.g. omweso [omw'e:so] 'Kiganda board game')/and short elsewhere. Long vowels in other positions are spelt with double letters.
The letters k and g are pronounced [ʧ]/[ʤ] when followed by i or (silent) y/and [k]/[g] elsewhere.
The letter r is used after an e or an i/the letter l is used elsewhere. Both letters may be pronounced /l/ or /r/ depending on context.
Before c/j/ny/y or soft k or g/the letter n is pronounced [ɲ]. Before hard k or g/it's pronounced [ŋ]. Elsewhere it's pronounced [n] and the special letters ny and ŋ are used for [ɲ] and [ŋ].
The digraph ny is considered a separate letter.
All consonants except l/r/w and y can be doubled/even at the start of a word. This strengthens or lengthens the sound of the consonant.
Except for ŋ/the letters are also referred to by their (British) English names

Download alphabet charts for Luganda (Excel)

Sample text in Luganda

Abantu bazaalibwa nga balina eddembe n'obuyinza ebyenkanankana, batondebwa nga balina amagezi era nga basobola okwawula ekirungi n'ekibi bwebatyo, buli omu agwana okuyisa munne nga muganda we.

Sample text in Luganda in the Arabic alphabet

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Information about Luganda pronunciation compiled by Wolfram Siegel

Sample videos in Luganda

Information about Luganda | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel

Links

Information about the Luganda language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luganda_language
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lug

A Primer on Speaking and Writing Luganda
http://www.buganda.com/luganda.htm

Luganda phrases
http://www.buganda.com/phrasebk.htm
https://quizlet.com/45128737/luganda-words-phrases-flash-cards/
http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/audio/languagelessons/uganda/UG_Luganda_Language_Lessons.PDF
https://kabiza.com/luganda-101-simple-lugandan-phrases-for-travelers-to-uganda/
https://volunteertherealuganda.com/luganda-phrase-book/

Bantu languages

Bangi, Basaa, Bemba, Bena, Benga, Bhaca, Bukusu, Bulu, Central Teke, Chichewa, Chokwe, Chuwabu, Comorian, Digo, Duala, Eton, Ewondo, Fang, Ganda/Luganda, Gogo, Gusii, Gwere, Haya, Hehe, Herero, Ibinda, Ikizu, Ikoma, Jita, Kamba, Kiga, Kikuyu, Kimbundu, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Kisi, Kongo, Konjo, Koti, Kukuya, Kunda, Kuria, Lambya, Lingala, Loma, Lozi, Luba-Katanga, Luchazi, Lunda, Luvale, Makaa, Makonde, Makhuwa, Mandekan, Maore, Masaaba, Mbukushu, Mbunda, Mende, Mongo, Mushungulu, Mwani, Nambya, Nande, Ngoni, Nkore, North Teke, Northern Ndebele (South Africa), Northern Ndebele (Zimbabwe), Northern Sotho, Nyamwezi, Nyakyusa, Nyemba, Nyole, Nyungwe, Nzadi, Oroko, OshiWambo, Pagibete, Punu, Ronga, Safwa, Sena, Sengele, Shona, Soga, Songe, Southern Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Sukuma, Swahili, Swati, Tanga, Tembo, Tonga, Tshiluba, Tsonga, Tswa, Tswana, Tumbuka, Umbundu, Venda, Vwanji, Xhosa, Yao, Yasa, Zigula, Zinza, Zulu

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 25.03.22

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