CHALLENGES FACED BY LUSOGA LANGUAGE

Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analyst
Dishma-Inc.
P.O. Box 8885,
Kampala-Uganda
Tel. +256392614655/+256752542504
dishma.imhs@gmail.com
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com

Lusoga is the second largest tribe in Uganda after Luganda. lusoga language gradually suffered extinction through years of Bunyoro imperialism, Buganda imperialism, British imperialism and, now, neocolonialism. Being civilized in Busoga implied ability to read and write in luganda –an impact that is still visible today.

It is very easy for a Musoga today –to dance the Badanga way and write in Luganda. Besides, they modified their administrative structure to exactly fit the Buganda way. It is hard to blame them as best infrastructure was in Buganda like best schools, best recreation centers, best consumer goods, and best health services.

There more pride searching to live in Buganda and speak Luganda than to live in Busoga and speak Lusoga –now considered backward by some Basoga. So many of them found new life in Buganda.

When you talk about them in Buganda today the flashing image in the mind of the listener will indicate: a chapatti selling person –which is commonest business undertaking by them. In fact, they are renowned for that, and people there appreciate the amazing taste of chapattis made by them.

With such a trend, it becomes unthinkable to find the original dialect. It is now a reserve of the rural communities. The situation in the new community (Buganda) is made worse by negative labels and insults thrown to them.

Some in Lusoga words are used to cater for another community’s convenience usage like in vulgar jokes. Some words thrown to them from mainly central Uganda (among the Baganda) are really bad –like a saying that: ‘Basoga develop their intelligent quotient (IQ) at 45 years or take long to understand.’

Most disturbing about it is that it has no scientific evidence to support it –yet nationally used. Attempts to find out the origin of the label were met with surprises of responses that it was the country’s president who said it at a local radio station –more over to an electorate he is fond of scooping 99% of the vote since 1996.

Dilution of the original dialect has its place in colonial era –when a centralized system of local administration was introduced –in which they attained a status of a Monarch –contrary to its original administration setup.

Originally, the clan head was most supreme and strongly sustained it and the culture of people who speak it. Language and cultural extinction ensued when clan came fourth in administration hierarchy after the national administration, Buganda administration, and country chiefs.

Today parents sent their children to boarding schools at very tender ages. They never have adequate time with their parents to interact in their mother tongue. The situation is further crippled by the fact that parents too are victims of the change.. In boarding schools, much of the time is focused on mastering English and getting exposed to multiple languages.

It is true that history can be blamed for Lusoga extinction characterized by imposed yet weak leadership, greater disunity, and lack of initiative among opinion leaders in the region (Busoga) –to redirect Lusoga to its rich past, and to conserve Lusoga language and culture –as a means to promote eco-tourism and fight the unemployment problem –and for the benefit of the generations to come.

It is thus worthwhile to develop its curriculum and restore supportive structures like clan-based leadership and an agricultural-based economy.