Lugbara language

Lugbara
Lugbara
Native to	Uganda, DR Congo
Ethnicity	Lugbara
Native speakers	1.6 million (2014 Census)
Language family	Nilo-Saharan? Central Sudanic Eastern Moru–Madi Central Lugbara; ; ; ; ;
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either:; lgg – Lugbara; snm – Southern Ma'di
Glottolog	lugb1240 Lugbara; sout2828 S. Ma'di

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.^[2]

Classification and dialects

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).^[3] Some scholars classify the Lugbara language itself as a dialect of the Ma'di language, though this is not generally accepted.^[4] An SIL survey report concluded that the Okollo, Ogoko, and Rigbo dialects, called "Southern Ma'di", should be classified as dialects of Lugbara.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Near-close	ɪ		ʊ
Close-mid	ɛ ~ e		ɔ ~ o
Open-mid	ɛ ~ e	(ʌ)	ɔ ~ o
Open		a

/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/.^[5]

Consonants

		Labial	Dental		Alveolar	Postalv./ Palatal	Velar	Labial- velar	Glottal
		Labial	plain	trilled	Alveolar	Postalv./ Palatal	Velar	Labial- velar	Glottal
Nasal		m			n	ɲ	(ŋ)
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	p	t	tʳ	t͡s	(t͡ʃ)	k	k͡p	ʔ
	voiced	b	d	dʳ	d͡z	(d͡ʒ)	ɡ	ɡ͡b
	prenasal	ᵐb	ⁿd	ⁿdʳ			ᵑɡ	ᵑᵐɡ͡b
	implosive	ɓ			ɗ
Fricative	voiceless	f			s				h
	voiced	v			z
	prenasal	ᶬv			ⁿz
Trill					r
Tap					(ɺ)
Approximant	lateral				l
	plain					j		w
	preglottal					ˀj		ˀw

/l/ can be heard as a lateral flap [ɺ] within dialectal variation.^[6]
/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.

Orthography

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.^[7]

In education

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.^[7] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Pronunciation guide

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.

Vocabulary

The 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, Bha, Ba, Cha, Dha, Da, Eh, Fa, Ga, Ha, Ie, Ja, Ka, La, Ma, Na, Oh, Pa, Ra, Sa, Ta, Uuw, Va, Wha, Wa, Yha, Ya, 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.

Numbers

Number	Translation
0.	Toko/ ogbo
1.	Alu
2.	Iri
3.	Na
4.	Su
5.	Towi/ tawu
6.	Azia
7.	Aziri
8.	Aro
9.	Oromi
10.	Mudri/ modri
11.	Mudri drini alu
12.	Mudri drini iri
13.	Mudri drini na
20.	Kali iri
21.	Kali iri drini alu
22.	Kali iri drini iri
23.	Kali iri drini na
30.	Kali na
40.	Kali su
100.	Turu alu
500.	Turu towi
900.	Turu oromi
1,000.	Alifu alu
1M.	Milioni alu

Greetings and other phrases

Lugbara	English
Mi ifu ngoni?	How did you wake up?/ Good morning!
[Mi] ngoni?	How [are you]?
[Ma] muke!	[I'm] fine!
Ma azoru!	I'm sick!
Mi aa ngoni?	How did you stay?
Ayiko ni ma fu!	Happiness is killing me!/ I'm happy!
Abiri ni ma fu(fu)!	Hunger is killing me!/ I'm hungry!
otuu si?	What time is it?
otuu alu o’bitisi.	7:00 a.M. [To tell time, you mention the number on the opposite side of the clock. Otuu iri is 8 O’clock, otuu na is 9 O’clock, etc.]
otuu mudri drini alu ondresi	5:00 p.m.
Mi efi!	Come in!
Ife mani yi!	Give me water!
Kirikiri!	Please!
Ada!	True!
Inzo!	Lies!
Iko ma aza!	Help me!
Ine!	See!
Mi a'bua ozi si?	How much do you sell bananas?
Ajeni si?	How much [is the price]?
Ale Obangulu!	I want mashed whiteants!
Ma mu Gili Gili-a ngoni?	How do I get to Gili Gili?
Arojo ngua?	Where is the drugshop/clinic/hospital?
Mi ru a'di-i?	What is your name?
Ma ru Yoweli-i!	I'm called Joel!
Awa’di fo!	Thanks!
Ale mi!	I love you!/I need you!/I want you!
Ma enga Ediofe-a.	I'm from Ediofe.
Ma mu kanisa-a.	I'm going to church.
Mi ma agi!	You are my friend!
Ma mu Ariwara-a ngoni?	How do I get to Ariwara?
Masikiti ngua?	Where is the mosque?
Mi ma ji Ragemu-a ra?	Can you take me to Ragem?
Iji ma Ringili-a!	Take me to Ringili!
'Ba mucele ozi ngua?	Where is rice sold?
Aje/ andru/ drusi/ drozi	Yesterday/ today/ tomorrow/ the day after tomorrow
Ila muke!	Sleep well!
Ale ra!	I do want! [The word 'ra' after a verb denotes positivity.]
Ale ku!	I don't want! [The word 'ku' after a verb denotes negativity.]

Relationships

Grandfather (a’bi,a'bipi)

Grandmother (dede, e’di,e'dapi)

Grandson (mvia)

Granddaughter (zia)

Father (ati, ata)

Mother (andri, andre, ayia)

Husband (agupi)

Wife (oku)

Son (agupiamva, mvi)

Daughter (zamva, zi)

Brother (adrii)

Sister (amvii)

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 adrii, adripika

Cousin sister (atapuruka ezopi); also amvii, 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, ezaapi) - maternal nieces

Father-in-law (anya)

Mother-in-law (edra)

Brother-in-law (otuo)

Sister-in-law (onyere)

Days of the week

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)

Calendar

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/January (Oco ‘dupa sere)

Feburili/February (Kulini)

Marici/march (Zengulu)

Aprili/April (Ayi – Wet season)

Mayi/May (Mayi)

Juni/June (Emveki)

Julayi/July (Irri)

Agoslo/August (Iripaku)

Sebitemba/September (Lokopere)

Okitoba/October (Abibi)

Novemba/November (Waa)

Desemba/December (Anyu fi kuma)

Common signs

Lugbara	English
Agupi	Men
Oku	Women

Colours

Eka (Ika by Terego) (red)

Imve (white)

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

Ini (black)

Inibiricici, inicici, inikukuru (very dark)

Emvesi-enisi (black and white)

Foro [foro] (gray)

Foroto (grayish)

Food

Lugbara	English
Mucele	(Rice)
Funo/ Funyo	(Groundnuts)
Gbanda/ Ola	(Cassava)
Osu	(Beans, Kaiko in Terego dialect)
Buruso/ Burusu	(Guinea peas)
Kaka	(Maize)
Ago	(Pumpkin)
Anyu	(Simsim)
Ondu	(Sorghum)
Maku	(Potatoes)
[M]ayu[ni]	(Yams)
Onya	(White ants)
Ope	(Guinea fowl)
Au	(Chicken)
Eza	(Meat)
Ti eza	(Cow Meat)
E’bi	(Fish)
Kawa	(Coffee)
Majani	(Tea)
I'di	(Porridge)
Kpete	(Beer)
Nyanya	(Tomatoes)
Cikiri/ Osu nyiri	(Chick peas)

References

^ Lugbara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Southern Ma'di at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Gordon, Raymond (2005). "Lugbara language". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
^ Boone, Douglas; Watson, Richard (1999). "Moru–Ma'di Survey Report" (PDF). SIL Electronic Survey Reports SILESR 1999-001. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-07-21. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
^ Blackings, Mairi; Nigel Fabb (2003). A Grammar of Ma'di. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 1. ISBN 3-11-017940-7.
^ Alo, Anguandia (2014). Lugbarati Phonology and Orthography Standardization. Editions du Soleil Levant.
^ Crazzolara, Pasquale J. (1960). A study of the Logbara (Ma'di) language: grammar and vocabulary. London & New York: Oxford University Press.
^ ^a ^b Da Fonseca, N. "Writing unwritten languages". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)