Bwana Ssemakula,
I think that bell doesn't toll for English (or Swahili) alone. How
many speakers of Luganda (and I'm using this phrase deliberately, well
aware that a significant percentage of Luganda speakers are not
Baganda) do you know who care enough for the language to buy Luganda
books for reading at home (i.e. for pleasure and to satisfy their
personal -- non-school -- quest for knowledge)? Skills in one
language translate well into learning a second, third, etc language. For
example, my appreciation of the finer points of English grammar
have been immensely useful in my efforts to speak and write better
Ma'di, Arabic, Kiswahili, and Lugbara.
We have an across-the-board problem and those of use who care
for the survival and thriving of African languages could do something
far more useful and non-partisan about promoting a culture of reading
in Uganda. My anecdotal conclusion is that our brothers and sisters in
Kenya buy more books and newspapers (English and local languages
included) per capita than us.
And then, generally Ugandans currently have a poor regard
for learning the standard form of any of the languages that they
speak.
Just my two non-partisan, non-polemic cents.
vukoni
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [Ugnet] Will this is be the fate of Swahili?
From: "musamize" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, February 22, 2005 7:42 pm
To: ugandanet@kym.net
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