A VERY LONG TICK TO YOU MAANDERA1 On 4/26/13, Maandera <ibmaand...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hmmm. Before reading this article, I had read another blog about 4 years > ago of an American also living in Arua and struggling to learn Lugbara. > That one was less dramatic than this one. But I'd also heard of people > saying Lugbara is a difficult language to learn. This had actually gotten > me thinking: Can't you try to make learning Lugbara easier? I made an > outline and soon foxed out, not with "After all the grapes are sour" but > with a barrage of: "After all that is a relative statement. All languages > are difficult to learn. Try a click language and tell me it is easy. Try > the French which is spoken through the nose. . . etc, etc" > > Well, this blog got me updating my draft again based on some of the issues > pointed out in it. I am not yet finished. What got me particularly thinking > was how to best address the challenge of that apt comparison with Chinese - > due to the tonality of the language and the fact that we have several > dialects, which makes it a very rich and admittedly "confusing" language. > Allow me another foxing: Who says English or Dutch is not confusing? > > > As an English language teacher myself, I got loads of examples to which I > have no explanation or justification apart from saying, "Sorry, but > exceptions confirm the rule!" Why do the English for example say, the > singular form of the verb *to-be* is "*is*" and yet when you meet one > person (that is singular, for sure) you as "How *are* you?" as if there is > more than one person you are talking to? And the English have the audacity > to say that is "Correct English"! Don't tell me the word *wound* in the > following sentence has one and only one meaning: The nurse *wound* the > bandage around the *wound* of the *wounded* boy. And why should the plural > of *box* be bo*xes* and the one of ox be "ox*en*" and not "ox*es*"? And why > should a *driv**er* be a person, yet *cooker* is a thing for cooking and > the person is a *Cook* and what the *cook* does is to *cook*? They also > confuse us! But, that's the beauty and uniqueness of languages anyhow. The > more reason why people learn languages. > > > On a serious note: As many people have said, the article indeed made me see > some things differently. For example, that Lugbara is a visual language. > Hmmm. House-stomach! True, indeed. Visual and descriptive. That should make > it even easier to learn. Common language teachers, let's do something to > make this thing more palatable for those who want to get a different peek > into our culture - through the language. > > The time keeping, I agree is something that is kind of "different" and > often works against us. Not only the Lugbara but Ugandans. Did you read > that article of the Teso youth protesting their MPs appearing at 6.30pm for > a meeting that was scheduled for 3pm. My foot. We still have something to > learn from the positive aspects of other cultures, which may enrich the > positives in ours. > > > Overall, it was some good food for thought and rib-breaking. > > Thank you George. > > > > > > > > > On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 7:56 AM, Santorino Data > <boymuked...@yahoo.com>wrote: > >> Great piece of writing indeed. >> This made my morning and now I understand why I spent 6 years in Arua and >> still struggle to speak the language - confusion just that needs very >> meticulous attention to detail and context even though I was from across >> the Lugbara border in Kakwa land >> >> >> *Dr. Data Santorino >> **Lecturer Department of Pediatrics and Child Health >> Mbarara University of Science and Technology >> Uganda.* >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Anyole J <anyo...@yahoo.ca> >> *To:* George Afi Obitre-Gama <gobi...@yahoo.com>; A Virtual Network for >> friends of West Nile <westnilenet@kym.net>; A Virtual Network for friends >> of West Nile <westnilenet@kym.net> >> *Sent:* Thursday, April 25, 2013 7:21 PM >> *Subject:* Re: [WestNileNet] Learning the Lugbara Language - A bloggers 2 >> cents-a good read! >> >> This is a very interesting piece. It is always nice to see things from an >> out-siders perspective and make sense of things we are usually oblivious >> to, house-mouth, za-mva, et all! >> >> The piece does bring out some things that worry anthropologist too, >> cultures are gradually getting eroded "traditions have been changing here >> as the pressure of our Western culture pervades and invades." as well, it >> high lights some issues that continue to plague us, such as time keeping, >> which has itself not been eroded by the same western culture. >> >> Thanks for sharing this, it did make my day that more interesting, got me >> thinking. One of these days, "I'll beat my vernacular teacher a phone" >> >> Anyole >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* George Afi Obitre-Gama <gobi...@yahoo.com> >> *To:* A Virtual Network for friends of West Nile <westnilenet@kym.net> >> *Sent:* Thursday, April 25, 2013 4:12:31 AM >> *Subject:* [WestNileNet] Learning the Lugbara Language - A bloggers 2 >> cents-a good read! >> >> A new year, a new language, more >> confusion<http://africraigs.travellerspoint.com/129/> >> Why can't everyone speak English? >> 16.01.2013 [image: sunny] 30 °C >> Learning a new language and culture is like discovering a new world, >> opening your eyes and mind to completely amazing and strange ideas, some >> shocking, some fascinating, most unexpected. >> Since the beginning of the new year, we have a new teacher, Eunice, who >> is >> hoping to make us into fluent Lugbara speakers within a few months… >> Lugbara >> is the local tribe in Arua, one of the 10 largest tribes in Uganda (out >> of >> a total of 34 ethnicities). The Lugbara are a tribe descended from >> Nigeria to settle here. Their territory extends around Arua and into the >> Democratic Republic of Congo, so families have been split by the >> arbitrary >> political boundaries drawn by the Europeans in Berlin in 1884. >> Disconcertingly, we seem to be a source of great amusement for most of >> the >> ex-pats when we tell them we are taking this time to study Lugbara. “Good >> luck”, they tell us. They then go on to tell you a story of someone who >> has >> been attempting the language for many years and haven’t gotten very far. >> Some compare the language to Chinese, saying it is one of the most >> difficult languages in the world to learn. It is quite depressing hearing >> this, obviously… Additionally, having grown up in Congo and learning >> Swahili there, having lived in Malawi and Kenya and trying to learn the >> languages there, while being exposed to various other African languages, >> it >> is frustrating to have to start at zero like a baby once again….those >> languages are nothing like Lugbara! >> Most whites don’t even bother to learn Lugbara especially since this >> tribe >> is only one of 5 in the close vicinity of one another. For example, the >> Alur are settled on the outskirts of Arua town. Their language is close >> to >> the Luo language which we were learning in Kenya. To make it even worse, >> there are sub-sections of the Lugbara tribe with variations in the way >> words are said. Whoopee to learning a difficult language which is only >> spoken by a few and which is nothing like any other language we have ever >> heard! >> [image: Eunice, in action, confusing us] >> Eunice, in action, confusing us >> >> Eunice is a good teacher, though, having patience with us as we sit on >> the >> veranda trying to repeat what on earth she has just said. As a Lugbara, >> she >> is also good at turning up late, demonstrating how a Lugbara should act. >> As >> Lilian, another Lugbara who works for us says, “Lugbaras is not following >> time, ha!” and laughs out loud. So, anyway, she is almost an hour late >> today, but since we live in Africa, you never know what may have >> happened. >> It could be a relative has just died and she has to go to the funeral. >> Despite the issue of time-keeping, which especially bothers Emma, Eunice >> has been effective at moving us on in the language. Emma and I already >> feel >> more confident using some simple phrases and greetings. For example, I >> was >> particularly proud when I asked for 10 eggs the other day in the local >> wooden duka close to our home. “Ife mani augbe mundri”. The word for egg >> 'augbe' is spoken as though you are swallowing an egg... >> One of the problems of learning Lugbara is that the same words can mean >> completely different things. So, for instance, the word for sauce, >> “tibi”, >> is the same word for ‘beard’, just with a different tone. Emma wonders if >> this has anything to do with someone’s long beard dragging in their gravy >> once upon a time. There are other examples, though the best so far is the >> word ‘ago’, which if intonated differently, can either mean ‘husband’ or >> ‘pumpkin’. A phrase like ‘my beautiful fiancée’ can also come across as >> ‘my >> beautiful warthog’, so any wannabe suitors need to be pretty careful in >> this town… >> Emma also uses a lot of imagination when it comes to remembering the >> Lugbara phrases or words. So, for instance, the word for peanuts is >> ‘funo’ >> (foon-oh). Emma thinks of little peanuts bouncing around and having a lot >> of fun. It can be a bit of a tentative or weird link at times. She is >> constantly whispering to me how I can remember a word. Awupi (A-whoopee) >> is >> the word for Aunt on your dad’s side. Obviously, this conjures up >> thoughts >> of playing a trick with my Auntie Barbara with a whoopee cushion…’Fetaa’ >> (feta) means gift and so it is remembered by thinking of giving someone a >> gift of cheese. I often wish I had had Emma as a study partner for my >> IGCSE >> or IB exams in Holland as I would not have spent so many lost hours >> staring >> blankly at walls trying to cram boring information into my struggling >> mind. >> Alongside Emma's visual mind, we are also discovering that Lugbara is >> quite a visual language. The word for ‘fingers’, for example, is >> ‘hand-children’. This also works for ‘toes’ (foot children). The word for >> door translates directly as ‘house-mouth’. The floor is the >> ‘house-stomach’. Today, we learnt that veranda is the ‘joeti’ or ‘house >> buttocks’!! You can’t make this stuff up, eh? It’s great! >> Onomatopoeia is often used as well in the language. 'Kulukulu' >> (koo-loo-koo-loo) is the name for a turkey and on hearing the sound a >> turkey makes the other day when passing a homestead, I really thought it >> described it well. Barking is ‘agbo-agbo’, crying is 'owu- owu' (oh-woo) >> and laughing is 'ogu- ogu' (oh-goo). I can’t remember any of these sound >> words properly and instead guess by making any noise that I think would >> fit. It unfortunately doesn’t work. One of our favourite onomatopoeiatic >> words is the word for butterfly ‘alapapa’, just like the sound of little >> wings beating! >> Language can also be an intimate doorway into the culture. We couldn’t >> believe t, when Eunice explained the word for ‘girl’ is made up of 2 >> words >> in Lugbara, ‘za’ meaning ‘meat’ and ‘mva’ meaning ‘child’! 'Meat-child!' >> Girls have been seen as great little earners in a family by providing a >> dowry of up to 20 head of cattle and 15 goats and extras like bows and >> arrows and hoes. >> However, so many of the traditions have been changing here as the >> pressure >> of our Western culture pervades and invades. Loin cloths have been out >> since the 1950s or 60s (Maybe this is a good thing. I can’t see the Craig >> family sauntering down the road semi-nude in Arua, and it would make an >> embarrassing family photo). Instead, though, everyone is wearing >> second-hand Western clothes. Out is the tradition to remove your 6 front >> teeth using only a hammer and some herbs to encourage healing of your >> mouth >> afterwards (I’m also thankful this is not practised anymore), and marking >> the skin by cuts with a razor in adolescence is now stopped. However, as >> Eunice explained, the rather exaggerated buttocks size in women is still >> favoured by the culture, especially if the buttocks also jiggles while >> walking. >> All-in-all, though pretty tiring, it is really interesting learning the >> language and culture. It definitely does show how very different we >> Westerners are (especially compared to the recent past) and so will help >> us >> understand how to approach people more effectively. We are hoping >> knowledge of the language can help us build relationships and get >> alongside people better (until we meet others from the next tribe along >> who >> don’t have a clue what we are saying…). >> [image: Eunice, Lilian and all of us outside on the 'house-buttocks' in >> the 'house-mouth'] >> Eunice, Lilian and all of us outside on the 'house-buttocks' in the >> 'house-mouth' >> >> [image: Amelie in the jokoni] >> Amelie in the jokoni >> >> _______________________________________________ >> WestNileNet mailing list >> WestNileNet@kym.net >> http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet >> >> WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ >> >> The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including >> attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any >> way. >> _______________________________________________ >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> WestNileNet mailing list >> WestNileNet@kym.net >> http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet >> >> WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ >> >> The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including >> attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any >> way. >> _______________________________________________ >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> WestNileNet mailing list >> WestNileNet@kym.net >> http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet >> >> WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ >> >> The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including >> attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any >> way. >> _______________________________________________ >> >> >
-- ASAF ADEBUA DIRECTOR PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT GULU UNIVERSITY P. O. 166 GULU (UGANDA) TEL. +256 471 435850 CELL +256 772 503909 OFFICE MAIL a.ade...@gu.ac.ug _______________________________________________ WestNileNet mailing list WestNileNet@kym.net http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. _______________________________________________