Swahili is not indigenous
SIR— I wish to respond to Elisha Masereka’s letter, “Kiswahili is indigenous to Ugandaâ€, in your paper on Sunday.
SIR— I wish to respond to Elisha Masereka’s letter, “Kiswahili is indigenous to Ugandaâ€, in your paper on Sunday.
Firstly, Elisha Masereka argued that since Kiswahili words resemble those of Luganda, the former qualifies to be an indigenous language to Uganda.
Secondly, he disputed the tarnished image of Kiswahili in Uganda by simply politicising the issue. He cited the use of Luganda by a rebel group, the ADF, to come to a conclusion that all languages have been used by wrong elements therefore Kiswahili should be exonerated from its past.
Kiswahili does not have indigenous speakers, and its use is mainly in institutions like the army, Police and prisons. The argument that Kiswahili words sound more or less like those of Luganda is baseless.
Therefore, not all Bantu languages are indigenous to Uganda, and Kiswahili is one such example.
Lastly, we should debate national issues rationally and avoid enlisting political sentiments.
Mulumba Bwanika
Makerere University
Firstly, Elisha Masereka argued that since Kiswahili words resemble those of Luganda, the former qualifies to be an indigenous language to Uganda.
Secondly, he disputed the tarnished image of Kiswahili in Uganda by simply politicising the issue. He cited the use of Luganda by a rebel group, the ADF, to come to a conclusion that all languages have been used by wrong elements therefore Kiswahili should be exonerated from its past.
Kiswahili does not have indigenous speakers, and its use is mainly in institutions like the army, Police and prisons. The argument that Kiswahili words sound more or less like those of Luganda is baseless.
Therefore, not all Bantu languages are indigenous to Uganda, and Kiswahili is one such example.
Lastly, we should debate national issues rationally and avoid enlisting political sentiments.
Mulumba Bwanika
Makerere University