Runyakitara: Uganda's 'New' Language

Abstract

While Uganda includes speakers of widely diverse Sudanic, Nilotic and Bantu languages, none of the languages is spoken by more than 20% of the population. Until recently, speakers of Luganda have constituted the largest 'minority'; these speakers possessed special political privileges during the British colonial period. The status of Luganda has been challenged in the 1990s by the emergence of Runyakitara, a language based on a combination of the western Uganda lacustrine languages of Runyankore, Runyoro, Rutoro and Rukiga. This paper discusses the construction of Runyakitara in the context of the current political situation in Uganda. Along with the role and status of indigenous languages,the functions and status of Swahiliand English are discussed. The reinvigoration of indigenous languages and the relative decline of Swahili in Uganda are shown to be related to the power and solidarity of functions that these languages fulfil in society.