Uglish: the Unavoidable Dialect. A Passage from British English to Ugandan English from a Sociolinguistic and Historical Perspective
Uglish: the Unavoidable Dialect. A Passage from British English to Ugandan English from a Sociolinguistic and Historical Perspective

Summary/Abstract: This article considers the complex linguistic landscape of Uganda, as well as familiarizing the readers with the multiple statuses of English, with its progress, adjustment and role nowadays, in this part of the African continent and more than half a century away from its independence. Just like in the other African countries, English must survive in a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural environment. Uganda, the best speaking English country in Africa, not only reached the acceptance of this imposed language, but also changed it, developing a local variety of English, known as Uglish, on which we will also focus in the end of our study. In a state, where the pieces of information on the precise number of languages in use, are contradictory (but they are at least 35), it is inevitable for English not to exhibit phonetic, lexical, morphological or syntactic specific features, as a result of English’s cohabitation with this blend of local languages, especially when it comes to English used in areas inhabited by speakers belonging to lower social classes, with insuficient or no access to education.The idea of how contemporary Uganda relates to this foreign language has also been mooted in this article. The country stays faithful to the pattern of other Sub-Saharan territories, as there are two groups: those considering English a legacy of the white man, a threat to African identity and values, and those who see in it, an open gate towards a better future.

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