Lugbara, orLugbarati, is the language of theLugbara people. It is spoken in theWest Nile region in northwesternUganda, as well as theDemocratic Republic of the Congo'sOrientale Province with a little extension to the South Sudan as the Zande or Azande people.^[2]

TheAringa language, also known as Low Lugbara, is closely related, and sometimes considered a dialect of Lugbara. In fact, among the Lugbara of Uganda, it is one of the five clans (Ayivu clan, Vurra clan, Terego clan, Maracha clan, and Aringa clan).^[3] Some scholars classify the Lugbara language itself as a dialect of theMa'di language, though this is not generally accepted.^[4] An SIL survey report concluded that the Okollo, Ogoko, and Rigbo dialects, called "Southern Ma'di", should be classified as dialects of Lugbara.

• /ɛ, ɔ/ can also be heard as [e, o] as a result of vowel harmony.
• /a/ can have an allophone of [ʌ] when after sounds /k, ɡ/.^[5]

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• /l/ can be heard as a lateral flap[ɺ] within dialectal variation.^[6]
• /t͡s, d͡z/ are heard as [t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ] within dialectal variation.
• /tʳ, dʳ/ can also be heard as retroflex [ʈɽ, ɖɽ] within free variation.
• /ʔj/ can also be heard as an implosive[ʄ] and /ⁿz/ can be heard as [ⁿd͡z], within free variation.
• A labial affricate[p͡f] may occur within dialectal variation,[ŋ] only rarely occurs among different dialects.

Lugbara was first written byChristian missionaries in 1918, based on the Ayivu dialect. In 2000, a conference was held in the city ofArua in northwestern Uganda regarding the creation of a standardised internationalorthography for Lugbara.^[7]

In 1992, theGovernment of Uganda designated it as one of five "languages of wider communication" to be used as themedium of instruction in primary education; however, unlike the other four such languages, it was never actually used in schools.^[7] More recently it was included in the curriculum for some secondary schools in the West Nile region, including St. Joseph's College Ombaci and Muni Girls Secondary School, both inArua District.^{[citation needed]}

Lugbara phrases are spoken in several dialects (clan-wise) but the Muni (Ayivu) version, from which many of the explanations below are based, is the one approved for teaching in schools. The language has diphthong clusters and other noteworthy phonetics including the following:

aa as inbat, for exampleembataa

c as inchurch, for examplecandiru (which is also spelt Chandiru)

dj as injilt, for exampleodji, the ‘d’ is silent

ee as inemblem, for exampleandree

gb as inbend, for examplegbe, the ‘g’ is silent. Gb in Lugbara does not have an equivalent in English. What stands out in these Sudanic languages is the special manner in which 'kp, gb, 'd, 'b, 'y, 'w are pronounced.

i as ininn, for exampledi-i

oa as inoar, for exampleadroa

oo as inold, for exampleocoo, less oftenoo as in food, for example‘doo

uu as inchew, for examplecuu

z as injean aftern, for exampleonzi. Otherwise, most times remainsz as inzebra, for exampleozu and when the first letter of a word.

The Simplified Lugbara alphabet has 28 letters minus ‘q’ and ‘x’ (Alamakanda inAringa language), which means 24 like in English and four unique ones namely: ‘b like in‘bua, ‘d like in‘dia, ‘w like in‘wara and ‘y like in‘yeta. Letters are pronounced as follows: Ah, Ba, Bha, Cha, Da, Dha, Eh, Fa, Ga, Ha, Ie, Ja, Ka, La, Ma, Na, Oh, Pa, Ra, Sa, Ta, Uw, Va, Wa, Wha, Ya, Yha, and Za.

Also in the vocabulary, there are several words that have varied meanings when pronounced differently, for instanceoli can mean air, wind (alsooliriko), whistle, cut or roll.

Grandfather (a’bi, a'bipi)

Grandmother (dede, e'di, edapi)

Grandson (mvia)

Granddaughter (zia)

Father (ati, ata)

Mother (andri, andre, ayia)

Husband (agupi)

Wife (oku)

Son (agupiamva, mvi)

Daughter (zamva, zi)

Brother (adri)

Sister (amvi)

Uncles (atapuru (singular -paternal) atapuruka (plural - paternal), [maternal -adroyi (singular), maternal (plural) -adropi]

Aunts (andrapuruka - plural: paternal and in some cases maternal), (andrapuru: singular),awupi - (singular: maternal aunt),awupika - (plural: maternal aunts)

Cousin (atapurumva)

Cousin brother (atapuruka anzi); alsoadri, adripika

Cousin sister (atapuruka ezopi); alsoamvi, amvupika

NB: Strictly speaking, the word cousin is alien in Lugbara culture. Cousins are brothers and sisters.

Nephews (adro anzi) - maternal nephews

Nieces (adro ezoanzi, ezapi) - maternal nieces

Father-in-law (anya)

Mother-in-law (edra)

Brother-in-law (otuo)

Sister-in-law (onyere)

1 week (Sabatu alu, sabiti alu)

A day is calledO’du in Lugbara.

Sunday (Sabatu, sabiti, yinga, yumula)

Monday (O’du alu)

Tuesday (O’du iri)

Wednesday (O’du na)

Thursday (O’du su)

Friday (O’du towi)

Saturday (O’du azia)

The simplest way to refer to months (Mba in Lugbara) is to use numbers, for example January is Mba Alu, February is Mba Iri, May is Mba Towi and so on. But below is the other Latinized (and seasonal) way of mentioning them.

Januari/Oco ‘dupa sere (January)

Feburili/ Kuluni (February)

Marici/ Zengulu (March)

Aprili/ Ayi - Wet season (April)

Mayi/ Ayi Eti (May)

Juni/ Emveki (June)

Julayi/ Eri (July)

Agoslo/ Iripaku (August)

Sebitemba/ Lokopere (September)

Okitoba/ Abibi (October)

Novemba/ Waa (November)

Desemba/ Anyu fi kuma (December)

Eka (Ika by Terego) (red)

Foro foro (gray)

Foroto (grayish)

Imve (white)

Imve silili, imve whilili, imve sisirili (very pure white)

Imvesi-enisi (black and white)

Ini (black)

Inibiricici, inicici, inikukuru (very dark)

Lugbara AI refers toArtificial Intelligence technology or machines that use Lugbara. The Sunbird Translate system^[8] can automatically take text from Lugbara.^[9] It includes locally relevant topics such as healthcare, agriculture and society.^[10] With its partners including Makerere University AI Lab, Sunbird AI (a Ugandan startup) has built open Lugbara datasets, translation and speech systems. It is also used by banks.^[11]

Furthermore, other developers are also working on projects.^[12]

• Agofe
• Districts of Uganda
• Lugbara music
• Lugbara proverbs

• Ongua Iga, Paul (1999).A Simplified Lugbara-English Dictionary. Fountain Publishers.ISBN 9970-02-105-2.

Lugbara language test ofWikipedia atWikimedia Incubator

• Lugbara
• Moru-Madi languages
• Languages of Uganda
• Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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