Table Of ContentLUGANDA
ENTS OF
GRAMMAR
ERCISES AND VOCABULARY
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ELEMENTS OF GRAMMAR
LUGANDA
ELEMENTS OF LUGANDA
GRAMMAR
TOGETHER WITH
EXERCISES AND VOCABULARY
BY
W. A. CRABTREE, M.A.
(st. Catharine's college)
correspondent for african languages (east and soutil\ university of cambridge
PL
Reprintedwitha new Preface, 1923
KAMPALA: THE UGANDA BOOKSHOP
LONDON:'' S.P.C.K.
PREFACE
This book is reprinted by special request of the Uganda Translation
Committee. Whatever in it may be of 'scientific' value is from the
pen of that able scholar and teacher, G. L. Pilkington ; the rest is
simply rambling notes of one who has tried to think as the people
think. That such a book should find sufficient favour to be worth
reprinting confirms my very strong conviction that African studies
cannot be expressed in terms of Western scholarship.
If we would understand Africa, we must train ourselves to think as
the African thinks. Our knowledge of Latin or Greek, our school
training in French or German, and even a certain consciousness that
we can write orspeak effective English is not going to help us. Such
a dictum is not, I know, very palatable to the educated mind. But
it is in reality nothing but the amplification of the remarks given in the
beginning of these Elements many years ago and no request has been
made that they be omitted from the reprint n;ow called for.
further, the request of the Syndics of the Cambridge University
Press to contribute to their Guides to Modern Languages has brought
this point acutely to the front. A Manual ofLuganda was written as
nearly as possible on modern lines. It was favourably noticed by the
press ; and so far as I am aware contains all the matter in the Elements,
except the notes on transliteration and philology. Moreover it was
condensed into the handy form of some 250 pages of very clearly
printed matter. Yet when it reached Uganda it was found to be
almost unsaleable. In fact now and again a man was willing to give
nearly four times its price for a copy ofthe old book, if such could be
found second-hand.
What was the reason? The grammatical matter was precisely the
same; the vocabulary was fuller and contained all the words known to
Mr. Pilkington and a few more; in addition there were short extracts
ii native texts. None the less the European felt, without doubt,
that none of this touched anything whatsoever with which he was
familiar. lie wanted 'exercises' in far greater number. In brief hi
wanted that educative process which trains the mind to think as the
African thinks.
And that training only comes with practice. It has little or nothing
in common with what the western mind knows, containing as it does
two 1tally new principles, viz. : a peculiar phonetic system and a
primitive grammatical structure by prefix and suffix. The first of these
-ears at first sight so simple that its true import has hitherto been
ii
PREFACE in
almost entirely overlooked. There are no difficult sounds; yet the
European's speech is not too easily understood and ' mission ' speech
has become a byword.
The keen student finds it necessary to pay very close attention to the
way in which those apparently simple sounds are spoken. These
sounds are carefully noted in the Elements and remain in the reprint
exactly as originally written. Only now after thirty years is the writer
beginning to reach the underlying principle which makes the apparently
simple system so entirely different from anything western. No change
in the quality ofthe vowel is called for. On the other hand the length
ofthe vowel is so varied as to give quite a rhythmic flow of speech, and
this is done by manipulation of the consonant. How this consonant is
at times lengthened, at times pronounced with greater or less stress,
cannot be described here.1 Whichever process is used, experience
shews that the length of every vowel is profoundly affected ; and if the
language has a tendency to intonation, the effect will often manifest
itself in the 'pitch.' Hence, all things taken together, the European
with his quite different western scheme of phonology does not always
speak intelligibly. He fails to appreciate how much depends upon the
force with which the consonant is uttered, and especially the lengthen-
ing effect of nasal 'n '. In a word, the rough division of vowels into
long and short followed in this book, in accordance with western
ideas, is far from being exact.
So too with the Prefix system. The exercises are designed to
familiarise the mind with the Prefix system. Many of the sentences arc-
nonsense according to African ideas, the mere literal rendering of an
English grammatical phrase. It is, however, a necessary process ol
mind training.2 This mastered, the language is found to be remarkabl)
flexible, capable of expressing many shades of meaning quite unknown
to modern language. The student has now found out how to think
African thoughts. Finally by patient observation and much practice,
he will discoverthe African rendering of English thought.
On all counts, then, Africa claims its own place in any ed—ucational
programme; and the request to reprint Elements of LUganda a—mere
crude collection of notes with no attempt at modern methods con-
crleuasdievrelywapnrtosvessomiet.thiTnhgerupe-tios-dnatoe,lilteetrarhyimmertiatkeinupthethewoMrakn;uaiflthoef
Luganda published by the Cambridge Press. Of one thing, however.
I feel more and more certain, and that is, that African subjects need
to be studied in away specially their own. Experiencealonecan decide
what precisely that line should be.
Several things ofpressing moment depend upon this. In our Cam-
bridge University an African language can now be taken as part of the
Modern Language Tripos. One student has successfully passed in his
African language. But he had acquired the thought and mind of
Africa in the country itself. Other students who have offered for
1See my Primitive Speech, Part I.: A Study in African Phonetics. London:
S.P.C.K.
2For the meaning of the Prefixesand Suffixessee my Primitive Speech, Part II. :
Prefix System. London: Tritbner >X Co.
IV PREFACE
African languages would not have come up to the standard. Possibly
an exception might be found for Swahili or Hausa ; but I very much
doubt it. At the same time it is highly desirable that African studies
should be encouraged and an immense amount of valuable time will
;
be saved by preliminary study in England.
Again, we cannot but express regret that so much is made of Swahili
as being suitable for an official language. Such encouragement pro-
ceeds from too superficial a view of what African language is. Swahili
has comparatively few affinities with Bantu Africa and the coastmen
who spoke Swahili in old days were not beloved of the people.
Luganda, on the other hand, has remarkable affinities over a very wide
area. The languages of Unyamwezi, Unyoro and Kavirondo are all
very close ; and this affinity extends right down to Luba in its purer
forms and Karanga. As I have said elsewhere Swahili is of little help
towards learning a Bantu language beyond the general one of
familiarising the mind with the Prefix system and then only imperfectly.
So long as we have a much closer approximation in Luganda, why
not make more use of Luganda ?
Concerning the use of Luganda as a very old and very complete
type of Bantu exceedingly useful for philology I must not enlarge here.
I only wish to remark that Kikuyu, and probably Kamba, which is
closely related, is a quite different type of Bantu. Luganda is not of
very great help in learning Kikuyu. Nor is Luganda entirely satis-
factory as a stepping stone to Zulu or Cwana. Within such limitations,
however, Luganda will be found of incalculable use outside its own
sphere. It is probably not an exaggeration to say that Luganda is in
every way typical of Bantu speech as spoken over practically the whole
bantu area exclusive of the parts mentioned and possibly a few regions
in the West such as Luena, Lunda, Fang and Angola.
In reprinting Elements ofLuganda, therefore, I trust we are helping
forward the true study of Africa. In what way this language does help.
the author has proved both by pioneer work and by innumerable
notes, which, for many reasons, have still to remain in manuscript.
Our hope is that others will master this valuable language not merely
for personal reasons, but as a preliminary to the widerstudiesofAfrican
history and African philology as a whole.
W. A. Crartree.
Cawhri
:
July, )<»_>;
