The Funny Side of Learning Lugbara

Certain words have more than one meaning, so when pronouncing them, be sure of the sound! Otherwise, while introducing your husband (Ago), you might actually induce laughter by calling him a Pumpkin (Ago). Wild Pigs or Warthogs (Ezo), except maybe Pumbaa the Disney Cartoon, are not usually beautiful. But if your Girlfriend or Fiancée (Ezo) is beautiful, watch your Tongue! When describing parts of a House (Jo), you will be amazed. The Door is the House-Mouth (Jo ti), Floor is the House-Stomach (Jo ale), Roof is House-Head (Jo dri) but funniest of all, the Veranda is the House-Buttocks (Jo eti). When feeling sorry for someone, Baganda say "Bambi", but in Lugbara, that sounds like: Let us have sex ['Ba mbi]! So be careful how you use it! Some Bantu, Luo, Ateso and foreign names can actually be used as Lugbara phrases or words eg Baguma [They laughed at me], Rukundo [Name became famous later], Aine [Looking at Salt], Opiyo [No King], Onya [Whiteant], Mali [Wealth], Malaga [Spoon], etc...