Ganda language page

Classification and where spoken

Ganda (oluGanda, Luganda) belongs to the Nyoro-Ganda family of Bantu (Guthrie E15) and is spoken north of the northwestern shore of Lake Victoria in Buganda Province, Uganda.

Number of speakers

According to the 1991 Ugandan census, 3, 015,980 people speak Ganda (Grimes 1996). Earlier, estimates ranged from 838,000 by Voegelin and Voegelin (1977) to 1.5 to 2 million speakers (Heine 1970).

Usage

Ganda is a regional language in Uganda, the official vernacular language of education in many school districts, and a lingua franca. Broadcasts are heard in Uganda. The Roman Catholic Church of Uganda publishes Musizi in Luganda.

Orthographic status

A standardized orthography for Ganda was devised in 1947. The present status of this orthography is unknown.

Sets of learning materials

It appears that one set of learning materials is used for Ganda.