Gwere language

Last updated
Gwere
(O)lugwere
Native to Uganda
Region Eastern Region
Ethnicity Bagwere
Native speakers
410,000 (2002 census) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 gwr
Glottolog gwer1238
JE.17 [2]

Gwere, or Lugwere, is the language spoken by the Gwere people (Bagwere), a Bantu people found in the eastern part of Uganda. It has a close dialectical resemblance to Soga and Ganda, which neighbour the Gwere.

Contents

Gwere, though closest in dialect to its eastern neighbours, also has many words similar to those used by tribes from the western part of Uganda. For example, musaiza (a man) resembles mushiiza used by the western languages with the same meaning.

The Ruli, a somewhat distant people living in central Uganda, speak a language that has almost exactly the same words used in Lugwere, but with a very different pronunciation.

Phonology

Consonants

Gwere has 20 consonant phonemes. [3]

BilabialLabio-dentalAlveolarPalatalVelar
Plosive/
Affricate
p b t d t͡ʃ d͡ʒ k g
Fricative β f v s z
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Approximant w l j

Vowels

Gwere has ten vowel phonemes, 5 short and 5 long. [4]

FrontBack
Close i u
Mid e o
Open ɑ ɑː

Orthography and alphabet

The Gwere alphabet has 31 letters. [5] [6]

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References

  1. Gwere at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. Nzogi 2006, p. 10.
  4. Nzogi 2006, p. 12.
  5. Ager.
  6. Nzogi & Diprose 2012a.

Bibliography

Further reading