Many a time, we have been caught in the quagmire of Language problems. We say one thing when actually we mean the other or don’t mean to say it at all.While I was in Gisenyi a.k.a. Rubavu, so many people spoke so many languages that I was at a loss as to what to grasp! Many “Rubavurians” speak a dialect comprising a mixture of French-Lingala-Kiswahili and of course Kinyarwanda, but the way they speak leaves some of us confused because, we cannot tell whether it is Lingala or Kiswahili because one word in the two linguafranca might mean totally two different things.
Many a time, we have been caught in the quagmire of Language problems. We say one thing when actually we mean the other or don’t mean to say it at all.
While I was in Gisenyi a.k.a. Rubavu, so many people spoke so many languages that I was at a loss as to what to grasp! Many "Rubavurians” speak a dialect comprising a mixture of French-Lingala-Kiswahili and of course Kinyarwanda, but the way they speak leaves some of us confused because, we cannot tell whether it is Lingala or Kiswahili because one word in the two linguafranca might mean totally two different things.
This reminded me of the Late Ugandan President (R.I.P.), on one of his several visits abroad; he was reportedly honoured to meet, wine and dine with Her Majesty the Queen of England or is it UK!
After a very sumptuous meal, His excellency Dr Field Marshal, General Idi Amin Dada, VC DSO MC, CBE, Life President blah blah blah (as he always loved to be addressed), got up to give a vote of thanks to the host, who wouldn’t?
He started by undressing oops sorry addressing the Queen, "Sir, your Majesty the Queen, Horrible Ministers (read honourable), ladies under (read and) gentlemen, please allow me to undress (read address) you on this auspicious occasion, this time, I have made a short call (read visit) on you, next time, I will make a long call (read visit)”!
Taking the above words on their literal meaning would have been quite scandalous. As if that was not enough, he was quick to add, "when you come to Uganda, we shall revenge (read do likewise), I will make sure that you sleep on top of me (read upstairs)”.
I remembered all the above because there was a seemingly well to do gentleman we met at a dinner at the Kivu Serena. This gentleman acted and smelt like someone loaded, however, his command of the Queen’s language must have been limited though he wanted to always use it rather than other languages that he could have been more comfortable with.
The guy was seated on the table to our right hand side; he was accompanied by two ladies who looked like "Zunguzi” on the skin but must have been African in character! They kept talking near to the top of their language and spoke in a foreign dialect.
The gentleman was almost as "white skinned” as them! They must have been artificially
transformed!
The ladies were demanding for a specific order and their host seemed to be at a loss of words on how to make the order; it was as if he did not know how to pronounce what they wanted in English.
He began looking around other tables maybe in a bid to spot his order so that he could ask them to give him the same but failed.
As his luck was about to run out, he spotted two kids and their mum having eggs; he immediately called the waiter and ordered, "I want their mother” (while pointing at the children)! People around were amazed by the order, it took us a few seconds to realise that, he was not ordering for the children’s mother but the mother of the eggs that the children were consuming, meaning CHICKEN! Ayi Nyagasani (oh my God)!