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English. Swahili was made a second official language in 2005 (Wikipedia).
Indigenous languages are not specifically noted by name in law [verify] but their importance is recognized.
Ethnologue lists 43 living languages at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=UG
The following map illustrates the distribution of languages in Uganda (it was created August 19, 2005 by Mark Dingemanse and is licensed & released under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License):
Ganda (Luganda), Luo/Acholi/Lango, Runyakitara (includes Nyoro), Luyia, Teso/Turkana, Swahili
The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on Uganda at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/ouganda.htm
Bernsten (1998) discusses some aspects of Ugandan language policy.
Five institutions "involved in or responsible for African Language research" in Uganda (UNESCO 1985). Updated information is needed:
Uganda is instituting a new bilingual education policy to begin primary education in maternal languages and transition to English after the 3rd year ("early exit" bilingual).
UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 66.8%
The Latin alphabet is used. A few languages use some additional modified letters (extended characters) or diacritics. A chart showing the extended Latin characters and diacritics used in some Ugandan languages is available at http://www.bisharat.net/A12N/UGANDA-table.htm .
UNESCO (1985) reported the following periodicals (name, frequency of publication, circulation, language). Updated information is needed:
The issue of Swahili as an official language of Uganda is somewhat complex. It is not indigenous to the country and is apparently spoken by fewer people than English. The decision seems to be based largely on concerns of optimal regional integration in the East African Community (EAC) - Swahili has official status and is widely spoken in two other EAC members, Kenya and Tanzania.
"The mobile market is the biggest and has proved to be the fastest-growing market in Uganda during the past six years. There are currently 1,040,127 mobile customers against 71,056 fixed customers (Uganda Communications Commission, November 2004)." (Towards an African e-Index)
"The current and overwhelming conclusion from the survey is that mobile voice telephony is the exclusive means of communication for the typical Uganda citizen, and that there are hardly any fixed line services in peoples’ homes." (Towards an African e-Index)
Public payphones are also important. (Towards an African e-Index)
"The spread of mobile phones has created a synergy with the spread of private FM radio stations, with more than 100 operational stations in Uganda providing near total national coverage in local languages. Where radio used to be a passive tool for development information dissemination, it has become an interactive public tool and discussion forum through the popular phone-in programmes. Daily programmes range from political debates and other topical issues to health issues, agriculture, education, gender issues and the environment." (Towards an African e-Index)
"In terms of the overall population, ..., there is almost no access to and utilisation of computers and the Internet, especially outside the major urban centres." (Towards an African e-Index)
"Considering the liberal regulatory environment, the growth of the Internet and data market has remained below expectation. ...
"The low level of utilisation to date is largely attributed to a lack of awareness combined with high costs, limited points of access, lack of content relevant to the needs of the majority of the citizens and the high rate of illiteracy." (Towards an African e-Index)
One might also add another factor - lack of content and user interfaces in the first languages of the people.
"Uganda’s relatively liberalised telecommunications sector has a number of positive attributes. These include good regulation; a fairly competitive and vibrant market; declining prices, dominated by the mobile platform; and a potentially successful rural communications development programme, which has recently been launched. The sector still faces a number of key challenges, including limited access and competition, relatively high prices (despite the downward trend), and hardly any Internet penetration." (Towards an African e-Index)
"The national ICT policy framework defines the entry points for ICTs into the national development process by supporting the development targets and processes in other sectors, and being an economic sector in its own right. The national telecommunications policy and the infrastructure targets similarly respond to the national ICT policy framework. Proposed infrastructure needs and the rate of rollout have, therefore, been dictated by the planned rate of progress in sectors like education, health, agriculture and governance. Human development impact is expected to be the defining measure of success, with the extent of infrastructure only being an indicative measure." (Towards an African e-Index)
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is the regulator of the communications industry in Uganda. http://www.ucc.co.ug/
"The Ugandan government recognises ICTs as a tool for social and economic development. This includes: reforming government service delivery; achieving transparency, accountability and credibility; providing effective access to information; broadening public participation and promoting democracy; facilitating research and development; and enhancing competitiveness in the global economy (NRM, 2006). ... The political will behind ICT development in Uganda has been manifested through numerous ICT-related government policies, programmes and laws since the 1990s. Recent reforms in the sector include the licensing of mobile phone companies and the separation of postal from communication services. Telecom markets have been deregulated, ICT trade liberalised, and taxes on computers abolished." (Torach et al in GISW 2007)
The APC page, "ICT Policy in Uganda" has some information and links:
A Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF) has been set up by the government under the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). (Torach et al in GISW 2007)
IICD has a page on Uganda at http://www.iicd.org/countries/uganda/ . It has 17 projects in the sectors of education, good governance, health and livelihoods. Highlights include:
The Africa Source II meeting, "Free and Open Source Software for Local Communities" was held in Kalangala on 8-15 January 2006
(See also specific language pages.)
(See also specific language pages.)
APC, "ICT Policy in Uganda," Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21849e_1 ("Politiques de TIC en/au Uganda," Observatoire des politiques des TIC en Afrique, http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21849e_1
Bernsten, Jan. 1998. "Runyakitara: Uganda's 'New' Language." Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 19(2): 93-107. http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jmmd/019/0093/jmmd0190093.pdf
International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf
Internet World Stats: Africa. 2006. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm
Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Ouganda," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/ouganda.htm
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of Uganda," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=UG
Torach, Julius, Dorothy Okello, and Goretti Amuriat. "Uganda." Global Information Society Watch (GISW) 2007 Report http://globaliswatch.org/en/node/606
Tusubira, F.F. 2005. "Uganda." In Gillwald, Alison (ed.), Towards an African e-Index: Household and individual ICT Access and Usage Across 10 African Countries. (Research ICT Africa!, http://www.researchictafrica.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=504 )
UNDP. 2006. ''Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006.'' New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html ]
UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.
Wikipedia, "Communications in Uganda," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_Uganda
______, "Languages of Uganda," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Uganda