Uganglish

After officially being in Gulu classrooms for almost a week, I have been working on changing my American accent and the way I talk. `When speaking to Ugandans, us Americans have to speak with a fake British accent of sorts while annunciating and speaking at a slower rate. I also have to use words and phrases that are much different from what I would normally say. It is important to add transitions into all sentences such as therefore and in order to. I am always caught off guard when someone says you are welcome but I haven't yet said thank you. Sentence starters like “Let it be....1000 shillings” and “For me, I like...” are crucial. Teachers don't plan, they scheme, which sounds mischievous.

Speaking in the classroom has been my biggest challenge with my accent. I spent my first day with Ochola Francis teaching Senior 1 Math (Maths in Ugalish) which is equal to 7^th grade. Even with my best attempt at the Acholi accent, Francis restated everything I had already said with, “What she is saying is she is from the United States...” The students mostly laughed and imitated what they believe an American accent sounds like, something like a short and nasally sound. It literally feels like I am speaking another language. Through one of my grad school classes this past semester, I learned that speakers of new languages cannot truly be themselves when speaking in the new language, having to develop a new language identity. This is exactly what it feels like—I can't really express myself the way I normally would. Especially teaching. My teaching style doesn't quite fit into my Ugandan English which will be a huge learning experience to me. I think that being able to teach while being conscientious about how I am saying things will be difficult.