Languages of Uganda
Uganda is ethnologically diverse, with at least forty languages in usage. Luganda is the most common language. English is the official language, even though only a relatively small proportion of the population speaks it. Access to economic and political power is almost impossible without having mastered that English. Luganda, a language widespread in central Uganda, is the official vernacular language in education for central Uganda. The East African lingua franca Swahili is relatively widespread as a trade language and became an official national language in September 2005.
A main division between the languages of Uganda can be made according to their linguistic affiliation. About half of Uganda's languages, all spoken in the southern part, are members of the Bantu language family whereas the other half, in northern Uganda, are Nilo-Saharan languages.