Communication difficulties

Coen van Wyk on his first stint in Uganda

Moving to a country with a foreign language, one expects difficulties in communication, but when you move to a country which prides itself on its English you might just get caught in unexpected pronunciation and usages. Also the Italian proverb says: “Traduttore tradittore”, a translator is a traitor.....

When I arrived in Uganda, I noticed that the people have a habit of freely exchanging “l” and “r” in the normal course of conversation. One day a friend excused himself from an invitation for a Saturday afternoon braai. “I have found a glader to revel my yald” he said, and it took me a few seconds to remember that he had recently acquired a plot on a steep hillside, where he hoped to build a house.

In order to display the necessary politeness, I asked what the local expression for “thank you” was, and was told that “webali” would be acceptable. Imagine my concern when the housekeeper, on my return from a shopping trip with packets of sugar and other delicacies, greeted me with “webali!”

And then, on a sweltering day, I ventured into crowded Luwum street, to buy a fan. Having been warned about pickpockets I kept my hands on my money, my cell phone, trying to hide my wristwatch as crowds of people, some dressed rather disreputably, jostled me along the narrow sidewalk. 

When I left the shop, with a fan big enough to dispel the heat and humidity of the equator, I realized with consternation that I needed both hands to keep this fan from the surging crowd, leaving my pockets unguarded! Just then a young man, dressed, I thought, a bit sharply, smiled and shouted at me: “Webali!” 

Only a week later did I discover that the word could be better translated as: “Well done!”

And the lasting impression was when I boarded a plane out of Entebbe, and a smiling hostess wished me: “Have a nice fright!” 

I replied: “Webali!”