Diphthongs in Ugandan English

This chapter examines whether Luganda influence on Ugandan English can be confirmed at the level of phonology or whether Ugandan English is the result of Interactions across ethnic Englishes in the sense of Meierkord (2012). It presents the results of spectrographic analyses of the lexical sets face, goat, price, choice, and mouth, focusing on fifteen speakers who have Acholi-Lango, Luganda and Runyankore-Rukiga as their first languages. These languages differ as regards their vowel systems, particularly as regards their tolerance of diphthongs. The results will be discussed with reference to Uganda’s present-day sociolinguistic realities, to assess whether ethnic varieties of English exist and whether Ugandan English is a homogeneous variety primarily influenced by Luganda or the result of Interactions across Englishes.