Luganda, a Bantu language, shares its roots with other Bantu languages spoken in the African Great Lakes region. Its specific origins remain a subject of scholarly debate, but it's generally accepted that it evolved from Proto-Bantu, the ancestral language of all Bantu languages. During the 18th -19th century, due to interaction with foreign communities, Luganda borrowed a number of loan words from the incoming peoples ( Arab traders , missionaries and colonialists) especially for things that were inexistent in the land for example a number of words from Arabic such as chai from Arabic shay (tea), ddiini (religion) , ssala( prayer) etc as well as words from English for example ssaati (shirt), emotoka (car),to mention but a few.
Luganda, a Bantu language, shares its roots with other Bantu languages spoken in the African Great Lakes region. Its specific origins remain a subject of scholarly debate, but it's generally accepted that it evolved from Proto-Bantu the ancestral language of all Bantu languages. During the 18th -19th century, due to interaction with foreign communities, Luganda borrowed a number of loan words from the incoming peoples ( Arab traders , missionaries and colonialists) especially for things that were inexistent in the land for example a number of words from Arabic such as chai from Arabic shay (tea), ddiini (religion) , ssala( prayer) etc as well as words from English for example ssaati (shirt), emotoka (car),to mention but a few.