The National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) is reviewing the orthography for Kupsabiny to aid in the standardization of the writing system in the indigenous language as well as the development of instructional materials.
Kupsabiny is a language spoken by the Sabiny people in the eastern region of Uganda, particularly in the Kapchorwa, Kween, and Bukwo districts on the slopes of Mount Elgon. It is one of the languages in the Nilo-Saharan language family, specifically classified under the Southern Nilotic branch, which also includes languages like Kalenjin spoken in Kenya.
Although still actively spoken, Kupsabiny, as any other Ugandan language, faces the challenge of multilingualism, especially in urban areas and educational settings.
The Government of Uganda, through NCDC, along with the Kupsabiny Language Board and cultural institutions, is working to document and revitalize the language through the development of Kupsabiny orthography as part of measures to preserve the Sabiny people’s cultural identity.
According to Mr. Phillip Oketcho, the Manager of the Literature Bureau, a department at NCDC, the adoption of the thematic curriculum and the introduction of the teaching and learning of local languages in Uganda’s primary and secondary schools have led to increased demand for the development of instructional materials in the local languages.
Apparently, there is a growing need to develop or review language orthographies, which are critical in literacy and instructional material development. The revision of Kupsabiny orthography is particularly critical to the review of Kupsabiny instructional materials developed by NCDC from Primary Four to Primary Seven.
The term orthography refers to a set of conventions and rules that underpin a language’s writing system. It covers aspects such as a language’s sound system, alphabet, parts of speech, spelling and word boundaries, numbers, capitalization, punctuation, and the usage of diacritical symbols. Orthography provides a standardized form through which to express a language in writing, allowing users to communicate and comprehend each other clearly.
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