Dictionary
Dictionary Development
Dictionary development is one step towards preserving the language and culture of an ethno-linguistic community. Communities want dictionaries in order to develop their mother tongue for many reasons. Some want to pass their language on to the next generation; some want to encourage people to use their mother tongue in new domains; and some want to enable non-native speakers to learn the language. These dictionaries will help mother tongue schools to make their base strong and raise their profile. It can be a good resource for school children, linguists and writers too. SIL Bangladesh is committed to supporting communities with this long-term goal.
From 2009 to 2012, the Khyang and Mro communities collected more than 10,000 words. Speakers from the language groups participated in the workshops to collect thousands of words on different topics ranging from rice farming to space travel. Men, women, young and old from many different walks of life participated and shared their experiences and their vocabulary through discussion and documentation. They are now working on editing, revising and proofreading before publishing. Community people are helping with data entry throughout the whole process.