Credits & acknowledgements
Compiled by: Pierre Emmanuel Njock
Contributors:
Marc Makong ma Se, de Nkoum Isee
Emmanuel Remy Nkôt, de Kaya/Makak
Pondi Pondi, de Ngog Mapubi
Oum Touck, de Mom-Gare
Ruben Libong, de Kaya/Makak
Henri Marcel Bôt ba Njock, de Kaya/Makak
Germain Kana Mandeng, de Boga/Ɓumńyebel
Rev. Njami Nwandi, de Babimbi
Robert Hedinger, SIL
Miss Jenni Beadle, SIL
Steve & Julie Anderson, SIL
Roger Blench, KWEF
Photos by: Roger Blench, Pierre Emmanuel Njock
Formatting by: Robert Hedinger
Credits and Acknowledgements
Praise the Lord who has accompanied us these past 19 years. Thank you to Emmanuel Rémy Nkôt, a faithful assistant during the preliminary work on Basaa.
Dr. Robert Hedinger of SIL in Yaoundé, later in Bamenda, Cameroon, is the one who initiated the use of Toolbox in the development of this dictionary. We appreciate his patience with the those who do not easily grasp computer technology. We also want to thank his SIL colleague David Thormoset who helped format the first dictionary during Hedinger's absence.
Jenni Beadle, of SIL Yaoundé, assisted us with the final version of the printed dictionary. Her management of the computers and linguistic software built so much confidence that we exclaimed "this Basaa multilingual dictionary will benefit many."
During the long furloughs of our SIL consultants, we did not feel abandoned, because Dr. Steve Anderson of SIL Yaoundé offered his precious time for the transfer of various communications, inputting essential images, translation of terms into English, as well as the formatting of all the data we collected, etc. Mrs. Anderson carefully looked over and edited the English translation. We benefited greatly from the patience and advice of SIL personnel in how to do the work! We are thankful to each of you.
The reader will find several scientific names in Latin in this work. This was made possible by a workshop led by Dr. Roger Blench in Makak. It allowed us to specify the scientific names of trees and plants, mammals, fish and birds among others. This three-day workshop was also beneficial for the improvement of our work. A revision of the terminology in our biology books would be necessary for teaching! One would discover the right terms for "hare" and nyǐk "athérure" for example. However, we must admit that this is a field of research still to develop, because our country is full of plants and herbs for which we could not find the equivalent in Latin. Although the Latin translation of the names of our plants and herbs was not the main object in initiating this work, we want to recognise its importance since it facilitates the identification of species and especially medicinal plants and herbs by any other scientists.
The Institute of the German Language in Mannheim [Institute für the Deutsche Sprache (IDS)] deserves special thanks. They offered their library and computers for our use from 1997 to 2008. But the contribution of its outstanding lexicographers was remarkable. Professor Dr. Schmidt encouraged our project. He is the one who entrusted us to his collaborators, Mrs Prof. Dr. Ulrike Hass, Mrs. Jacqueline Kupzcak, Dr. Oda Vietze, and Renate Schmidt. The contribution of these woman toward the realisation of the Basaa multilingual dictionary was a great encouragement as well as a sign that despite the many mistakes and/or gaps, our work will be successful. We would like to point to this "adage" that Mbɔmbɔk Mpouma Babey referred to in 1999:
“ Iɓālɛ̄ mùdàa à tà ɓe i jàm, li ŋkìlɛ ɓe lɔŋgɛ̂ inyǔlɛ̄ nyɛn à yè: m̀ɓɔ̀t, ŋ̀àt nì ǹsaŋgâl ɓòt nì màten, à yè mbònjì nì ŋ̀ɛm u mûnlom nì u ndap lìɓiî. À yè ŋ̀kòhlɛ̀ Bìɓàŋ bi Mbɔk inyùu ì yiga lèes gwɔ i ŋwɛ̌t à hèli i ɓa ɓe ndudù. ” Mbɔmbɔ̀k Dieudonné Mpouma Ɓabey, 1999
"If a woman does not take part in a project, it will not go well because she is the manager, ruler and consoler of the men and the clans (families). She is the flower and the heart of the man and the conjugal home. She is the keeper of the "bìɓàŋ" "relics of the initiates" (artifacts of the initiates) responsible for handing them over without any problem to whom the items are entitled."
The first sentence of the adage simply means that a job in which a woman becomes involved is likely to succeed. So you will understand my joy when Dr. Steve Anderson of the SIL announced to me that it is Mrs. Jenni Beadle, of Yaoundé, who would assist me to finish my projects!
The Academic Exchange Service of Germany (der Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst, DAAD), die Offensive Junger Christen (OJC) Reichelsheim, FRG, die Evangelische Gemeinde Brittnau (Switzerland), - M. Gramlich, the Hopp and Walter families organised our study trips and our accommodations in Europe over a period of fifteen years. They deserve a special thank you.
Many thanks to all those who, from near and far, contributed to the realisation of the first large Basaa multilingual dictionary.
We can not end this thanks without paying tribute to my wife, Esther Kogla, who endured my many absences as well as the sleepless nights she had to spend in a bedroom turned office where the light was extinguished only rarely.
