Introduction

The Lopit language is spoken by over 50,000 speakers in the Eastern Equatorial region of South Sudan.  Many people have contributed to the development of this language, and this dictionary is one of the results.

 

In the past, Lopit speakers of certain dialects made books that helped teach reading and writing.  These books are helpful to those speaking the dialect of those books.  However, the time has come for books that combine all the dilaects.  This book does not teach one dialect of Lopit.  Instead, it teaches all Lopit speakers how to write a combined Lopit language for all the dialects.

 

The authors on the cover page of this book are listed along with the dialect they speak.  There is an author for each of the five dialects represented in this book.  In the Lopit Grammar Workshops of 2013 and 2015 in Torit, these authors agreed on how to write many words in a combined Lopit language.  The words in each dialect that were collected in these workshops are shown in this book.  However, the agreed-upon spelling of each word is listed first and in bold.

 

In the Lopit language there are several different types of words:  nouns, verbs, pronouns, connectors, and others.  This dictionary tells what kind of word each is.  It also gives the meaning of each word in English.  Each word is listed according to the order of the alphabet letters so that it is easiest to find the words.  This book also shows how each word should be spelled.  The lessons of the Lopit Consonant and Vowel Book  and the Lopit Grammar Book should be learned and used along with this dictionary.

 

It is especially important for those writing books and translating Scripture to check the spelling of words using this book.  If all writers spell the way that words are written in this dictionary, it will be easier for readers to recognize each word when they read them.   Any words in this book that are not spelled correctly or have the wrong English meaning should be marked in pencil.  You should then tell the authors the correct spelling or meaning so that they can correct the next printing. You can use the Contact Us page under the Help menu of this dictionary.