Foreword

This online dictionary was built from language development that has been ongoing over many years. The linguistic work was started by Njeck Mathaus Mbah in 2003 when he spent two years for the collection of data, linguistic analysis and production of initial literacy materials for the people of Bangolan. Other linguists have participated in updates to the orthography and wordlist: Christine Nickerson (nee DeVisser), Jenny Wright, Cameron Hamm and Bep Langhout. The community also promoted this work.

The dictionary will serve to:

• establish a written tradition among the Bangolan people.
• establish standards for spelling words, compound words, and clarifying word boundaries in conformity with the Mendenkye Orthography Guide.
• preserve Mendenkye words that may fall into disuse as time passes and language shift occurs.
• be a resource book or reference source for all teachers and students of the Mendenkye language.
• help non-Mendenkye speakers learn to understand and appreciate Mendenkye as a spoken and written language.
• help language researchers who seek word lists of an African language.
• Raise the status of the Mendenkye language in joining the ranks of all other written languages throughout the world.

We welcome suggestions for further improvement of this dictionary.