Introduction

Moba is a member of the Gur language family. There are several dialects of Moba; this dictionary is based on the Ben dialect. This project was sponsored by ATAPEB (Association of Translators and Literacy Specialists for the Promotion of Scriptures in Ben). They were assisted by SIL Togo-Bénin.

Moba speakers, with a population of over 300,000, reside in the extreme northwest corner of Togo, especially in Dapaong, as well as westward toward Ghana and northward to the Burkina Faso border.

According to the Petit Larousse Illustrated Dictionary, a lexicon is an abbreviated bilingual dictionary. This lexicon contains 5,450 words and 400 idiomatic expressions, although it represents only a part of all the words and phrases currently used in Moba.

This lexicon serves as a reference book for the orthography to help Moba speakers write their mother tongue, especially students and literacy workers. Finally, it represents a concerted effort toward standardization of the Moba language.

This lexicon is composed of two distinct parts:

- a Moba-French lexicon

- Annexes

In the first part, the lexicon, we include the transcription of words and their tones to facilitate the pronunciation for readers.

In the second part, the annexes, we present certain aspects of the grammar of Moba and some wordlists by semantic categories (such as numbers, body parts, etc.).

This lexicon also serves as a reference for outsiders who would like to learn to speak Moba, and for Moba speakers who understand French and will acquire a greater appreciation for their mother tongue, as well as those who have learned to read and write Moba and desire to learn French.

However, we admit that this document is not a complete Moba-French dictionary nor grammar description, but a simple lexicon. The lexicon contains Moba equivalents of the most frequently used French words. Not every nuance of meaning, occurring in various contexts, is given for each entry. For parts of speech other than nouns and verbs, we have given example sentences to avoid having to create complex definitions.

Because of the limits, gaps, and imperfections of this lexicon, it is our hope that other works will follow that are expanded in scope. Please give us your feedback via the Contact Us page.