African Language Program News: A New Addition to the 200-Word Project

The 200 word project is a visual and audio tool comprised of a database of specialized words with pictures and video clips that allow students to hear native speakers pronounce each word.  Words were identified based on their applicability to professional fields such as business, medicine, and human rights as well as their ability to facilitate informal conversation and cultural integration.

The 200 Word Project was developed jointly by the African Language Program and the Geddes Language Center of Boston University with funding from the United States Department of Education, Office of Post-Secondary Education, National Resource Centers Program.

We are pleased to announce that a new addition into our 200-words project has come! Ousmane Cisse, Linguistics PhD student at Boston University, has completed a section for Mandinka, a West African language he has taught at the African Studies Center, though not being offered this year. The instructional materials production continues.

We thank the Geddes Language Lab for their expertise in ensuring that this sterling job came to completion this summer. Now all the seven languages we offer (Wolof, Amharic, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Igbo, kiSwahili, Akan Twi, Hausa, and Mandinka) have important vocabulary entries in audio-visual representation and can be permanently accessed by Boston University students and the public.

Here is a direct link to the main page of the 200 Word Project:

Here is a direct link to the new Mandinka section