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Dictionaries for Olùkùmi and Owé

This year, we published dictionaries for two minority languages spoken in Nigeria: Olùkùmi and Owé (a dialect of Yorùbá). This represents the first-ever attempt to put the words, definitions and usages of these two languages into print. We are pleased to see the dictionaries in print! They are also available for free download below.

DOWNLOAD LINKS

Olùkùmi Bilingual Dictionary – PDF

Owé Bilingual Dictionary – PDF

This publication project was led by Nigerian linguist Dr. Bolanle Elizabeth Arokoyo, who holds a PhD in Linguistics, and has been documenting the grammar of Olùkùmi and Owé since 2011. Dr. Arokoyo is a Lecturer at the Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
These dictionaries are bilingual with English, and each contain 2,000+ words and phrases. They will become tools for language preservation, promotion and revitalization initiatives, and will serve local speakers, language enthusiasts as well as researchers in Nigeria and around the world. Thank you to everyone who donated to this project and helped make it a reality!
Dr. Bolanle Arokoyo interviews Owé speakers. Nigeria, 2017

Dr. Arokoyo also collaborated with linguist Dr. Greg Anderson, coordinator Anna Luisa Daigneault and web developer Diego Córdova Nieto at Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages for release of the online versions of these dictionaries: the Olùkùmi Living Dictionary and the Owé Living Dictionary.

These online resources contain text entries with accompanying multimedia such as audio and images. Research assistants Akano Johnson and Samuel Olanrewaju have contributed to recording audio for these Living Dictionaries. Living Tongues interns have also contributed to data entry and audio editing.