Tools & Training

Special welcome to CLAN visitors: from the Conference of the Linguistics Association of Nigeria!

Find out more on this page about the software used for coursework at the TCNN Linguistics & Translation Dept.

There are many useful tools you can use to help document your language. Here we have links to download the latest copies of useful tools, documents and videos to help you use those tools.

Typing and viewing Nigerian/phonetic text

• Get fonts and keyboarding help for typing Nigerian languages well, in all their variety, and in phonetic form.

Learning about making dictionaries in your language

• Dictionary Making and language development in 21st Century Nigeria: an introductory text from ICAL 2012
• Rapid word collection (external site): has videos and materials you can print
• Nigeria select RWC elicitation materials: short list of questions to gather words
  (72 pages, instead of the full list of 500+ pages)

Software tools for pioneer mother-tongue linguists

• WeSay: an easy way to build dictionaries, collaboratively
  • Latest Version:
    
  • WeSay Training Videos
• SayMore: an easy way to record and write down stories
  • SayMore Training Video
  • Transcribing texts with SayMore and FieldWorks

Other useful tools

• Fonts & Keyboards:
  • jkey: Type Nigerian languages on your computer/phone/tablet without installing anything.
  • Test how well Nigerian languages can be displayed on your phone/computer.
• Oral translation:
  • A process for drafting translations (primarily of the Bible) orally first.
• Dictionaries & linguistics:
  • FieldWorks: sophisticated tools for linguists – lets you build a dictionary, write grammatical descriptions and analyse texts. (Works with WeSay and SayMore.)
  • Phonology Assistant: to help you work out the way that sounds work in a language. (Gets data from FieldWorks.)
  • Webonary: Dictionaries published on the internet. (Requires FieldWorks first.)
  • Lexique Pro: for producing a dictionary that can run on Windows computers, or can be published on the internet.
    • See also Dictionary App Builder, for making Android dictionary apps.
• Latest versions of some Palaso / SIL software
•  A body chart template (not very high quality; please can someone contribute a better one?)