Bureau régional du Grand Nord BP 200 Maroua Siège / Administrative Offices Province de l’Extrême-Nord BP 1299 Tél. : 750.04.25 Yaoundé Bamenda Regional Office Province du Centre Tél. : 230.39.48 ; 230.64.54 P.O. Box 5025 Fax : 230.53.34 Bamenda-Nkwen North West Province Tel.: 750.02.33 www.sil.org/africa/cameroun/index.html SIL Cameroon Administration George Shultz, > Word of the Director General Director He continued with work on other languages and did significant Nelis van den Berg, Acting Director Look at the results! grammatical research on Baba I and Babessi. Mathaus helped Peter Kluck, Director of these 3 Ndop communities form language committees which has General Administration Bert Visser, Director of enabled them to begin to take ownership of the future of their External Relations and Partnerships languages. He did this as part of a larger team of SIL members Ken Morton, Director of who work on the Ndop plain (North West province) and who seek Technical Services Henk Zwart, to help develop ten languages that have some similarities. His Personnel Director Gregory Trihus, Director of work has been an integral part of this project which is building Language Studies Section capacity, ownership and initiative for the development of the local Teresa Heath, Director of Language Programmes languages. Representatives of these ten language groups met Richard Gravina, Greater North Regional Director recently to plan for the future of these mother tongues. Ria Hedinger, Bamenda Regional Director About five years ago I met Njeck Mathaus for the first time. At the time, I was the Director of Training and he came to SIL’s linguistic training courses. In fact, he was one of the first participants of the new "Foundations" training programme, which aimed to help participants to develop the linguistic basis of their own language, starting with Mathaus' story shows in practical terms what can happen when Executive Committee an alphabet. He was a student at the University of Yaoundé I and Vince Griffis, Cameroonians get enthusiastic about language development and Chairman was involved in a volunteer programme with NACALCO (National obtain the appropriate training and mentoring. SIL is content to Ginny Bradley Larence Seguin Association of Cameroonian Language Committees). What a have contributed to that for the last 38 years and desires to Alan Starr Henny Thormoset privilege to help him to achieve both his and NACALCO’s goals. continue to do so. I hope that this Annual Report will broaden your understanding of what makes SIL one of the world leaders Since that time, Mathaus has been an example of what happens in the development of minority languages world wide. when motivated local students receive training and an opportunity to be involved. He was able to develop an alphabet, a dictionary Nelis van den Berg, and a primer for the Bangolan language. But he did not stop with Acting Director SIL Cameroon the Bangolan community! > Introduction > Training No sectors without a Cameroonian! Passing it on Ntani Elijah Fale is a native of the North west Province. He committed himself to make a difference in the lives of women and young people of his community. To see his dream becoming a reality, he attended the three-phase Intermediate Literacy Course in Nairobi - Kenya. Four other young Cameroonians participated with a great success in this training. They are all holding responsibility assignments in their given communities. Elijah is the Noni Literacy coordinator. “This course” he said, “has helped him to conduct an informal testing of the Noni orthography” Just as several Today, SIL employs many more national managers and specialists thousand of people have attended training courses given by where only expatriates could serve a few years ago. Martin SIL and they are very effective today in their fields. Galland BEYALA is counted among these. A graduate from the University of Yaoundé II, Martin has been serving at SIL since 2001. In 2006, 221 different people from 51 different languages Since then, he and many other Cameroonians have benefited from took part in training events at either the regional or different training programmes given by SIL, even at the university the national level in Cameroon. This does not include level. Martin is the communication officer. No sector today inside the many, many Cameroonians who were trained and SIL without a Cameroonian having a leadership role. mentored by SIL at the local level. 10 in Literacy In the chart on the left 12 in Translation including programme manage- the number of language > 5 in Linguistics ment, practical writing, teacher 2 in Scripture Use including translation communities is the actual including text transcription, training and production of: including Scripture principles, various analysis of nouns and noun HIV/AIDS brochures, primer, memorisation booklet epistles and a seminar 1 in Training number of communities Courses/ phrases, and dictionary publica- reading & writing books, production and chrono- for high-level trans- basic computing represented at a given Workshops tion preparation calendars & agendas logical Bible storying lation consultants course category of course or workshop. The number Language 7 23 7 of participants, however, Communities 16 33 includes those who may have taken part in more Represented than one course or Participants 72 116 13 207 16 workshop. > Linguistics > Literacy A grade! Saving lives "Literacy is not merely a cognitive skill of through literacy! reading, writing and arithmetic, for literacy Life expectancy at birth in Cameroon is quiet low, especially in helps in the acquisition some rural areas. Besides the lack of healthcare infrastructure of learning and life skills and personnel, illiteracy and even more so the illiteracy of that, when strengthened rural women can be considered as major causes of these by usage and application throughout people’s numerous deaths. lives, lead to forms of individual, community Alimata, a rural woman in the Muyang community from the Far and societal development North Province, has decided to help women of her area. She that are sustainable". registered in literacy classes in the Muyang language given by Tachoum Noussi Gideon, the Assistant Literacy Coordinator in Koïchiro Matsuura, The International The linguistics department continues to be very busy the Greater North Regional Office of SIL (Gideon also completed UNESCO Director-General Standards Organization working closely with SIL and other researchers. But each the three-year Intermediate Literacy Course in Nairobi, Kenya.) International has adopted ISO 639-3, year the linguistic consultants also make time to assist She learnt during this two year-programme to read and write Literacy Day 2006. based in large part on the several university students to bring their thesis to a her mother tongue. Ethnologue Codes as a high quality. Their input is not without results: comprehensive standard for language « Dr. S. Anderson and Ms. G. Boyd of SIL played an identification. SIL has important role in my linguistic training. Dr. Anderson then been appointed as helped me significantly in the scientific domain under the the registration authority. BASAL (Basic Standardisation of All African Languages) This is a notable recognition of SIL as an programme, specifically in the development of a phonology international leader in and an orthography for the Tuki. Concerning Ms. Boyd, language development she helped me in the elaboration of the precise Tuki and literacy. orthography and even more so with my Masters’ thesis in linguistics on the Tuki verb morphology, defended at University of Yaounde I. A grade. » Thanks to her new situation as a learned person, Alimata received training from the Catholic health service. Today, she Jacquis KONGNE WELAZE is helping the nurse and also plays the role of mid-wife in her village. Alimata is proud to have a part to play in helping to save the lives of the child and the mother during birth. The AIDS brochure is published in 34 languages: > Translation > Publication Review > Publication Review Aghem HIV/AIDS was speaking Kande Story Learning Yamba Bakossi Bafut Babanki my mother tongue in Bafut through VCDs Bulu Bum “Some years ago my elder brother passed on after a long Badwe'e Cuvok illness. According to tradition, his immediate follower inherited Fang his wife. He too passed away. Later on, the implicated woman Fulfulbe Ajamiya accused of witchcraft died too. The three individuals presented Fulfulbe Romans Hdi the same symptoms before their death. In the community, people Gemzek said it was the result of AIDS. I could not believe such a thing. Kako Kejom Actually we were defining AIDS as American Invention to Kenyang Discourage Sex. For me it was a utopia. Until one day, a man in Kombe our local church gave me a brochure on HIV/AIDS. This brochure Lamnso' Mbembe in our mother tongue was developed by SIL Cameroon. That day, Mékaa reading through it, the message was so clear and spoke directly Meta' "One of the best stories in Bafut!" Listen and sing along with the to my heart. I understood that HIV/AIDS was speaking my mother Moloko says Becky Mfonyam. One time she six stories and songs that are Muyang tongue. That means it was a member of our community and started reading the story to her hair- published in this attractive audio- Nomaande present in our village. I wish I had read this brochure before; Ngomba dresser. Suddenly she stopped reading. visual format. This VCD was Nuasue I would have saved at least one of my brothers’ life” Nugunu The hairdresser said: "Keep reading produced in cooperation with the the story, why did you stop?" Yamba language community. The Kande Story addresses the problems The Yamba speakers are excited faced by AIDS. It teaches people that about this new product and more you can resist the temptation to start VCDs were already ordered.