What: Sierra Leone’s first Temne-English Dictionary by Dr. Abou Bai-Sheka, a ground-breaking publication that speaks for itself. A Krio-English dictionary by the same author is also available. Both dictionaries cost 30 and 20 dollars respectively, excluding postage.
Where: They can be purchased directly from Gibril Koroma, publisher of this newspaper. Payment can be made by Moneygram, Western Union or International Money Order.
For further information, please contact Patriotic Vanguard Editor Gibril Koroma at: gkgkoroma@gmail.com. Phone: 1-604-308-6087.
About Dr. Abou Bai-Sheka:
A distinguished Sierra Leonean academic and respected linguist, Dr.Abou Bai-Sheka recently published the first Themneh-English dictionary.
A couple of years ago, he published a Krio-English dictionary. Both dictionaries have been published by Morris Publishing in Kearney, United States of America.
Dr.Bai-Sheka is a former French and Linguistics lecturer and Acting Head of the Department of Modern Languages at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He now lives in Coquitlam, British Columbia,Canada, with his family.
He hails from Gbinti in the Port Loko district of Sierra Leone and holds two PhD degrees, one in French Language and Literature and the other in Linguistics from L’Universite Stendhal de Grenoble-3 in Grenoble, France.
A product of St. Francis secondary school in the north and Bo school (sixth form) in the southern province of Sierra Leone, Bai-Sheka was the Resident Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Exchange Students Program in Sierra Leone and was a Fulbright Scholar at the same university. He was also Visiting Assistant Professor in French at Western Washington University, Bellingham, USA.
Bai-Sheka stated in the Krio dictionary’s foreword that the purpose of the text is to meet the need for a modern, practical dictionary for use in Sierra Leone by Sierra Leoneans who wish to learn about the Lingua Franca of their country (Krio).
It has been written specifically for English-speaking learners of Krio and native Krio speakers who, he said, need guidance in matters related to the standardized orthography,spelling, idiomatic usage, proverbs, sentence structure etc. It is also meant for speakers of other languages who are trying to improve their present knowledge of Krio or who are just beginning to learn it.
"This dictionary provides a valuable work of reference on correct orthography and standard usage. An important feature is the inclusion and standardization of many of the most recent loan words in Krio...", Bai-Sheka wrote.
The Themneh-English dictionary contains 408 pages while the Krio dictionary contains 250 pages.
Photo: 19th century Temne warrior Chief Bai Bureh.
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