Photo archives
Field trip to Kpalimé, Togo (January - February 2012)
In January-February 2012, I was in Togo for a 7 week field trip. For a long time, I've wanted to hear for myself what happens when Kabiye speakers come into contact with other languages down south. That's one reason why, this time, I was based in Kpalimé, about 300 kms south of where I usually live. The other attraction was the swimming pool. I spent hours on end with two language assistants checking the contents of two forthcoming books (Kabiye grammar and culture; Kabiye verb conjugations). Many thanks to my good friend Mahebena who organised my accommodation, welcomed me, put me in touch with Kabiye people and kept me supplied with breakfast cereals.
Tone orthography testing in a Kabiye secondary school (January - March 2011)
During this field trip I recruited eight Kabiye teachers to work with me on a tone orthography experiment. They participated in a teacher training course, in which each of them learned how to write one of three experimental tone orthographies. They taught these modified spelling systems once a week throughout February and March at a local state secondary school (CEG Lama Kolidè). We worked with 98 teenage pupils, all of whom have chosen to take Kabiye as an exam subject (GCSE equivalent).
Photo credits: Kossi Padja
Round table on orthography testing (21 January 2011)
On 21 January 2011, I participated in a round table discussion with colleagues from the University of Kara and SIL Togo-Benin. There were representatives from five languages that are all in the early stages of orthography development: Anii, Akassalem, Akébou, Bago-Koussountou and Mbelimé. The discussion centred around three points: (i) how to do orthography testing (ii) the process of orthography reform and (iii) the involvement of stakeholders in the decision making process.
Photo credits: Daniel Anadé
Tone orthography seminar with the Kabiye National Language Committee (28 June - 1 July 2010)
On 28 June - 1 July 2010, Emmanuel Pidassa and I led a seminar in Lomé with the Kabiye National Language Committee in which we discussed how tone should be represented in the orthography.
Interview with Radio Zéphyr - 1 July 2010
Interview with Radio Lomé - 1 July 2010
Photos by Radio Lomé
Regional Workshop on the Harmonisation of Vehicular Cross-border Languages (14-16 July 2010)
In January-February 2012, I was in Togo for a 7 week field trip. For a long time, I've wanted to hear for myself what happens when Kabiye speakers come into contact with other languages down south. That's one reason why, this time, I was based in Kpalimé, about 300 kms south of where I usually live. The other attraction was the swimming pool. I spent hours on end with two language assistants checking the contents of two forthcoming books (Kabiye grammar and culture; Kabiye verb conjugations). Many thanks to my good friend Mahebena who organised my accommodation, welcomed me, put me in touch with Kabiye people and kept me supplied with breakfast cereals.
Lama orthography meeting (22 July 2005)
Here are some photos of a meeting in Kanté on 22 July 2005 attended by two SIL linguists, the Lama Bible translation team and the literacy supervisor. The purpose of the meeting was to prepare for a much larger community consultation of all Lama orthography stakeholders which took place on 6-7 March 2006. This consultation led to the unanimous decision to introduce two new vowel symbols into the Lama alphabet.
Photos by Neal Breakey
Kabiye countryside
Here are some pictures of the Kabiye mountains around where I live.
Photos by Mark Gosling, Andrew Palmer and Patricia Roberts