Rwbaa, Igoo, Post, Mark W., Rwbaa, Ilww, Xodu, Miilww, Bagra, Kenjum, Rwbaa, Bobcak, Rwbaa, Toomoo, Ado, Noto, and Keenaa, Dambom (2009) Galo-English Dictionary with English-Galo Index. Galo Language Development Committee, Itanagar, India.

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Abstract

[Extract] This volume is the first ever large-scale Dictionary of the Galo language of Arunachal Pradesh, North East India. It is, however, a very preliminary work. Official recognition of the Galo language has only been completed in 2008, and the first Galo language textbooks will only be introduced into schools in Galo-dominated areas of Arunachal Pradesh in 2009. Both this Dictionary and the mentioned textbooks are based on Galo Script, which itself was only finalized and adopted by the Galo Welfare Society in 2008. All of the Compilers of this Dictionary have completed whatever work they could in their spare time only, trying to approximate in the space of only two or three years what teams of professional lexicographers often spend ten to fifteen years to complete with full dedication. Accordingly, there are certain to be large numbers of mistakes herein, and/or other points which are unclear and should have been clarified, for which the Compilers can only apologize in advance and beg for our readers' patience and understanding.

A serious difficulty which we are only beginning to address concerns dialect variation within the Galo language. While most of the Compilers of this Dictionary speak `Laree Galo, the variety of Galo spoken mainly around the Baasar area, there is in fact a large number of Galo dialects and subdialects, which are spoken widely throughout West Siang District, Upper Subansiri District, and East Siang District in Arunachal Pradesh. A full survey of all Galo dialects would take many years of constant effort, and while we have begun this survey, it is nowhere close to completion at the present time of writing. Therefore, we have chosen to base this Edition of the Dictionary on the `Laree dialect of Galo, although we have also included a certain number of Puugoo Galo words where this was possible. We intend to expand the number of Galo dialects that we are able to include in the dictionary; however, we hope to do this in a systematic manner. Therefore, it will take additional time and we must beg apologies from speakers of Galo whose pronunciation and vocabulary is not well-represented in this Edition.

Research Background: This volume is the first ever large-scale Dictionary of the Galo language of Arunachal Pradesh, North East India, based on original immersion fieldwork by Mark Post. Official recognition of the Galo language has only been completed in 2008, and the first Galo language textbooks will only be introduced into schools in Galo-dominated areas of Arunachal Pradesh in 2009. Both this Dictionary and the mentioned textbooks are based on Galo Script, which itself was only finalized and adopted by the Galo Welfare Society in 2008. This work is an additional outcome of Post's PhD which received an award from the Association for Linguistic Typology, as the best thesis. The authors of the dictionary also include members of the Galo -speaking community.

Research Contribution: The main contribution to the field is that this is one of the most comprehensive dictionaries of ant Tibeto-Burman language of north-east India. This first ever dictionary of Galo is focussed on one major dialect of this language, with cross-dialectal comparisons, etymologies and examples. The dictionary contains a concise description of the language which makes an important contribution to our knowledge of its complicated linguistic system. This book sets new standards for dictionary-making of languages with no written tradition, and the involvement of linguists and community members in creating an important resource.

Research Significance: The significance of this book lies in its importance in documentation and analysis of Galo, and other Tibeto-Burman languages which have not been documented. This dictionary has already been used as a model for dictionary-making of languages with no written tradition, and is widely used in the community programs for language maintenance. Its further significance lies in the ways in which cultural information and insights are reflected in the lexicon.

Item ID:	17266
Item Type:	Book (Reference)
Date Deposited:	07 Feb 2012 03:22
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