Preface

Preface

In May 2016 SIL International Nepal conducted a Rapid Word Collection workshop in collaboration with Mother Tongue Centre Nepal. Twenty-nine Western Tamang speakers from six different districts participated in the workshop. Participants learned and applied a process of rapid word collection using a method of elicitation by semantic domains developed by SIL. Within the two week workshop the group completed word collection in nearly 1,800 semantic domains, glossed the entries in Nepali, and keyboarded the data using a program called Flex. After the workshop editors began to edit the words collected and that has continued up to the point of publication. One review workshop was also held in September 2016.

Along the way we came across two other Western Tamang dictionaries: one by Dhanam Tamang and another by Doreen Watson (née Taylor). In order to add any words included in their work that was missing from ours, we sought and received permission from both of them to do that. We are very grateful for their permission.

SIL has been privileged to play a part in helping to compile and publish this dictionary. It is our hope that this dictionary will continue to be developed and expanded in the coming years, and that it will be a significant step in the ongoing development and standardization of Western Tamang language.

As the workshop coordinator, I want to extend my thanks to all the Tamang people who attended the various workshops, the editors, Chandra Maya Tamang and Amos Tamang, to MTCN staff for their practical support, and to my colleagues at SIL, Dr. Netra Mani Rai and Diwakar Man Shrestha. It has been a great pleasure working with you all!

Mari-Sisko Khadgi

Associate Director for Language Development

SIL International Nepal