This dictionary is the result of a collaborative project between Apatani intellectuals and Western researchers. We wanted it as part of the collective effort to keep the Apatani language alive, especially among the younger generation. For those many ones who are either pursuing their studies or working outside Ziro, a new dictionary as a free resource tool appeared to be most suited. The Apatani language is the root of Apatani culture, and as such requires to be preserved, documented and promoted in every possible way.

 

The current version has about 10,000 items including main entries and subentries, as well as several hundred example sentences. The examples sentences are particularly valuable as they put words in a familiar context corresponding to actual conversation, and should prove useful for everyone wishing to learn or improve his/her skills in this language. Dialectical variations have been taken into account and usage location, when known, are indicated, so that no dialect or village speech takes precedence over others. Apart from the main section featuring common words sorted by alphabetical order, the dictionary includes several topic-specific sections with several hundred illustrations. For the sake of reliability, most word entries were checked by more than one Apatani speaker. As a work in progress, however, some entries are more reliable than others. The phonetic analysis of words being currently unfolding, not all entries have yet a phonetic transcription attached to the headword.

 

The initial impetus of this project came from Dr. Pascal Bouchery, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology, University of Poitiers, France, and Mrs. Ngilyang Rinyo, Environmental Engineer. I am greatly indebted to Mrs. Ngilyang for alerting me first on the situation of language endangerment of her mother tongue. Altogether from 2007 onwards we started working on the word collection, grammar and word transcription. Gradually other people joined this project or offered their assistance. The present edition owes a lot to the dedication of a few concerned Apatanis who devoted much time and effort. I am especially grateful to Taku Tara who worked intensively on hundreds of words and example sentences, for his tireless help; the courteous cooperation of Dani Sulu for his explanations of the meaning of difficult or obsolete words is greatfully acknowledged. I am deeply indebted to Gyati Tallo for having kindly allowed us to use use a significant number of example sentences from some of his previous writings and his insightful comments for clarifying various grammatical points. I express my gratitude to Hage Gumto, Roto Chobin and Tage Kanno for their contribution to the illustrations of the present edition. I want also to thank Gyati Aapa, Gyati Tallo and Roto Chobin for their warm and invaluable assistance during fieldwork in Ziro. Several other Apatani-speaking individuals have made a positive contribution as occasional informants, and even though they may have worked on a limited number of words they deserve to be given credit. Overall, the Apatani community has proved very receptive to this project. 

 

I wish also to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Mark W. Post from the Research Center of  Linguistic Typology, La Trobe University, whose excellent study on Galo language has been a source of inspiration during the compilation work. Without his constant support and helpful comments there is little doubt that the present edition could not have been achieved. In order to maximize descriptive continuity between related languages I have chosen to adopt much of his own nomenclature, especially regarding verb suffixes whose diversity is a major feature of all Tani languages. I am very much thankful to Dr. Tage Kanno for having accepted to read and correct the final draft of the present edition. My sincere thanks also go to the Dree Central Committee (CCDFC) for formally announcing the launching of this first edition in Itanagar on July 5th, 2011.

 

Compiler: Dr. Pascal Bouchery.

Main contributors: Ngilyang Rinyo, Taku Tara, Gyati Tallo, Dani Sulu, Dr. Tage Kanno, Dr. Ngilyang Talley, Gyati Aapa, Roto Chobin, Hage Gumto.

Other contributors: Kime Davis, Hage Nanku, Nani Lampung, Nending Ommo, Tage Laling.

Special thanks to Drs. François Jacquesson and Boyd Michailovsky from CNRS-LACITO, Paris, France, for their advices regarding the language structure and/or word transcription. I am also thankful to Dr. Philippe Ramirez from CNRS, Paris, for his assistance in various ways throughout the project.

 

  Poitiers, July 2011