CABTAL Begins Drilling Lebialem People On Nweh-Mudani Language Project
By SYLVESTER ATEMNKENG
YAOUNDE,Cameroon-Saturday June 30, 2018-5 PM Local Time(Cameroon News Agency) The Cameroon Association for Bible Translation, CABTAL, has kick start the drilling exercise with the Lebialem people in the Nweh-Mundani language writing project and the translation of the Bible into the Nweh-Mundani local languages.
This gesticulation is coming four months after CABTAL signed a partnership agreement with the Confederation of Lebialem Cultural and Development Association, CONLECUDA together with the Councils of Lebialem to get the local languages of Lebialem written and teach the people the act of writing and reading the Nweh Language.
Speaking during the drilling exercise in Yaounde, the Coordinator of National and Literacy Coordinator of CABTAL Mathias Njeck, told the participants that he was overwhelmed with the enthusiasm he saw in them.
“I have seen your zeal and determination and how ready you people are, to press on as far as this project is concern. I am sure it is not going to take us up to a year to be in a well approved system writing the new language”, he said.
He equally drilled the people on the genesis of the training with special focus in areas of preliminary information, data collection, and presentation of the alphabet among other things.
On the heated argument as to which local dialect will be used for the principal translation, the coordinator said, the scientific methodology will be strictly applied to determine that.
Speaking after the drilling session, the mentor and founder of CONLECUDA, Chief Justice Joseph Fonkwe Fongang, Secretary General at the Ministry of Justice briefed The Post on the functioning of the association insisting that it is apolitical so the exercise will strictly follow the vision of the group.
To Chief Justice Fonkwe, the group is one of his visions of development for Lebialem. “For long I observed that Lebialem people in general had been acting so much in dispersed ranks; yet they have a lot of resources that if well harnessed, can contribute positively towards making Lebialem and Cameroon an emerging economy by 2035. This means that no one can go solo anymore,” he said.
To the ace Chief Justice, their aim is to help their people to eventually worship in their own language.
He noted that, CABTAL is their main partner in all their projects and individual councils will only come in as support partners of same projects within their respective council jurisdictions and they shall even provide pilot schools for the teaching of local languages in the division.
Talking on the importance of the project to the Nweh-Mundani people, Justice Fonkwe said, in the past Lebialem people have acted in dispersed ranks in terms of development but today CONLECUDA is an all-embracing and all uniting Association with heavy projects such as the Bible translation project.
According to him, the language project falls in line with Government and International Policy of promoting indigenous languages and cultures and the people of Lebialem cannot be absent in this national language and cultural revival.
Explaining what is expected from Lebialem people, he said whether it is linguistic project, the Bible translation project or any other developmental project, the common or woman of Lebialem origin shall make an input and obtain direct benefits.
At the end of the training exercise, Prof. Aloysius Ngefac was tasked to be at the forefront with other Linguistic dons and deans from Lebialem to work closely with CABTAL to ease the translation process.
CONLECUDA should be underscore is an apolitical association founded by Chief Justice Joseph Fonkwe Fongang, Secretary General at the Ministry of Justice and it is centered only on development and unity of Lebialem people. The association has great capacities, competences, resources and potentials to harness for the good of all.
The spirit that CONLECUDA is promoting is succinctly captured by its motto “Lebialem-One Mami One Papa”. Their mission is to think, act divisional, beyond individual Fondoms and, break physical and mental boundaries and share love with each other as children of the same womb.
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