Developing Alphabets… Teaching… Translating…

Many of the minority languages of Asia have no written form. SIL linguists are often invited to learn and analyze these minority languages, and cooperate with the native speakers in developing alphabets.

Once a language has an alphabet, SIL linguists work with native speakers to develop various books, such as story books, health books, agriculture books, and books for learning both the minority language and the national language. SIL also assists in translating books that are of interest to the minority community.

It is important that language development projects be sustainable. For this reason SIL trains people from minority communities to be computer users, village literacy teachers, and translators.