Bislama Spelling Dictionary for Word 2007 and 2010

By Daryl Moon (Brisbane, Australia, e: daryl.moon@gmail.com, w: www.swtech.com.au)

I've just updated the Bislama Spelling Dictionary for Microsoft Word version 2007 and 2010.

 

The list of words remains the same (approx. 6,600 words) but the installation instructions have been updated for Word 2007 and 2010 (including using Windows Vista or Windows 7 Operating Systems).

 

The new install instructions are here: http://www.swtech.com.au/bislama/word2007-2010.html

 

You can also translate single words to/from English/Bislama and download the Word 2003 version here: http://www.swtech.com.au/bislama/

 

You may copy and distribute the dictionary freely, it is © Vanuatu Government and licenced for use under the GPL.

 

Tips for Mac by Willy Zamler

go to

-> Preferences

-> Grammar and Spelling

-> Dictonnaries

-> add

browse to your local folder where you saved the .dic file.

(if you're unable to select it then choose the option to select ALL files, not just the verified dictionaries or the personal one.)

Bislama background

Bislama is a creole language, one of the official languages of Vanuatu. It is the first language of many of the "Urban ni-Vanuatu" (those who live in Port Vila and Luganville), and the second language of much of the rest of the country's residents. "Yumi, Yumi, Yumi", the Vanuatu national anthem, is in Bislama.

More than 95% of Bislama words are of English origin; the remainder combines a few dozen words from French, as well as some vocabulary inherited from various languages of Vanuatu, essentially limited to flora and fauna terminology.^[1] While the influence of these vernacular languages is low on the vocabulary side, it is very high in the morphosyntax. Bislama can be basically described as a language with an English vocabulary and an Oceanic grammar.^[2]