A Digital Approach to Baatonum Language Preservation: An Electronic Dictionary

This paper aims to develop a bilingual electronic dictionary and mobile application for Baatonum, a language spoken in Kwara State, Nigeria. Despite being a vital part of the local culture, Baatonum is at risk of being neglected in Nigeria, as parents often prioritise communicating in more dominant languages like Hausa, Yoruba and English. To address this gap, we created a dictionary application using Microsoft Excel, and Android Software Development Kit. Data was collected from native Baatonum speakers born and raised in Kwara State, using the 1700 Summer Institute of Linguistics Comparative African Wordlist. Our findings indicate that most Baatonum speakers often speak multiple languages, including English, Hausa, and Yoruba ranging from teenagers, young adults to adults. Furthermore, the Baatonum language consists of twenty-five alphabet letters (eighteen consonants, seven vowels), with consonant and vowel sounds featuring stops, non-stops, oral and nasal sounds (such as; [m, n, k, g, f, j, h], [a, o, u, ã, ɔ͂, ũ]). Notably, it was observed that Baatonum has quite a number of its etymology from Hausa; such as: bìségè ‘bastard or illegitimate child’, mè̩súná ‘namesake’, sàdàakí ‘bride price’ indicating the strong influence of Hausa on Baatonum speakers. To promote language preservation, we recommend introducing Baatonum as a compulsory subject in Kwara State schools and government support for instructional materials development.