The 200 Word Project

The 200 word project is a visual and audio tool comprised of a database of specialized words with pictures and video clips that allow students to hear native speakers pronounce each word. Words were identified based on their applicability to professional fields such as business, medicine, and human rights as well as their ability to facilitate informal conversation and cultural integration.

The 200 Word Project was developed jointly by the African Language Program and the Geddes Language Center of Boston University with funding from the United States Department of Education, Office of Post-Secondary Education, National Resource Centers Program.

Thanks go to Robert Rothstein, previous Director of the Geddes Center, for his support, and to Shawn Provencal, Assistant Director, and Frank Antonelli, Media Resources Specialist, for their design and building of the original Flash-based website in 2009. Thanks to Alison Parker, Instructional Resources Coordinator, for updating the site to WordPress and Kaltura streaming video in 2019.

Thanks especially to Professor Fallou Ngom (Director, African Language Program) and Dr. Zoliswa Mali (Coordinator, Southern African Languages) for overseeing the implementation of the project. Gratitude goes specifically to Dr. Mali for tirelessly managing and coordinating the work between the Geddes Center and the numerous participants, and to Dr. Jennifer Yanco, Director of the West African Research Association, for proposing the idea to the African Language Program in fall 2008.

Many thanks also go to all those who participated and supported the project, including:

Professor Tim Longman (Director, African Studies Center),

Professor Jim McCann (Associate Director, African Studies Center),

Professor John Hutchison (Professor of Linguistics, Hausa and Bamanankan),

Dr. Telahun (Amharic Lecturer),

Dr. Masse Ndiaye (Wolof Lecturer),

Judith Mmari (Kiswahili Lecturer),

Alex Zito (Wolof Lecturer),

Martha Shongwe (Humphrey Fellow),

Lori DeLucia (Hausa Lecturer),

Mahamane Diarra (friend of the African Studies Center),

Joanne Hart (Program Administrator, African Studies Center),

Anne Bellows (Past Program Coordinator, African Studies Center).