The Mende Language

First published in 1908, this volume emerged in the midst of the British Protectorate of Sierra Leone. The author, F.W.H. Migeod, studied the Mende nation in eastern Sierra Leone and followed the example of the grammar (1882) and vocabulary (1884) published by Dr. Schoen in using the southern form of the Mende language. Beginning with an introduction to the recent history, culture and characteristics of the Mende nation and Sierra Leone, this volume covers useful phrases, grammar, vocabulary and example reading materials including stories and songs collected from native speakers.

"Mende for Beginners" is the first in a series of Mende books intended to teach the Mende language to non-Mende speaking individuals and also Mende speaking individuals who wish to learn how to read and write the Mende language. The book is divided into chapters of everyday language: greetings, counting, days of the week, months and seasons of the year, etc. Each chapter has an extensive vocabulary, followed by simple sentences. A tape to accompany the book will be available in the near future, and we are confident that the book, together with the tape will make reading, writing and speaking the Mende language an easy learning experience. The tape will help with the pronunciation of words, which will make it ideal for teaching children and adults alike. It will also help lay the foundation for understanding the advanced form of the Mende language which will be presented in the other books in the series. Please contact us at mendeproject@aol.com if you wish to purchase the tape.

The history of the Mɛnde language in Sierra Leone and Liberia can be traced back as far as the migration period of the Mandi people from North-Central Africa during the disintegration of the Songhai Empire of the fourth and fifth centuries. Mɛnde remains a living language today. Unfortunately, strange and deplorable developments over the last five decades have negatively affected the spread of the Mɛnde language. Since the colonial expansion into South-Eastern Sierra Leone, the Mɛnde people quickly became more educated. The result was that an elitist group of educated Mɛndes frowned upon speaking the Mɛnde language in public. This elitist, educated Mɛnde group preferred to speak English or the obliterated English referred to as

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