Dictionary app developed for the Lakota language

PIERRE, S.D. — If you’re looking for a quick translation or reference tool while learning the Lakota language, there’s an app for that.

Developed by the Lakota Language Consortium, their dictionary app can be found in the Android and Apple iOS marketplaces.

The Consortium began gathering a database of over 23,000 Lakota words with the help of linguists and community members in the early 1990s. The goal was to produce a printed dictionary.

With the number of Lakota speakers on the decline since the 1950s, the Lakota Language Consortium wanted a resource for future generations to learn the language.

“The only way to stop that decline is to create new speakers of the language and so many of the school districts, many of the immersion programs and tribal colleges are working now to create second language learners and a dictionary and especially an audio dictionary is a key resource in that,” said Executive Director of the Lakota Language Consortium, Wil Meya.

That dictionary is available on mobile devices complete with audio pronunciations.