The Chronicle of Higher Education January 14, 2000

Tetum-English Dictionary to Aid East Timor

The first Tetum-English dictionary: a book for which there is a "need but no market."

A University of Western Sydney linguist, Geoffrey Hull, has written a dictionary that could help students, professors, and others in East Timor get access to information in English, according to the Campus Review, an Australian newspaper.

Allen & Unwin, the book's publisher, and a Sydney bookstore, Gleebooks, are making the book the center of a fund-raising drive that seeks to donate copies of the dictionary and other books to the University of East Timor and other institutions. That territory is still recovering from the damage done by Indonesia-backed militias after it voted for independence in September.

A Japanese patron, Michio Takahashi, supported Mr. Hull, who was able to take a break from teaching for two years to work on the book, which he finished at a time when the East Timorese need to connect with foreigners. More information on the East Timor Book Appeal can be obtained by sending e-mail to books@gleebooks.com.au.

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