PROJECT DESCRIPTION This corpus is an oral documentation of So, also known as Tepeth or Soo (ISO 639-3 teu), a highly endangered language spoken in eastern Uganda, Karamoja region. The corpus consists of word lists, phrase lists, audio recordings, and video recordings of the So language. These were compiled to serve as a source of data for description of the language and revitalization. Also, it was envisaged that the data can be used for general reference about the language. Below are details of Part I of the items in the corpus. 1) 7 word lists: English words and their equivalents in So. 2) 4 phrase lists: English sentences and their equivalents in So. 3) Audios: 8 songs, 1 set of count numbers, 2 dialogues, 5 personal experiences, 1 set of formulaic expressions (e.g. how to pray in So), 18 narratives, 7 procedural discourses, and 6 testimonies. 4) Videos: 8 dances, 1 drama, 4 songs, 8 descriptions of artefacts, 2 dialogues, 1 exhortation, 2 personal experiences, 4 procedural discourses (e.g. how to greet), and 8 testimonies. 5) Photographs of So speakers, places, and artefacts. The corpus was compiled by the following team of researchers: - Principal investigator: Celestino Oriikiriza Co-investigators: Fridah Katushemererwe, Michael Wangotta, Luke Francis Kiwanuka, and Deo Kawalya. Collaborators: Summer Institute of Linguistics (Entebbe) - Richard Nzogi, Michael Angunda, Gift Asiku, and Maria Stolen. Achva Academic College (Israel) - Sigal Uziel-Karl. The project began in December 2019 and ended in December 2020. We acknowledge our informants in Moroto, Napak, and Nakapiripirit. Also, we acknowledge our contact persons, in the districts above, and all other people who supported the project in one way or another. We are grateful to you for your efforts. The project was sponsored by Government of Uganda through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (MakRIF). Part II of the corpus includes eighteen (18) narratives on traditional practices in agriculture among the So. The purpose of recording speakers about this subject area was not only to elicit a language text in So, but also to get the indigenous knowledge systems that could be of use today in the context of modern practices. This part of the project was conducted in March 2022, courtesy of the moral and financial support by Neil Dawson of University of Anglia (United Kingdom). This support was extended for collection of additional data to the So language documentary corpus. Neil, through INDIS (Indigenous Sustainable Development) was collaborating with CAES (College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University) to research the indigenous knowledge systems and traditional resources of the So/Tepeth, particularly on their potential to support socio-economic development. While in contact with the community members, they requested the team to incorporate the development of So language in their research. They proposed a number of activities ranging from collection of additional data for the documentary corpus to writing the language’s orthography. Therefore, a language team was brought on board to collect language data and process it as additional content to the existing corpus. The team included the following members: Principal investigator: Celestino Oriikiriza (Makerere University) Co-investigator: Richard Nzogi (Entebbe) So/Tepeth community leader: Michael Lokawua (Moroto) Interpreters: Stella Aiko and Moses Akol for recordings in Tapac; Kasimoro Otti and Lorem Mark for recordings in Kakingol; Logit Mark, Osike Paul, and Omet John for recordings in Lemsui; Kasirokot Steven and Lorem Mark for recordings in Moruita. Thanks to the speakers who were interviewed and recorded. The project is indebted to the team members for their efforts in building the second part of the documentary corpus of So:

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