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with the contrast between sounds, and as a result may ignore phonetic detail. This chapter
intends to at least partially fill this void.
Chapter 9 reviews the major conclusions of the dissertation.
Finally, I provide several appendices to the dissertation. Appendix A includes
three interlinearized texts, which exemplify the phenomena and processes discussed in
this dissertation and provide data for future syntax and discourse studies. These texts
include a narrative, a procedural text, and a set of proverbs. Appendix B provides a 2000-
item word list intended for use in comparative studies on Ubangian languages. Appendix
C is an evaluation of our present understanding of Niger-Congo classification. Appendix
D is a cross-linguistic study of the labial flap. Appendix E documents the data included in
the audio recordings used for analysis in Chapter 8. Finally, a set of tables discussed in
the text is provided in Appendix F.
1.7.2 Field research
The data for this study were collected during two terms of field research. During
the first term, from January 1994 until June 1995, I resided in the Mono village of Bili
(see Figure 1.1). I was there as a member of SIL, by invitation of the Communauté
Evangélique du Christ en Ubangi (CECU). I was involved in the initial stages of a Bible
translation and literacy development project in Mono, working alongside my SIL
colleagues Brian and Barbara Schrag, who resided in Bili at the same time as I did.
During the first three months of my stay, I was hosted by the Catholic church of Bili
(diocese of Molegbe). We were assisted in our work in Bili primarily by Rev. Sangemale
Tshebale Mandaba and Mr. Mbakuwuse Tschangbaita, both mother-tongue speakers of
Mono. During this first term, a language committee was established, consisting of
governmental, educational, and ecclesiastical leaders in the Mono region. The SIL
researchers and the Mono language committee worked together to establish an
orthography for the Mono language. A preliminary version was approved in 1994.
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