PENAMPANG: The Webonary Timugon Murut Dictionary application was launched during the Cultural Night of the Third Malaysian Indigenous People’s Conference on Education 2025 (MIPCE 3) here on Dec 13, marking a new chapter for the language’s preservation.
Organising committee chairperson and officiating guest Rita Lasimbang said the digital launch reflected a long “river’s flow” journey, symbolising decades of quiet, sustained effort to document and safeguard the Timugon Murut language.
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She said the work began with the late development of a physical dictionary by Summer Institute of Linguistics fieldworkers Richard and Kielo Brewis, who coordinated the project from 1983 to 1997 before returning to Finland.
Rita said the effort continued under her stewardship from 1997 to 2003 with the Kadazandusun Language Foundation (KLF), alongside Timugon community member Silipah Majius, bringing the combined work to more than 20 years, excluding earlier language-learning years in Tenom.
After the printed Timugon Murut–Malay Dictionary was finally published in 2004 with RM100,000 in funding secured through the Finnish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and local support, she said its transition to Webonary ensures the 22,627-word dictionary remains accessible to future generations.
